DAWAUN PARKER (PART THREE) (January 2008) | Interview By: Conan Milne

       In the final part of our interview series with The Dr.'s Apprentice, Dawaun Parker, we touch on a variety of exciting topics. Dawaun opens up about forthcoming EP releases from The GodBody, and provides some more information on when we can expect the group's fully fledged debut. In addition to this, the Aftermath family is discussed at length. Dawaun hints at what we can expect from new releases from Stat Quo, Bishop Lamont, Raekwon and even the mighty Eminem. We also do our best to get an update on "Detox's" release date - and the gifted 'Math recruit teases us with the prospect of an announcement to come!

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As always we have the transcript for you to check and please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: conanmilne@dubcnn.com

 

Interview was done in October 2007.

Questions Asked By : Conan Milne

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Read Part 1 of our exclusive interview with Dawaun Parker: Here

Read Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Dawaun Parker: Here
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Dubcnn: Recently we did an interview with Damizza -

Yeah, I know Damizza! I've seen him around a few times.


Dubcnn: Well, he spoke about how on occasion Dre has let him hear material that has never been released to the public. Have you had any experiences like that? Have you been able to enter 'the vault,' so to speak?

(Laughs) Oh man. I get to hear everything! I MAKE some of the stuff in the vault! I get to hear everything.


Dubcnn: Oh man, I know there are a lot of readers out there who would love a day in that vault…

I mean, I heard the stuff prior to my arrival and all that. He's gone back and played me a good amount of stuff. You know, stuff that he's feeling. Stuff that he's – you know? Yeah, when you've got years of making stuff every day, you've got a pretty awesome catalogue. You know what I'm saying? That's definitely been a treat, especially when I first came around. It was definitely like – you know, I'm a music fan and a music lover, so just hearing his instrumentals is cool.


Dubcnn: I can imagine. As you were saying, you've contributed to some of the stuff in the vault now. With that said, what's up with Raekwon and Only Built For Cuban Linx…2? His situation seems up in the air, so is there a chance we'll hear the stuff you worked on with him?

Um, I don't know what the situation with that is, to be honest. I haven't really asked or enquired or heard anything, you know? I've kind of just been focusing on the records and stuff like that. We made some stuff for him – and some stuff with him – that I thought was pretty dope. I'm a Raekwon fan, so there's some level of bias in there. I'm a huge Wu-Tang fan, obviously, and in particular Raekwon. It's just his whole flavor and how he does his thing. I liked the stuff that we did. I don't really know contractually or, or label situation wise, any of that kind of information. I wouldn't know. I don't know if a lot of people do, you know? It's just been kind of like 'out of sight, out of mind,' in terms of my daily, day-to-day activities. I'm sure that he's going to come out somewhere. I think it's just a matter of 'when' and timing and all that. The powers that be – I don't know about that.


Dubcnn: I guess we've just got to keep our fingers crossed. Now, we've already tried to speak a little bit about Detox. I know you can't say too much, but I have to enquire about this. One thing that Dre said about the album earlier this year, during the Power 106 interview on his birthday, is that he hopes to work with everyone he's collaborated with in the past. That's a pretty hefty claim! How successfully is that coming along? Are we going to see some familiar faces on Detox?

Um, I would assume so! I think that – I don't think it's going to be totally, all-new people. I – I know that – I think that anybody's random guess would be assuming that he's going to attach Snoop and Em and all those guys. You know what I'm saying? I mean the people who've been aligned with, or have aligned themselves with him throughout his career. I'm sure they'll be on there. I don't know how much of it. I don't know if it will be an all star, every song having four or five people! You know what I'm saying? I don't think that would be smart for anybody. I want to hear Dre rap! (Laughs) You know what I'm saying? I know that he's going to have the hitters on there. He's mentioned that before. I think that it's going to be 'song determined,' you know? Who would do the best verse for the record, as they get further along. I think you can expect the major players that he's worked with to be a part of the project.


Dubcnn: That's what's up, man. Now I'm going to ask for your expert opinion here, because there's been so much speculation: is there a chance we'll hear The Game on the record?

I don't know… I – I know as much as anybody else with that. I know as much as anybody else, to be honest. Yeah, I really don't know.


Dubcnn: I think one of the reasons people were surprised with Dre saying he wanted to work with all of his former collaborators was because he also suggested that Detox will be only twelve tracks long. Is that still the case?

Uh-huh. That's still the plan, as far as I know.


Dubcnn: Okay, cool. So let's look to the future of your own career for a moment. Former Dre keyboard player Scott Storch has gone on to have a hugely successful solo career as a producer. I know you're handling the bulk of The GodBody project and doing some outside work, but do you aim to follow the Storch route and go totally solo?

I would hate to say specifically and exactly where I see myself. That's because you never know what opportunities are going to present themselves in the future, and things like that. One of the specific things with me that I would see being different from Scott is that I still want to retain a lot of collaboration throughout my career. I want to be a guy that other producers or other artists or other musicians will call and say, "I want to get in a lab and vibe, besides just necessarily giving me a beat." That's great too. Obviously, I want to do my own imprint and my own thing. I want to be able to be in the position of being, like, a Dre of the future: having your own team and being able to give other people opportunities. For me to not want that, that would kind of be a slap in the face to the opportunity that I have right now.

I would think that Dre or anybody – what artist would not want to get as big as you can? I think that there's an element I want to retain, though, within that dynamic – if that makes any sense! I want to keep being a constant collaborator. There are ideas I have that are only going to come into fruition if I form them on my own, obviously. I want to be able to stand on my own two and have my own situation, but I want to work with Dre for as long as I can. I want to retain that relationship. I don't want – I want to work with everybody and not have any of that suffer as a result of me going 'solo,' so to speak.


Dubcnn: Totally, man. You seem like a very passionate collaborator. I can understand that, being that you're in there with similarly creative minds. You mentioned working with Just Blaze – I'm sure you two could really bounce well off one another.

Right. I know that most major producers who work by themselves probably prefer to work by themselves. You know what I mean? Besides the beats thing, you can own your publishing. All that stuff goes to you, and you don't have to share any of that. A lot of the time you can't really create what's in your head unless YOU get it out. For those kind of things, I would just work on my own! I think because I play a lot of different sounds through my background and the stuff I'm in to now, it's fuelled my fire to work with Hi-Tek and Just and whoever. It's anybody who I feel is talented and has a good work ethic and that you can vibe with. Personality is vital if you want some kind of creative inspiration to generate. So, solo or working with somebody else – I'm all for it. You never know when you might hit on something. Sometimes just being in a room with somebody else will make you think of something that you wouldn't have thought of if you were on your own. The weirdest thing can be your muse, so I'm all for it.


Dubcnn: Between working for Aftermath and being a member of The GodBody, you play so many different positions. You're an instrumentalist, a producer, a songwriter, and an MC. Do you prefer one role in particular?

Uh, probably producing! I would say that is the main hat. When I first started this Hip-Hop thing, of course I was like everybody else. I was writing rhymes and freestyling and all of that. When I first started making beats, you know – I started playing keys before making beats, but not long before making beats. When that became such a big part of what I was doing, everything else took a backseat for a while. With the development of The GodBody and all of that – developing our plan, and style, and sound – that definitely necessitated me to embrace the MC role again. Part of that made me question what was the Hip-Hop music that made me fall in love with it in the first place. I had to look finer and bigger so I wasn't doing things half-way. It would be really easy for me to just sit in the back and make beats, then let Tre' rap all the time. I'm an MC as well! The GodBody will expose that, and then from then on maybe I'll do some guest appearances or whatever. I'll continue to write songs because I do that all the time.


Dubcnn: Okay, so production is your forte. Do you have a favorite track that you've produced, or have worked on – anything really!

Uh… I don't know, man. I don't know. I'd have to think about it. The stuff that's been able to come out and that I've been a part of; I'm pretty pleased with. I don't want to put something above all others. I definitely like a good amount of the stuff that we did for Busta. All of that whole experience was really fun. The numbers might not have been as huge as, uh, other records and everything, but I like them personally and how they sounded. As a result of the situation creating them and everything, they're pretty close to me. I would say probably that stuff, but, you know, get ready for The GodBody's stuff, man. It's all me there, so you know.


