Has the West Coast and Hip-Hop passed Dr Dre and is he really the GOAT producer?

[KING YOUNG NIGGA]

?

[love33]

I think Hip Hop has evolved into techno-rap over him, but not the West Coast.  On the West, he's as good as anything we've seen.

As far as being the GOAT of producers, he's top 10, but if he was the GOAT he wouldn't need all these co-producers.  Pac said it best when he said he's a bomb producer, but he doesn't produce anything.

[Jimmy H.]

If Dre stops making music tomorrow, he's still the best producer in hip-hop. His track record speaks for itself. For all the super producers that came around, how many started when he did and are anywhere near still as relevant? How many rappers for that matter came out when N.W.A. did and people are still checking for them?

[Chamillitary Click]

^Was gunna say Jay-Z, but he wasn't even around back then. Well, not well known.

Dre is hands down the best producer. I really don't think it's comparable.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

He's in the top 5 as far as GOAT hip hop producers, along with RZA, Primo, Prince Paul and Pete Rock. Whatever wack shit he puts out nowadays isn't going to take away from his past accomplishments.

[b.laden]

he was probably the goat in 1993 when he produced these NWA classics, his solo and doggystyle but not after that
chronic 2001 is overrated ..

[samutahjazz]

He's in the top 5 as far as GOAT hip hop producers, along with RZA, Primo, Prince Paul and Pete Rock. Whatever wack shit he puts out nowadays isn't going to take away from his past accomplishments.

bro he is top 1 no contest. and prince paul is cool, i like the shit he did with breezley brewin, but a top 5 producer? nahhh. i would put mike dean on that list. theres a lot of super old school cats who you could interchange in that list too but overall pretty good top 5.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

He's in the top 5 as far as GOAT hip hop producers, along with RZA, Primo, Prince Paul and Pete Rock. Whatever wack shit he puts out nowadays isn't going to take away from his past accomplishments.

bro he is top 1 no contest. and prince paul is cool, i like the shit he did with breezley brewin, but a top 5 producer? nahhh. i would put mike dean on that list. theres a lot of super old school cats who you could interchange in that list too but overall pretty good top 5.

Prince Paul is def. top 5 material. He's been producing on classics as long as Dre, plus he put out one of the greatest albums of all time. And I'd put RZA above Dre for all the classic Wu albums. Not only that but the guy is still relevant today. He's transcended the role of hip hop producer to the point where he's scoring soundtracks for movies. One of Dr. Dre's goals is to score movies, something which the RZA has already accomplished. My list probably goes RZA, Dre, Primo, Prince Paul, Pete Rock.

[J-FUNKTION]

he was probably the goat in 1993 when he produced these NWA classics, his solo and doggystyle but not after that
chronic 2001 is overrated ..

this...thank god someone else realizes this...

i bought it the day it dropped..skipped my first class...and i was disapointed them..good album..but expectations were higher..

[bouli77]

he was probably the goat in 1993 when he produced these NWA classics, his solo and doggystyle but not after that
chronic 2001 is overrated ..

this...thank god someone else realizes this...

i bought it the day it dropped..skipped my first class...and i was disapointed them..good album..but expectations were higher..

a lot of listeners from the chronic era were disappointed by 2001, at least those that i know. i personally don't even own the album. the production is fucking crazy though. and it's an indisputable classic just for the enormous impact it had on the industry. shit literally changed the game. that's the album that confirmed his legendary status and reestablished his relevance after 3 rather difficult years.

[BOX5 the best poster on this site yell]

I think Hip Hop has evolved into techno-rap over him, but not the West Coast.  On the West, he's as good as anything we've seen.

As far as being the GOAT of producers, he's top 10, but if he was the GOAT he wouldn't need all these co-producers.  Pac said it best when he said he's a bomb producer, but he doesn't produce anything.

you know dre started off doing that club type of music right, with brother arab etc, you know that shit was the west coast style in the early 80's, just some history my equal yell

[BOX5 the best poster on this site yell]

just was electro and not techno, but shit was all party music yell

[Jimmy H.]

Prince Paul is def. top 5 material. He's been producing on classics as long as Dre, plus he put out one of the greatest albums of all time. And I'd put RZA above Dre for all the classic Wu albums. Not only that but the guy is still relevant today. He's transcended the role of hip hop producer to the point where he's scoring soundtracks for movies. One of Dr. Dre's goals is to score movies, something which the RZA has already accomplished. My list probably goes RZA, Dre, Primo, Prince Paul, Pete Rock.

