Dr. Dre to donate $10 million for Compton High School's new performing arts center

Dr. Dre has pledged to donate $10 million to help build a performing arts complex at the new Compton High School, the Compton Unified School District told The Times on Thursday. 

“My goal is to provide kids with the kind of tools and learning they deserve,” Dre said in a statement to The Times. “The performing arts center will be a place for young people to be creative in a way that will help further their education and positively define their future.”

The complex will provide students with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, including digital media production facilities and a 1,200-seat theater. 

The performing arts center will also be a resource for the Compton community at large, officials say. 

The hip-hop mogul and Compton native will be directly involved in raising the remaining funds needed to complete the center, which is expected to break ground by 2020.

“The support that Dre has shown to Compton over the years is unwavering and we are so excited that we will now be home to one of the greatest performing arts centers in the country,” said Satra Zurita, president of Compton Unified’s governing board of trustees.

Micah Ali, vice chairman of the district's board of education, said the new high school will be the most modern public school complex ever built.

"We are looking forward to blending both [Dre's] vision and that of the district to provide opportunities for individuals to both explore and apply their creativity in the arts," said Darin Brawley, Compton Unified superintendent.