All those who thought that in recent years Andre Young, aka Dr. Dre, was taking it a little too easy, constantly delaying his new solo album ‘Detox’ while cashing in on old glory, need to think again.

The West Coast’s most appreciated hip hop producer, the man behind Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and The Game’s best years, is about to become the first billionaire rapper, pushing aside heavyweights such as P. Diddy and Jay Z.

Did he make it big with a new Grammy nominated multi-platinum single? No, with a headphones set. Beats Electronics, a firm founded by Dr. Dre together with another music producer, Jimmy Iovine, has managed to turn some simple headphones into a status-symbol, now considered a must-have by virtually anyone in the circuit, to the degree thatApple has decided to splash out some serious money to purchase the brand.

The result? The record acquisition of Beats Electronics has been finalised and the price tag is an eye-watering $ 3billion. Could you imagine that? A Dr. Dre struggling to keep a straight face while politely thanking Apple on the phone for doing business with him?

The only thing left to do is to daydream about what will the über-rich producer buy with all that dosh. Will he invest in the best champagne stocks?  Will he buy the LA Clippers, the basketball team owned by Donald Sterling until not long ago, when he was removed and subsequently charged by the NBA for damaging the league and its teams with his racist comments? Bets are open.