Dre did some scoring on "Bad Boys 2". I would put RZA up there as well but I feel like he gets a pass in areas where nobody would ever let Dre slide. He's kind of allowed to just make good music without people holding up the classics he's done for comparative purposes. It's like this. I don't think Michael Jackson ever topped "Thriller" but he was still an icon until the day he died because he created that blueprint for the guys who became the new stars like Usher and Justin Timberlake. Same with Madonna and her influence on Britney and Lady Gaga. Same with Nate Dogg and these artists who came through today.

[k-dogg]

Damn...Everyone is entitled to their own opiniion but a West Coast board and Dre is barely 50%...A damn shame really cause not a producer named had had the impact of Dr. Dre productions overall...I mean it is not even close and that includes Primo and RZA both of whom I respect very much. Who knows the percentage of these posts are actually West Coast hip hop fans but there is a reason that The Chronic  sold 3/4 mil, Doggystyle 4/5 mil, Chronic 2001 6/7mil, all the Emiinem stuff, (greatest selling rapper of all time) and that does not include all the NWA classics and the stuff that just went Gold....All the other producers names would love, just love to go GOLD more often let alone multiple platinum. Prince Paul??  Respect due but .....Damn. Ok, Give  RZA credit for his movie scores but what else was he going to do? For all the Wu_Tang hype and I love them, as a collective group, their 1st CD was by FAR the best and best selling. Other than die-hard RZA fans, the same sound  just got tired and boring. Yes, Raekwon had A classic. Ok. None of the producers name ever never ever actually changed the course of hip hop. Dre did this after NWA, after The Chronic, again after Doggystyle and after Chronic 2001. Truth Hurts,  The Wash, Dre presents the Aftermath, Busta's joint?? Most of these other dudes would be proud but because of earlier sucesses, these dope albums were considered mild disappointments. Really??  All this bullshit talk bout Dre don't produce this, Dre don't really produce that, Really??. Just shut the Fuck up!!!  Where is Scott Storch now, All the Death Row producers,including DaZ.  Why can't Khalilll really blow up?? Anyone seen the great Mel Man?? Fuck outta here.    

[Detox Is A Myth!!!]

Dr. Dre is the greatest producer in the history of hip hop, but he is well past his prime.  Right now, he is barely above average as a producer.  Clearly his artistic skills are declining.  Mind you, I'm not talking about pure studio craft, but the artistry that enables a piece of music to transcend its genre confines and become something more than what it is on the surface.

I'm one of those Chronic era listeners referred to earlier in the thread, and I'm glad b. laden brought it up, because while 2001 is imo the greatest mixed and mastered (and overall engineered) hip hop album of all time, the actual musicality of it for me is clearly a step down from Dre's prime, which was his three album run with Elife4zaggin, Chronic and Doggystyle.  That's why I frequently say I won't truly get excited about Dre's current music until I see him get back to work with people with whom he collaborated during his prime, such as The Glove and Colin Wolfe.  I really don't care about Scott Storch's involvement, to be honest with you.  I could take it or leave it.

Anyway, I've used this analogy before, but I'll repeat it here because I think it fits well.

• Straight Outta Compton and prior = Michael Jordan in the mid-to-late 80s, when you could tell both had amazing pure talent; they just had to learn had to package it all together
• The three album run I mentioned earlier = Michael Jordan during his first three-peat
• Then you have the sort of Death Row fallout and Aftermath compilation/Firm flop = MJ's turn to baseball and return with the #45 jersey
• 2001 = MJ's second three-peat; you could tell Dre and MJ in both situations were not as good as they had been earlier in the primes, but since they were so far ahead of the pack in their primes, even with some fall off they were still best in the game
• post 2001 to around 2006 = MJ with the Wizards; still very good at what they do, but the decline was evident to even the casual observer
• And today's Dre and henceforth = post-Wizards MJ had he not gotten injured, barely above average, if that.

Basically, at this point, I expect Dre to continue to decline as the years progress.  Artists are like athletes in that you rise and fall, peak and decline.  I mean, after Quincy Jones produced Thriller, it was a gradual decline after that.  Same thing with Dre and The Chronic, his best album (artistically speaking).