Manager and Producer Dre Good is Stamped and Certified Everywhere He Goes.
Dre Good's hustle has elevated him to the top, but there's still more work to do.
Your name and reputation remain two of the most important things you can have in any industry, so much so that they become synonymous with your work. For manager and record producer Dre Good, all three have led him to heights he never imagined. As manager for rap talent Domani, he’s helped him actualize his vision with the label Forever Records.
As A&R for Grand Hustle Records and Creative Director of Atlanta’s famed Trap Music Museum, he’s helped bolster the careers of its artists and created a monument to the genre’s most recent influential sound. But if you ask Dre, all he wants is to be accessible to everyone he meets and preserve his spotless name.
Early Life
A self-described military brat, Dre was born on base at Fort Cavazos formerly known as Fort Hood in Texas.
“I was born there, but I would say I am from Killeen, Texas. I went to school on base and moved around a bit from Virginia to Japan and Georgia.”
Raised in a loving and family-oriented environment, Dre originally found success as a soccer player as a child. As he got older, he fought to balance his athletic and academic abilities with the growing danger in Killeen. Because of his ability, he often found himself placed in gifted classes away from his peers.
Despite the tension there, he remained committed to his books, juggling books and soccer. In 2012, he graduated from college at the age of seventeen and after visiting several colleges, decided to attend Clark Atlanta University.
Welcome to Atlanta
Dre’s time in Atlanta provided him with a secondary education he could have never imagined. His peers, many of whom had connections with the music industry, ended up connecting him with Atlanta’s own Grand Hustle Records, who at the time were seeking out interns.
“When I came to Clark I was on my rapper vibe. The first day of school I met all the rappers and I had the equipment to record and one of my close friends, Mario Beats, told me I was more a manager.”
Introduced to the music industry while in school, Dre found himself pulling further away from college the more he advanced in the industry. Originally hired as an intern by his mentor Mark Jackson, who at the time served as the Executive Vice President of Grand Hustle, he made a name for himself, doing everything from cleaning toilets and running errands to eventually producing records for some of its biggest acts.
Working alongside generational talent like T.I., Young Dro and songwriter London Jae made him feel as if he was already ready for success, so much so that at one point as a sophomore, he contemplated dropping out of school. Pushed to continue, he graduated in 2018 and continued his ascent to success.
“I was trying so hard to get out because I saw how big the world was, but I had a professor, Professor Leak who was on me about finishing. She pulled me to the side one day when I mentioned dropping out, and she just told me that’s not happening. Even my OG’s and mentors at Grand Hustle told me to just finish school. But I was ready to run around Atlanta.”
Hustle Gang Over Everything
Dre spent the next few years carving out a lane for himself, earning his first production credit working alongside songwriter London Jae as well as A&R’ing Young Dro’s 2017 Gangsta Grillz.
“My first placement motivated me. I did London’s project and then I did a Gangsta Grillz for Dro. From there, I produced Grinding for YFN Lucci for his Freda Son EP. Once I got the Lucci placement, it was on. I had to prove myself.”
Far beyond an intern, Dre’s work made him an invaluable member of the label and reinforced his tagline, Dre Good Everywhere. It wasn’t long before he met one of his closest friends and partners in music, Domani.
T.I’s right-hand man Doug Peterson, planted the seed in Dre’s head, who at this point had worked extensively with the label’s roster and had spoken to him several times in passing.
“One day Doug spoke to me and said: You’re going to be Domani’s manager. I looked at him like I didn’t even say I wanted to manage anyone at this time. But he just put it on me. Over time it grew.”
Convinced of his talent, Dre decided to serve as Domani’s manager, aiding him in building his record label, Forever Records, and also in ensuring he is one of the genre’s greatest talents.
In addition to helping Domani manage his career, he also serves as the creative director of the city’s coveted cultural treasure, the Trap Museum. Starting in 2018, the museum started as a pop-up exhibit that showed the most influential players of trap music. It has since grown into one of the city’s most respected testaments to hip-hop music.
“To grow and be a flagpole for Atlanta and trap music worldwide is an honor. It is the first of its kind and one of a kind. Five years it’s surreal and who to say where it goes.”
Just recently, Dreamville Records posted their advertisement for their yearly Dreamville Festival and Domani was included as one of its acts in April. Dre expressed his excitement with the announcement, offering that an upcoming tour is in the works along with EPs and an album.
“It’s about to get big for Forever Records and once we come, we are here to stay.”
