Nobody forgot about Dre.

The Good Doctor was on the top of the world with Suge Knight's Death Row Records before he launched his own. Following the enormous success of The Chronic in 1992, Death Row had already cemented their place as the most 'unf*ckwithable' label in hip-hop. Suge Knight was the honcho, while Dr. Dre was the evil genius behind the recording booth, and Snoop Dogg & Tupac were the troublemakers.

As things turned violent between the label's president and how he ran the business, Dre made a shocking announcement when he decided to quit Death Row to 'do his own thing.'

"I called Dre, and I said, "Don't break up the deal. Just keep the band together,"" Dre's attorney Peter Paterno recalled on HBO's The Defiant Ones. "He said, "No, I can't do it ... Everything just changed. It became a lot more violent, you know? Engineers are getting beat down. Just random people are getting beat down."

Over more than three decades of his career, the legendary producer has two timeless classics; The Chronic (1992) and 2001 (1999). He did help launch some of the household names in hip-hop, notably Eminem in 1998 and Kendrick Lamar in 2012, through his very own Aftermath Entertainment label.

It's been 24 years since Aftermath was founded, and to this date, 20 from its 28 releases have earned either platinum or higher plaques. Many hip-hop stars have come and gone since then, and if you're wondering what the former artists are up to today, we've got you covered!

12 50 Cent (Then)

Before signed to Eminem and Dr. Dre's joint venture of Shady/Aftermath, Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson learned from Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay and signed to Columbia Records.50's debut album with Columbia, Power of the Dollar, was initially released in 2000. A couple of days before shooting the album's lead single, Thug Love featuring Destiny's Child, 50 was shot nine times, dropped from the label, and blacklisted from the industry. Then, 50 and his G-Unit homeboys, which wasn't formed yet, flew to Canada to begin his creative process. His debut independently-released mixtape, Guess Who's Back, landed on Eminem's hand through a mutual working partner, and the rest is history.

11 50 Cent (Now)

50 Cent eventually left Shady/Aftermath in 2014, and now, he's signed to Caroline.

"It's the freedom to invest in your own ideas," he told FORBES about his decision. "If ever I had a horse that I was betting on at the track, I'd like to be the horse. Let it be me, goddammit, because I'm going to run as hard as I can."

However, 50, Dre, and Eminem still remain good friends over the years. Recently in the early 2000s, 50's favorite white boy and Dre attended his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.

"So, 50, congrats on your star, man," Eminem congratulated his friend on the stage. "Hollywood is making it official what I knew from the beginning, and Dre knew from the beginning."

10 Busta Rhymes (Then)

Before Aftermath, Busta Rhymes was signed to J Records, a Sony Music subsidiary that once homed the likes of Maroon 5, Erick Sermon, Pitbull, Cassidy, and many others. He left the label to join Dr. Dre's Aftermath family in 2004 and released his seventh album, The Big Bang, in 2006. Busta Rhymes worked with A-list producers like Dre, Sha Money XL, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, Swizz Beatz, and many others. The album ended up becoming his first number one album with over 200.000 copies sold within the first week.

Related: Eminem To Kendrick Lamar: The Cover Of Your Favorite Hip-Hop Albums Explained

9 Busta Rhymes (Now)

Busta Rhymes left Aftermath in 2008 due to interpersonal disagreements between him and Jimmy Iovine, the CEO of Aftermath's label parent Interscope, about creative approaches. He was signed to Cash Money Records at one point but left in 2014 due to, again, creative differences.

There's no bad blood going on between Busta and Dre, though. In February 2019, the Flipmode Squad veteran took to Instagram to reveal that he and Dre were finishing up a long-delayed album. "Oh shit!!!" he captioned. "Back in the Kitchen wit the good @drdre Adding the finishing touches."

8 Hittman (Then)

California rapper Hittman was another Dr. Dre's protege that never really blew up. You might recognize him from the latter one-minute segment at the end of Forgot About Dre music video. He was signed to Aftermath back in 1998. Despite Dre's attempt to boost him by heavily featuring him on his classic 2001 project in 1999, he failed to secure an album under the label. He was featured on 10 out of 22 tracks from the album.

7 Hittman (Now)

Hittman eventually parted ways with the imprint due to creative differences, and it's a massive shame that he's never fulfilled his potential. He was signed to Scott Storch's manager Hustler Foundation in 2003 but never released any project.

