Dr. Dre’s $10 Million Boost Helps Redefine Compton High’s Future

Dr. Dre’s legacy has always been intertwined with Compton, and now the rap legend is giving back to the California community in a major way. On Thursday the newly rebuilt Compton High School campus was unveiled, a $225-million project that promises to reshape the future of education for the city’s youth.

At the heart of the transformation is Dre’s $10 million donation to the school’s performing arts center, ensuring that the next generation of Compton’s talent has the space to create, perform and dream big.

The 31-acre campus represents a complete overhaul of the old school, which had long been plagued by outdated facilities. The new high school is a vision of modernity, featuring a digital library, cutting-edge classrooms and athletic facilities designed for the digital age. From a football stadium to multiple sports courts and a state-of-the-art gym, this campus is built to foster both academic and athletic success.

But it’s the performing arts center that stands out as a direct reflection of Dre’s impact on the city. The $10 million donation has turned the center into a state-of-the-art venue where students can explore their passions in music, theater and dance. A mural of Dre’s face on the exterior of the building serves as a powerful reminder of his roots and his ongoing commitment to elevating his hometown.

"I didn’t have that creative outlet when I was in high school," Dre said during the unveiling. "Now these kids have that space, and it’s all about giving them the chance to express who they are and what they can become."

Dre’s involvement is a reflection of his lifelong connection to Compton. The new campus will serve 2,000 students and is funded by school-construction bonds approved by local voters. This revitalization is not just about the physical space but about creating opportunities for Compton’s youth to thrive in ways that were once out of reach.

"Compton is a breeding ground for talent," Dre added. "I’m living proof that coming from Compton, nothing can stop me. Anything is possible."

'You Burned My Car': Kid Cudi Recounts Accusing Combs in Federal Trial

An evidence photo, displayed Thursday, May 22, 2025, during testimony in federal court in New York, shows the damage to a Porsche belonging to rapper Kid Cudi, born Scott Mescudi. Cudi testified that the vehicle was firebombed at his Los Angeles home in January 2012, an act he blamed on Sean "Diddy" Combs during Combs's ongoing sex-trafficking trial.

Kid Cudi delivered gripping testimony Thursday in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s federal sex-trafficking trial on Thursday, recounting a harrowing 2012 firebombing of his Porsche and an earlier home break-in, both of which he unequivocally blamed on the music mogul.

The Grammy-winning rapper, born Scott Mescudi, detailed to jurors how in January 2012, a Molotov cocktail was launched into his Los Angeles driveway, engulfing his Porsche. He testified he first learned of the inferno from his dog sitter.

When Mescudi, 41, later confronted Combs about the destroyed vehicle at a meeting in a Los Angeles hotel, Combs flatly responded, “I don't know what you’re talking about,” Mescudi testified. He described Combs during that meeting as posturing “like a Marvel super villain,” standing with his hands behind his back looking out a window, an encounter Mescudi found “off-putting” due to Combs's calmness.

Kid Cudi's testimony included multiple bombshell allegations against Diddy, including blowing up Cudi's car with a Molotov cocktail. ⚖️

Cudi also alleges that Diddy broke into his home, moved security cameras, injured and locked away his dog and went through all his belongings. https://t.co/JnPagsMl1y pic.twitter.com/3CfJA1Ame0

— Key To The City 🔑 (@K3yToTheCity) May 22, 2025

“I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘You burned my car,’ ” Mescudi told the court. He added that Combs eventually apologized for "everything and all that [expletive]" approximately three years later, around 2015, after which Mescudi said he "found peace with it."

Prosecutors assert the car bombing exemplifies a pattern of “intimidation and violence” Combs allegedly employed, particularly concerning his former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura. Mescudi had a brief romantic relationship with Ventura in late 2011, during a period when her relationship with Combs was reportedly intermittent.

On cross-examination, defense attorneys emphasized that no arrests were made or charges filed in connection with the firebombing, and Mescudi acknowledged he never witnessed who threw the incendiary device. “There is no physical evidence tying Mr. Combs to that incident,” a defense attorney stated.

Mescudi also recounted an unnerving break-in at his Hollywood Hills home in December 2011, which he said occurred after Combs became aware of his relationship with Ventura. He testified that security cameras had been tampered with, gifts rifled through, and his dog was inexplicably locked in a bathroom, prompting him to file a police report. Mescudi also testified that during this period, Combs called him while Mescudi believed Combs and associates were at his house. Mescudi said he asked Combs, "Motherf--ker, are you in my house?" to which Combs allegedly replied, "I am here waiting for you."

Further, Mescudi stated that Ventura had confided in him that Combs had been physically abusive towards her, describing incidents where “he would hit her, sometimes kick her.”

Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to a range of federal charges, including sex trafficking by force, transportation for prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors allege he operated a criminal enterprise that abused, threatened, and coerced women over nearly two decades. Combs’s defense team has argued that his relationships were consensual and part of a lifestyle that included non-traditional arrangements.

The trial also heard continued testimony Thursday from George Kaplan, a former executive assistant to Combs, who reportedly testified to witnessing Combs "attack" Ventura. The trial is slated to continue.

Rod Wave Arrested After Alleged April Shooting at Atlanta-Area Home

Rodarius “Rod Wave” Green, 26, is shown after surrendering on May 20 to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on charges that he fired 14 rounds inside a Milton home.

Deputies arriving at an upscale Milton home on April 21 were met by a scene of luxury SUVs marked by bullet holes and a safe that appeared to have been forcibly moved across a basement floor. The incident allegedly involved rapper Rodarius “Rod Wave” Green, 26, who is accused of opening fire during a dispute over property reportedly stolen in a prior burglary.

Green voluntarily surrendered to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday and posted a $50,000 bond later that day. Court records unsealed in Superior Court charge him with 14 counts — including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, pointing a pistol at another, criminal damage to property, tampering with evidence and obstruction of law enforcement — after he allegedly fired 14 rounds indoors.

According to the affidavit, deputies found 11 bullets in an associate’s 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, one in Green’s 2022 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, one lodged in a basement wall and one missing. “In the basement, we found a large safe that had been dragged across the floor, opened and emptied,” an officer wrote.

“There is no truth to these charges,” attorneys Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg said in a joint statement. “Rod Green was a victim of a burglary and committed no crimes. How he was even charged as a result of this situation is incomprehensible. This will absolutely be resolved favorably to Mr. Green.”

Green first broke through in 2019 when “Heart on Ice” went viral on TikTok and climbed the Billboard Hot 100, establishing his confessional style in hip-hop. He has since released four albums that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart—"SoulFly," "Beautiful Mind," "Nostalgia," and "Last Lap" —and earned numerous RIAA-certified platinum singles.

Despite this arrest, Green remains musically active: he contributed the title track “Sinners” to the soundtrack of the Michael B. Jordan film Sinners , and his sixth studio album, “Last Lap,” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in October.

His legal history includes a weapons arrest in Manatee County, Fla., in April 2024, which was dropped after authorities acknowledged an error , and a 2022 battery charge that was dismissed for lack of prosecutorial merit.

The investigation by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing.