Rapper+producer vs producer , does it make a difference, when it comes to fame?

[Dre-Day]

i was thinking, what if dre never rapped, and chose to be just like DJ Yella? sure, he would eventually blow up as a producer, but i don't think he would have become as popular as he is now. i mean, Yella was the least popuplar NWA member, and i think that's because he didn't rap. if dre released the chronic without rapping on it, it probably would have been successful, but i doubt it would have been as successful as with him rapping on it.
obviously when you rap, you're more in the spotlights than when you're just a producer. i'm not saying that you can't come very popular as a producer when you don't rap(there are a lot of examples of popular producers who don't rap), but i think it's easier if you also rap.

but do you think it makes a difference whether you rap or not as a producer, is it harder or not to become successful? i've used dre as an example, but you can also replace it with Warren G, Ant Banks or a more recent example.

[maxpowers]

I was thinking,what if Dre never rapped,and chose to be just like DJ Yella?
Sure,he would eventually blow up as a producer,but i don't think he would have become as popular as he is now.
I mean,Yella was the least popuplar NWA member,and i think that's because he didn't rap.
If Dre released the Chronic without rapping on it,it probably would have been successful,
but i doubt it would have been as successful as with him rapping on it.
Obviously when you rap,you're more in the spotlights than when you're just a producer.
I'm not saying that you can't come very popular as a producer when you don't rap
(there are a lot of examples of popular producers who don't rap), but i think it's easier if you also rap.

But do you think it makes a difference whether you rap or not as a producer,is it harder or not to become successful?
I've used Dre as an example,but you can also replace it with Warren G, Ant Banks or a more recent example.

First letīs start  of with Dre because you used him as example.
If you look at the NWA publicity hierarchy,it was Cube on top then Eazy.
They was both attention whores,which seemed fine for the rest beside them two  .
So when Cube left,Eazy got all the attention he wanted.
But Dre made a name for himself by producing platnium D.O.C and Michellé albums.
Then he stepped up the plate and "replaced" Cubeīs void,for two successful releases.
He went trough some media drama because of the Dee Barnes incident,
Tim Dog and last the nasty break up with Eazy that was all washed out in public.
So it would be stupid for Dre not to use this to his advantage and step up as a solo artist,
youīre right The Chronic would not have as successful without him rappinī.
So going public helps,Yella didnīt say shit,so "no one" noticed him,even Ren was quiet.

Then to your other examples,Ant Banks didnīt really have any success as a solo artist.
He got his fame trough producing for Spice 1 and Too Short. He tried and tried to use his producer status to catapult a solo career,
with no luck. Even Timbeland has had a tuff time,itīs not only about talent.
Timing,being public and some drama around you donīt hurt either in this world that feeds of celebrity gossip.
As a conclusion I would say both yes and no,hope that makes sense? 

no need to add anything else after the above statement. He got a valid point. good post

[Dre-Day]

First letīs start  of with Dre because you used him as example.
If you look at the NWA publicity hierarchy,it was Cube on top then Eazy.
They was both attention whores,which seemed fine for the rest beside them two  .
So when Cube left,Eazy got all the attention he wanted.
But Dre made a name for himself by producing platnium D.O.C and Michellé albums.
Then he stepped up the plate and "replaced" Cubeīs void,for two successful releases.
He went trough some media drama because of the Dee Barnes incident,
Tim Dog and last the nasty break up with Eazy that was all washed out in public.
So it would be stupid for Dre not to use this to his advantage and step up as a solo artist,
youīre right The Chronic would not have as successful without him rappinī.
So going public helps,Yella didnīt say shit,so "no one" noticed him,even Ren was quiet.