Dubcnn: We've touched on your interest in collaborating. When you're in the studio, do you prefer working with established MCs like Busta, or newer cats like Bishop and Stat?

Well, um, there are various issues. I mean, obviously someone who is an up-and-comer will tend to be hungrier. They'll take a lot of direction or opinion or whatever, easier. They're young and are just trying to get in. It's like, "Yeah, let's just make the dopest stuff we can!" With the veterans, it's harder to have that kind of dynamic – especially with me. I'm still a rookie, so to say. You can't really, uh – with the veterans, you just give them the beat and they do what they want. If you're in with a good guy – someone like Busta, who has a great attitude – they'll say, "Hey, what do you think about that?" He'll ask for feedback and that's great. I would say I like working with veterans because you know that they're skilled and that they're experienced. That's going to speak for itself. It's just easy to get stuff done because they know what they're doing. You know what I'm saying?

The newcomers – you mentioned Bishop and Stat – they're already in that category. The rest of the world may not know about them. They are there. Stat's been signed for a long time. He's made, like, six hundred records throughout his career. He knows what he's doing, so them I would probably put in the same category. I don't know if I would necessarily like working with a whole lot of local people, because sometimes that can be frustrating. I hate to sound like, "Oh, you're big time now. You won't work with the little kids." It ain't nothing about that! I'm just looking for anyone who has professionalism. A lot of times, local kids don't realize what the studio environment is really like. It's a discipline you've got to be in to make good material. If someone were to say, "Here's Joe Schmoe versus Joe Budden," I'm going to take Joe Budden! (Laughs)


Dubcnn: (Laughs) Nice comparison there! What you said about Stat there was very interesting to me. A friend of mine heard a preview of the album back when it was scheduled for release in September 2007. He told me, "Yo, that Stat album is incredible!" He said it was bananas!

Oh, man! I appreciate it. The feedback has been great. I think that Stat is incredible, man. I'm a big fan of his, and we're cool. We played on a winter basketball league together here in L.A., and when he was out recording. Personally, I consider him a good friend of mine, and one of the more personable and nicer people that I've met in the industry. That's in terms of rappers or MCs or whatever. He's dope! He's really a beast and the stuff that we did with him I think is big!


Dubcnn: Well that's the impression I got from my friend Bill. He stressed to me that, "This is not a typical Southern album. Don't expect that."

No, not at all! When I think of Southern rappers, I actually don't think of Stat. That could be a bad thing, or it could be a thing that some people might look at as the reason that he hasn't 'blown up' or whatever. He's not part of the whole snap movement or something. The thing about Stat is that he's a recognized MC. He likes East Coast stuff a lot, and he likes all kinds of music. He likes Amy Winehouse and stuff. His whole approach to how he does his thing is so vivid compared to some of the Down South guys or Atlanta guys or whatever. Of course there's OutKast – they've always been original and unique. But yeah, man, if you're expecting to hear that sound from Stat, you won't. He doesn't make snap music. He's got a whole other sound.


Dubcnn: Bishop's project seems to be coming along nicely, too. We just premiered a new track on the site called "No Stoppin' Carson" – were you involved in that cut?

Uh… I don't – I'm not sure. I don't think so. I think that that stuff is him dropping some more mixtape material. It's some more previews so that he can continue to promote and market. It's to hit some more people and whet some more appetites. This'll tide them over until his full length, and you can definitely look for me on that. You can look for Bishop to be on our project – oh, and look for Stat to be on our project actually! He did a joint for us, for our (The GodBody) record. He did a hook and he laid a verse with us too for one of our songs. We're catching everyone up with The GB's!


Dubcnn: Well, since we're on the topic of The GodBody – I was going to ask this later, but you guys have actually got a mixtape coming out, right?

