Rapper Dr. Dre may have destroyed Apple-Beats deal with video

Dr. Dre, otherwise known as Andre Romelle Young, may have scuppered the chances to conclude a $3.2 billion deal with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with an incautiously posted YouTube video, according to a number of sources. Apple has expressed its wrath over the video, which violates the Cupertino firm’s longstanding custom of never publicly discussing Furthermore, the apparently intoxicated boasting and swearing that fills the video is contrary to Apple’s carefully curated public image of a high-toned, tasteful, even snobbish company.

The video itself, which runs for 1 minute, 22 seconds or 1 minute, 24 seconds depending on the version, was taken by Dr. Dre’s friend Tyrese Gibson, an actor, rapper, and TV producer. It shows Mr. Gibson, Dr. Dre, and several other men at what is apparently an intoxicated celebration of the deal with Apple Inc. (AAPL). Though Mr. Gibson does most of the speaking, Dr. Dre does appear to state that he will be the first billionaire in hip-hop.

After much jocularity and frequent uses of obscenity, Mr. Gibson states that his “homey” is drunk on Heineken beer and goes on to say that Dr. Dre has now gotten on the “Forbes rich people list” and is part of the “billionaire boys’ club.” He then bursts into an impromptu celebratory dance moments before the video ends.

Though Dr. Dre likely never intended the video to go public, his actions were somewhat incautious considering the ease with which material can be posted on the Internet and the impossibility of fully retracting it once placed there. There was already debate as to whether the rapper would fit into Apple’s culture as executive or whether he was better suited to the role of consultant. After the YouTube posting, the answer would appear to be the latter, if anything.

Much of the incident’s outcome depends on whether the Beats founder signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) regarding the deal between the headphone company and Apple (AAPL). If an NDA was violated, then Apple has the option to immediately call off the deal with absolutely no repercussions. In the absence of an NDA, the situation might be more complicated, but the odds appear to remain in favor of Dr. Dre having likely lost his $3.2 billion contract.

Other possibilities remain, of course, including that no repercussions whatsoever will be visited on the rapper’s company for his gaffe, or that the terms will be renegotiated in a manner more favorable to Apple to compensate for the potential damage done by the video. Regardless, it seems unlikely that Apple will share many sensitive pieces of information with Dr. Dre in the future.