Then to your other examples,Ant Banks didnīt really have any success as a solo artist.
He got his fame trough producing for Spice 1 and Too Short. He tried and tried to use his producer status to catapult a solo career,
with no luck. Even Timbeland has had a tuff time,itīs not only about talent.
Timing,being public and some drama around you donīt hurt either in this world that feeds of celebrity gossip.
As a conclusion I would say both yes and no,hope that makes sense? 

so if i correctly understood you, you mean that a producer doesn't necessarily have to rap, to be in spotlights, although it may help in some cases( with dre it was the perfect tool to capitalize on all the drama around him)?
which would mean that ant banks was a bad example; thanks for the explanation of his situation, i just thought that his popularity on the westcoast(i already knew that he wasn't successful on a larger scale) as a producer was because of (some of) his soloalbums.

but what about Warren G; his career isn't nearly as succesful as dre's , but his first album did very well. or do you think that's just because of the popularity of G-funk + his affiliation with dre ? so the fact that Warren also rapped on it had little to do with it, or did it really make a difference?

[Chad Vader]

First letīs start  of with Dre because you used him as example.
If you look at the NWA publicity hierarchy,it was Cube on top then Eazy.
They was both attention whores,which seemed fine for the rest beside them two  .
So when Cube left,Eazy got all the attention he wanted.
But Dre made a name for himself by producing platnium D.O.C and Michellé albums.
Then he stepped up the plate and "replaced" Cubeīs void,for two successful releases.
He went trough some media drama because of the Dee Barnes incident,
Tim Dog and last the nasty break up with Eazy that was all washed out in public.
So it would be stupid for Dre not to use this to his advantage and step up as a solo artist,
youīre right The Chronic would not have as successful without him rappinī.
So going public helps,Yella didnīt say shit,so "no one" noticed him,even Ren was quiet.

Then to your other examples,Ant Banks didnīt really have any success as a solo artist.
He got his fame trough producing for Spice 1 and Too Short. He tried and tried to use his producer status to catapult a solo career,
with no luck. Even Timbeland has had a tuff time,itīs not only about talent.
Timing,being public and some drama around you donīt hurt either in this world that feeds of celebrity gossip.
As a conclusion I would say both yes and no,hope that makes sense? 

So if i correctly understood you,you mean that a producer doesn't necessarily have to rap,
to be in spotlights, although it may help in some cases
(with Dre it was the perfect tool to capitalize on all the drama around him)?
Which would mean that Ant Banks was a bad example; thanks for the explanation of his situation,
I just thought that his popularity on the westcoast
(I already knew that he wasn't successful on a larger scale) as a producer was because of (some of) his soloalbums.

I canīt really say more than I concluted;

Timing,being public and some drama around you donīt hurt either in this world that feeds of celebrity gossip.
As a conclusion I would say both yes and no,hope that makes sense? 

If you go to the;
The Dangerous Crew,Magazine Scans Thread. *Interviews,reviews etc.*
http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=150826.0
You can see that Banks was already acclaimed producer by the time he released Sittinīon Somthinīphat.
Iīm not sure if I have posted any reviews for Spiceīs first albums yet,but the albums got rave reviews.
So people was waiting for Banks to drop a solo album,but........

But what about Warren G; his career isn't nearly as succesful as Dre's ,but his first album did very well.
Or do you think that's just because of the popularity of G-funk + his affiliation with Dre ?
So the fact that Warren also rapped on it had little to do with it,or did it really make a difference?

Well,Warren was in same kind of a situation.
His cameo on Ainīt No Fun was loved by critics and the public,
so when Above The Rim OST dropped with Regulate as lead single it rode on Death Rowīs fame.
Regulate became a HUGE world wide hit,his solo album dropped soon after.
Again with Regulate as the lead single,the track was on TV and Radio 24-7,so I would say that Regulate is the track that sold his album.
The album failed with critics,The Source gave 3.5 and "dissed" his rappin skills.
He had a couple of more single that did ok,but nothing big.
After his first album he hasnīt really had any success to speak off.
So I again,I think that he decided to step out as solo artist after his acclaim for his performance on Ainīt No Fun.
He already had success as a producer with MC Breed and 2Pacīs "Got To Get Mine" (co-produced with Colin Wolfe)
and people loved the joint he did with Mista Grimm.