Yeah, we have a series of EP's actually. It's called The Triple 7 Series. It basically ties in with what I was saying about "No Stoppin' Carson," and what Bishop is doing. In the interim, while it's taking us a while to record our record, there's been a demand for more material. As we've structured the vibe of the record and the theme, in the interim of me working with Dre, me and Tre have gone into our vault. We took the approach of, "Well, we like this track, this track, this track…" You know? It's material that we really love, and material that is not throwaway or anything like that. It's just that right now it's not going to go on our full-length album. We've selected twenty-one tracks, so we're going to put seven out at a time - hence The Triple 7 Series. The second one might not come out until around the time of our record, or it might come out after our record. Most likely, the third one will not come out until then.

It's all going to be good material, man. It's not going to be typical mixtape stuff where you're just getting tracks that people cut over other people's beats. They're all going to be brand-new songs. Good, good material. Each of the tapes is going to have its own theme too, so it's definitely going to be worth taking the time to investigate The GodBody. It's also enough that it's not going to drag you out. By the time you're done with it, you're going to want to rewind it or be like, "Where's the next one? I hope that next one's coming!"


Dubcnn: It sounds like a clever concept. So is the first of these releases already out there?

Nah, it's not out just yet. That's coming very soon though.


Dubcnn: Oh, okay. I thought that some of the material from The GodBody MySpace account might have been lifted from volume one.

Nope. A fair amount of that stuff is really for promotion too or whatnot. We've got a remix to one of those tracks with Busta. We've got another version of a different song that you guys might have heard, and that might have been leaked. That's some stuff for MySpace and is not necessarily an indication of what's going to be on our tapes.


Dubcnn: Well, if you guys are interested in promoting that on the website when the time comes, I'd love to get some more information.

Oh yeah, yeah! I mean, we're going to promote it real heavy and utilize every outlet and every avenue that we can. For sure, man. We definitely have some aces up our sleeves as far as promoting and such. We're just waiting for the right time... and thats very, very soon.


Dubcnn: Get at me when you're ready, man. Moving on, Dre let it slip in a recent article with The L.A. Times that you guys are gearing up to begin work with Eminem. Have you headed into the studio yet?

We already have! I went to Detroit for a couple of weeks or so and just cut records. There was even a session where I played live hi-hats while Em kicked verses in my ear so I could improvise to his various rhythms - some real musician-type stuff. It was an incredible experience, and Em just might be bringing Shady back...


Dubcnn: So how have you found Eminem to work with?

Oh, he's great, man. He's a quiet guy, but very cool. He's just a genius, man. He's got a lot of ideas and, uh, he's truly a rhyme genius. I've been a fan of his for a long time. I don't think that anyone would not consider him one of the most prolific MC's we've ever come across. He's one of the ones, man. He's very cool, very cool. He's great to work with and I've got nothing but positive things to say. Anyone I've encountered as far as working with Dre and everything, everyone has been really good. It's all been very positive.


Dubcnn: That's what's up, man. So let's talk a little bit about your production imprint, High Renaissance. Tell us what you can about that.

Okay, Well, High Renaissance is, as you said, my production imprint. I'm not at the level or field I need to be at to where I would say that I have my own label. Most of the time, people who are doing that – that's just a name anyway! You're basically just being an A&R. It's basically the label giving an artist some money and saying, "Okay, you can be an A&R. Go bring us a couple of acts that you think are good." The plan is to have my production imprint be a part of our record, by pooling our resources and being able to put out some people in the future. I'm working on some things that I think could be great. My next artist that I'm bringing out is a kid named Britten. He's a really talented artist. As a vocalist, you could put him in the Robin Thicke sort of category, but with D'Angelo and John Mayer mixed in. I mean, he can even do a James Taylor-type song. He makes soulful music, and has a good look and stuff - which you need for popular music too (Laughs). I'm really excited about him though. He's from Nashville and he's definitely been doing his thing.

All of our music together is in the stew pot, marinating...That will be the next thing to come out. I also wanna put out some material with my live band, The GB's. Maybe a 60% instrumental record, with various quest features on the other tunes...Yeah, so that's High Renaissance. It's my production arm. We're building off small, and hopefully we can turn it into a thing that will be recognized. Hopefully when they see the name and the logo they will associate it with quality material.


