Dr. Dre's 'Beats' Become Thieves' Hottest Must-Steal Target, Police Say

Aftermath Records boss Dr. Dre's popular headphones line, Beats By Dre, are making headlines this week with reports claiming they are the hottest items amongst thieves.

According to police, quick crooks are specifically gunning for the Beats headphones these days.

The city's thugs have a new favorite to go with their stolen iPhones -- stolen Dr. Dre headphones. The legendary rapper's pricey, high-tech headphones, called Beats by Dr. Dre, are the new rage among bandits because they're seen as "status symbols," a police source said. Although they have yet to dethrone the iPhone as thieves' top target, the headphones -- which retail for $300 to $500 -- are being snatched from kids at an alarming rate since the latest model hit the market at around Christmas. "They're very hot among thieves," the source said. "It's like, 'I see it. I want it. I can have it. I'm taking it for me, or my sister needs a pair,' " the source said, adding that crooks also resell them. (New York Post)

Catching the criminals has been especially tough since Beats are untraceable.

In north Brooklyn alone there have been dozens of Beats stolen in the past four months. Still, getting exact numbers on how many Beats have been lifted is tricky, as police suspect their thefts are underreported (since they are untraceable and are rarely insured). Anecdotal evidence and police sources, however, show a growing problem that has even spread into "trendy" neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights. That's where, on April 17, a teen had his Beats stolen--and was punched in the face for the trouble. (Gothamist)

Rap star Lil Wayne recently announced plans hinting that he was the next one up to put out his own line of headphones.

Lil Wayne shows his seriousness in the world of skateboarding, confirming to MTV that he is developing a skate shoe line. The rapper, who makes his fondness of the street sports public, has struck a deal with famous skate brand Supra to have his own sneaker coming out. Not giving a lot of details, Wayne said in his interview with MTV's "Hip Hop Pov", "I've also signed with Supra," adding "Dr. Dre Beats, I've got my own beats coming out soon. I get money." The shoe line will be independent of his clothing line Trukfit. (Ace Showbiz)

In January, Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine spoke on Beats By Dre parting ways with longtime manufacturer , Monster Cable.

"You're only as good as your weakest link in the ecosystem of sound, of audio," Iovine told Billboard.biz shortly after touching down at LAX on Friday. "In the music industry, we have lost an entire generation to bad sound...We want PC makers to have better audio, because these things are used as home stereos by a lot of people and that makes it suck." Iovine says there's no bad blood between Beats and Monster, and in fact just saw Monster CEO Noel Lee in Vegas Thursday night. "It was cool, it was social," Iovine said. "We had a few business things that you have when you work with a guy for five years. But we've grown so fast we have to be nimble, to control our own destiny. It was always structured that way." (Billboard Biz)