"If he (Dre) is focused (on his album), all your energy is focused on helping him see his vision. Once he doesn't have enthusiasm about what you're doing, it wanes," he told AllHipHop. "The political side of the music game stifled all my creativity, and in that instance, I totally lost my love for music and replaced it with disdain and hatred for it."

Related: 50 Cent: All The Good And Bad Things Other Celebs Have Said About Him

6 Rakim (Then)

Rakim is a godly rapper and one of the most influential emcees before signing to Dre's Aftermath. Over the years, he has been consistently regarded in the highest echelon of MC. The way he built his rhymes schemes was something that hasn't been done before.

Rakim is known for pairing up with Eric B. and their 1987 collective debut album, Paid In Full. 7 years after splitting up with Eric B, he joined the Aftermath family in 2000. However, his intended debut with Aftermath, Oh My God, was shelved, and he parted ways with the label only three years after signing.

5 Rakim (Now)

The reason? Creative difference. "We had two different ideas of how the album was supposed to sound. Dre, at the time, his formula was gangsta rap," Rakim recalled. "And, you know, that's his formula, but I thought at that point I should be doing something different. I was maturing at the time."

As for now, Rakim has turned his creative direction into books. His recent release, Sweat the Technique: Revelations on Creativity from the Lyrical Genius, hit the stores back in 2019.

"I wrap around wordplay and push boundaries of form. I stay focused on my intentions. Make something original," Rakim writes. "Outdo what I've already done. Write something to force the conscious listener to think, the music lover to clap, and every other rapper to turn their head and say, 'Damn.' I want to build monuments of monologue that stand the test of time."

4 Joell Ortiz (Then)

Joel Ortiz is one of the most underrated veteran rappers around. Before signing to Aftermath, the former Slaughterhouse member was featured on The Source's Unsigned Hype column back in 2004. In 2006, Dre signed the New York rapper to Aftermath.

"So far, it's been great, and I'm glad people are feeling me now, but I know I have a long way to go before I'm running with the big boys like Jay-Z or 50 Cent," Ortiz said in a statement, as reported by Rap Basement. "That's where I'm trying to reach, nothing less."

Only two years after signing, he parted ways with the label.

Related: Dr. Dre: Here’s How He Became One Of Hip Hop’s Richest Entrepreneurs

3 Joell Ortiz (Now)

However, there's no bad blood going on between the two. After parting ways with Aftermath, Joel Ortiz formed Slaughterhouse with Joe Budden, Kxng Crooked, and Royce da 5'9," and signed to Eminem's Shady Records in 2001. Shady and Aftermath shared the same umbrella, Interscope, and that eventually led them to reunite.

"I remember when Slaughterhouse, we was at the Grammys with Em in I think '11 or '12, one of the years, like two years ago," he recalled. "And Dre was like, 'Joell, what's up? Come here.' I said, 'What's up?' He said, 'You couldn't escape me if you wanted to, you back in the family.' It's a good thing. I know Dre honored that decision of mine because it validated the person that he thought I was, like a leader."

Lately, the House Slippers rapper was featured on the track I Will featuring his fellow Slaughterhouse partner-in-rhymes minus Joe Budden from Eminem's recent surprise album, Music to be Murdered By.

2 The Game (Then)

Before Aftermath, rapper The Game independently released his mixtape, You Know What It Is, in 2002. The tape landed on Dr. Dre's hands, and the rest is history. The Game ended up becoming one of the hottest Aftermath signees in 2003 and rose to international fame with his major-label debut, The Documentary, in 2005. In late 2003, Dre and Jimmy Iovine added The Game as a new gun of 50 Cent's G-Unit supergroup.

The Game refused to partake in any feuds that G-Unit was involved in, and 50 saw it as disloyalty. Due to his dispute, The Game ended up leaving Aftermath and signed to another Interscope label, Geffen Records. He paid tribute to the Doctor on his 2006 sophomore album, Doctor's Advocate.

1 The Game (Now)

The Game hung up the mic for good and closed the curtain in 2019 with his ninth and final studio album, Born 2 Rap, with cameo appearances from 21 Savage, Anderson Paak, Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, End Sheeran, Travis Barker, and many others. He also founded his own label with former Shady Records artist, Stat Quo, called Blood Money Entertainment back in 2012. After forming his newest imprint Prolific Records, in 2019, the rapper decided to defunct BME.

Next: Eminem’s Former Shady Record Artists: Where Are They Now?