Dubcnn: You've collaborated with all of these incredible and influential artists. Who would you like to get in the studio with next?

Huh… I don't know! Hmm, I've never really thought about it. I'd definitely love to work with anyone that is up to the task. I'd love to work with Jay-Z again – I wish he wasn't so secretive about that American Gangster record! He got into a zone and just did, like, seven songs in a day or something! I would love to have been a part of that project. Obviously, I'd like to work with Nas again – basically, any really good MC's! Those are just the Hip-Hop guys I'd like to work with. It would be great to collaborate with Amy Winehouse or John Mayer. I really like Justice. I want to work with everyone! I'm into all sorts of stuff. I'd definitely like to work with some gospel singers. I would love to work with Kim Burrell. That's one person I really want to get with. She is the number one singer in the world! I say that definitively! (Laughs) There's a lot of R&B acts out there that I appreciate, too.


Dubcnn: On that tip, I've been listening to "Lost One" quite a bit lately. You really did your thing on that track, and it brought Chrisette Michelle to my attention. I also really enjoy Marsha Ambrosius' contributions to the Busta and Game records. She's on Aftermath now, right?

Oh yeah, yeah!


Dubcnn: Cool, so have you been working with her?

Uh, yeah! I'm really excited about her too. I would have mentioned her in the list of people that I want to work with, but I've already had that opportunity. I hope to get that chance again in the future, and also have her on The GodBody record. She's great. I've been a fan of Floetry for a long time. She's an incredible writer and vocalist. She's so talented, and she's an artist that's been around for some time.


Dubcnn: She really hit me with her part on "Why You Hate The Game." It just made me think, "Wow, she's an incredible vocalist!"

Yeah, she's great. She writes all of those parts on the songs that she sings the hooks for. She wrote "Butterflies" for Michael Jackson! She's been doing her thing in the lab.


Dubcnn: Back on The GodBody, is there a tentative date for the album's release? You've got me all hyped up now!

(Laughs) Glad to hear it! Well, we're realistic about the release date. Until your album is pressed and mastered and really ready to go, your date is going to get changed. I wouldn't want to give any false hopes since we've already had a couple of setbacks. There is a joke around here that our album is Detox #2 (Laughs). We're definitely hoping for the top of the fall, or some point around then. We'll make sure to have out the Triple 7 Series and other things to get ya'll through the summer (Laughs). I feel like it's not going to be too much longer. Still, I don't want to rule out any more possible collaborations and other things that we may do. Live strings and horns take some time to record...(Laughs).


Dubcnn: What's been your favorite experience in the studio?

Uh, just going in every day and making beats with Doc! The experience of being around him every day is, uh – every day going to work is a real pleasure. I bear in mind that people don't always enjoy what they're doing for a living. They don't get to do what they love, rather. I get to. Every day, I never know what to expect. I just try to make sure that I'm on point and prepared for whatever I got to do. The inspiration and the music and the ideas just keep coming. They keep flowing, man. All of that is, uh, it's really cool. It's a great team that I'm involved in.


Dubcnn: So as we look to the future, one question remains. Can fans expect to hear Detox within the next twelve months?

(Laughs) Ah, twelve months? I don't know. (Laughs) I – I think that's a long time! A year from now? I can't – I wouldn't see why it would be that long! (Laughs) I – I think there will be an announcement or something will be said soon. I don't, I don't, I don't – oh man, I'ma be killed for this! I don't see why it would take that long. You know what I mean? It's coming, it's coming. You heard Dre say that at the VMA's!


Dubcnn: Yeah, I heard him say that but I didn't hear a release date!

I'm just saying what he's saying. (Laughs) "Detox, baby. It's coming!" We're working on it, man, and it's going to be fire.


Dubcnn: Dawaun, it's been an absolute pleasure. Have you any last words for our readers?

Yeah, man. Whether you're reading this or listening – keep Hip-Hop alive. We need discerning listeners to make these artists accountable for what they release. If it's wack – hit them! Also, tell 'em when that GodBody record drops to look out for it! GB's! This has been real positive, y'all. God bless.