To conclude this one;

Timing

[Mackin]

All Points have Been Addressed Above!!

Nice Thread DUde!!

[Tanjential]

can someone hook me up with that 'got to get mine' track?

i love warren/pac collaborations

anyway,

Dre got so huge because he was part of a well-defined group and then dropped a solo album where he built upon that persona. yeah he got paid for producing, had success and was critically well-received but that doesn't mean jackshit in terms of the way the mainstream public perceives you.

Just like damn near all that he does, it was masterfully calculated for maximum profit and success.

ant banks and warren g while being part of 'crews' were never associated with a tight knit high profile group to the mainstream so they're decent rapping/affiliations didn't do them what dre's did for him.

90% of people to this day don't know that dre is a producer. Most people know him as the dude rapping with snoop on g-thang and forgot about dre with eminem. no bullshit.

the way an ingroup (us, those immersed into the music/hip hop culture) and outgroup(non hip hop heads in this case) perceive shit is RADICALLY different. Casual listeners see dre as a gangsta rap personality.

Music heads see dre as a master producer artist.

-T

[Chad Vader]

can someone hook me up with that 'got to get mine' track?
I love warren/pac collaborations

You should read this interview by NonCentz;
Exclusive Interview With MC Breed (Dangerous Crew) (Part 1)
http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=158029.0
Some information in there you will find interesting. (Dr.Dre,2Pac,Warren G,D.O.C,Colin Wolfe etc)
Drop some words in the thread when you have read it. 

The Got to Get Mine track appears on this album;
MC Breed; The New Breed

Produced by Colin Wolfe and Warren G featuring The D.O.C and 2Pac.
You should know where to find it.

anyway,
Dre got so huge because he was part of a well-defined group and then dropped a solo album where he built upon that persona. yeah he got paid for producing,had success and was critically well-received but that doesn't mean jackshit in terms of the way the mainstream public perceives you.
Just like damn near all that he does,it was masterfully calculated for maximum profit and success.
Ant Banks and Warren G while being part of 'crews' were never associated with a tight knit high profile group to the mainstream so they're decent rapping/affiliations didn't do them what Dre's did for him.
90% of people to this day don't know that Dre is a producer.
Most people know him as the dude rapping with Snoop on G-Thang and Forgot About Dre with Eminem. NO bullshit.
The way an ingroup (us,those immersed into the music/hip hop culture) and outgroup (non hip hop heads in this case)
perceive shit is RADICALLY different. Casual listeners see dre as a gangsta rap personality.
Music heads see Dre as a master producer artist.

-T

Yes,yes,finally Tanjiīs back with some quality posts.
You got some points there,but as I said in a above post;
Warrenīs affilation with Death Row and his appearance on Doggystyle helped him a bit
+ that Regulate was the lead single from Death Rowīs Above The Rim OST.

[Tanjential]

no arguments there

but let me take my original point a step further and say that 90 % of people don't even think about what the role of a producer is/are not aware of it/do not know what a producer is.

-T

[Westcoastfanatic]

Same with Puffy. He was really successful as a producer and businessman between 91 and 96 but he wanted to be more in the spotlight and be a superstar so he started workin on his own album. Being only a producer is cool for people who just want to focus on the music and are kinda media-shy.

[tempo2]

when all is said and done at the end of the day dr dre is one of the biggest and most important producers of the last twenty years, and to be honest its sacralidge that most people i.e. the general music public dont even recognise him or see what his achieved over them twenty years. to me tho thats what makes dr dre dr dre. his a product of his own success, one of the reasons he is so succesfull is because he wants to stay out of the public eye, behind the scenes and dropping records like detox every ten years. thats why dr dre is who he is. i mean how often do you see dr dre mentioned in the paper compared to like rhianna who is hear for the next few years and will the be forgotten.