The D.O.C. surgically cut through tracks with his booming vocals, from his work with N.W.A to his own acclaimed debut album. Despite a tragic accident, he continued to lend his talents to multiplatinum masterpieces.

Born Tracy Lynn Curry on June 10, 1968 in Dallas, Texas, The D.O.C. began his rap career as Doc-T in the mid-1980s as a member of the Fila Fresh Crew. Dr. Dre met the crew at a nightclub performance in Texas and they ended up having four songs on the 1987 compilation N.W.A and the Posse before those same songs ended up on the Fila Fresh Crew’s 1988 EP Tuffest Man Alive, their only release before they disbanded.

In 1988, Doc-T became The D.O.C. as he moved from Dallas to Los Angeles and signed a deal with Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records, where he began writing for Eazy’s debut album Eazy-Duz-It, N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton, and Michel'le’s self-titled debut album. On July 13, 1989, The D.O.C. released his critically acclaimed debut album No One Can Do It Better, which peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200 chart and achieved platinum status thanks to the popular singles “It’s Funky Enough” and “The Formula.”

On November 14, 1989, The D.O.C. was involved in a car crash after leaving a party and falling asleep at the wheel. The result of the crash left him with a crushed larynx, changing his strong voice to a strained, raspier voice. Despite this life-altering change, he continued to write for the Ice Cube-less N.W.A on their 1990 EP 100 Miles and Runnin' and the group’s 1991 sophomore album, EFIL4ZAGGIN, which turned out to be the group’s last project.

After a financial dispute with Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre and The D.O.C. left the label and co-founded Death Row Records in 1991 along with co-CEO Suge Knight. The D.O.C. continued writing lyrics, contributing to Dr. Dre’s 1992 debut solo album The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg’s 1993 debut album Doggystyle. The D.O.C. left Death Row in 1994 due to financial issues and attempted his comeback as an artist with his damaged voice through the release of the albums Helter Skelter (1996) and Deuce (2003). In 2022, the documentary THE DOC was released and featured appearances by a number of his collaborators, including fellow Dallas native Erykah Badu, who is the mother of his daughter Puma.