As Hollywood.com notes, Dre lost half-brother Jerome to pneumonia when Dre himself was only a year old. His other half-brother, Tyree, died in 1989 after his neck was broken in an attack. Although the rapper doesn't like to discuss his losses at length, Hollywood.com notes he told The Times in the U.K., "There's this certain pain that I feel — and I don't know if it's because of my brother's death, or [other] deaths in the family — but it's this thing." He feels more creatively driven as a result of such hardships, explaining, "I'm not sure if I should get rid of it. I don't know if that's where my talent lies, or my passion lies for what I do." He added, "I've been actually asked to talk about it and go to therapy and what have you, but I'm not sure that's something I wanna do. Because I don't think I should change it."

Exclaim reports that Dre shared a bedroom with Tyree as a child, and he found out his half-brother had died while touring Straight Outta Compton. Dre dedicated "The Message," the final song on The Chronic, to his brother (per Black Doctor). The lyrics to "The Message" showcase how close the two were, with the rapper noting, "We fought like brothers, something we never should do / We coulda used time spent arguing telling the truth." Dre also admits, "He had talent too — I had plans on watching him grow / Don't know what hurts more — seeing him leave, or watching him go," (via Genius).