DR DRE:At home in the studio

[Tito]

BURBANK, California — It's hard to believe the man who gave West Coast G-funk a multiplatinum finish could be awestruck. It's difficult to imagine that a producer who's worked with Eminem, Ice Cube, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg would be thrilled to work with a wordsmith who's not even a household name.

But Dr. Dre, reclining in his audio operating room of mixing boards and recording equipment, can't contain his excitement about his latest patient, Rakim, the man who drew up the blueprint for MCing, a lyricist so legendary in rap circles that he's often called "the god."

The young fans who nowadays are responsible for current rappers selling millions may not be aware who Rakim is. But you gotta remember, Rakim's reign of terror in the rap world reached its peak in the '80s.

"The first few joints we did, I had to get over the fact that I was working with Rakim," Dre says, grinning and leaning forward. "It was a little hard to direct him, you know what I mean? But now that we've been talking and getting to know each other a little bit, it's getting a little easier. I can throw some concepts at him and we can vibe."

Dr. Dre vibes with a lot of people. Today he's creating beats for Rakim and playing them back at a deafening volume; he's hanging with Xzibit, discussing ideas for X to the Z's forthcoming album; and he's screening the first cut of the video for "Addictive," the debut single from one of his protégés, R&B singer Truth Hurts. "There's a couple of shots I don't like," he tells her. "You're looking away from the camera."

The good doctor's appointment book is always full, keeping a steady stream of work flowing his way and keeping him in the studio. The space, about the size of a college dorm room, is splattered with papers, ideas scribbled down in black ink. Nuthin' but G thangs waiting to happen. Those that don't happen end up in a round, purple L.A. Lakers trash can. A kitchen, red and stainless steel like a '50s diner, adjoins the control room, creating a steady flow of traffic that at the moment includes publicists, security guards, producer DJ Quik and Truth Hurts' cute-as-a-button son.
BURBANK, California — It's hard to believe the man who gave West Coast G-funk a multiplatinum finish could be awestruck. It's difficult to imagine that a producer who's worked with Eminem, Ice Cube, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg would be thrilled to work with a wordsmith who's not even a household name.

But Dr. Dre, reclining in his audio operating room of mixing boards and recording equipment, can't contain his excitement about his latest patient, Rakim, the man who drew up the blueprint for MCing, a lyricist so legendary in rap circles that he's often called "the god."

The young fans who nowadays are responsible for current rappers selling millions may not be aware who Rakim is. But you gotta remember, Rakim's reign of terror in the rap world reached its peak in the '80s.

"The first few joints we did, I had to get over the fact that I was working with Rakim," Dre says, grinning and leaning forward. "It was a little hard to direct him, you know what I mean? But now that we've been talking and getting to know each other a little bit, it's getting a little easier. I can throw some concepts at him and we can vibe."

Dr. Dre vibes with a lot of people. Today he's creating beats for Rakim and playing them back at a deafening volume; he's hanging with Xzibit, discussing ideas for X to the Z's forthcoming album; and he's screening the first cut of the video for "Addictive," the debut single from one of his protégés, R&B singer Truth Hurts. "There's a couple of shots I don't like," he tells her. "You're looking away from the camera."

The good doctor's appointment book is always full, keeping a steady stream of work flowing his way and keeping him in the studio. The space, about the size of a college dorm room, is splattered with papers, ideas scribbled down in black ink. Nuthin' but G thangs waiting to happen. Those that don't happen end up in a round, purple L.A. Lakers trash can. A kitchen, red and stainless steel like a '50s diner, adjoins the control room, creating a steady flow of traffic that at the moment includes publicists, security guards, producer DJ Quik and Truth Hurts' cute-as-a-button son.
Swiveling and rolling in his chair, Dre goes from playing keyboard melodies to popping in freshly burnt CDs to cranking up knobs. When the beats are booming, his engineers and artists bob their heads and stare at the massive oak-finish speakers built into the walls. He escapes and returns and nobody notices.

Dre is running his label and feeling it. He toyed with acting last year, playing quite different roles in "Training Day" and "The Wash," but decided he is a better fit behind the scenes. He has an ambitious concept album in the works, the hip-hop musical Detox, but it will be his last "on the front lines."

"I'm 37 years old," he says, explaining his exit as an MC. "I'm not talking about lowriders and blunts and all that anymore. What can I talk about?"

[Tito]

Dr. Dre the rapper has left his mark. Dr. Dre the CEO is the next episode. Dre's label, Aftermath, began humbly, especially considering he was coming off Death Row, one of the fastest growing labels ever. But within the last few years, behind albums like Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and Dre's own 2001, the label has emerged as a true powerhouse.

With Rakim, Dre has signed his first already-established star (besides himself, of course). But it's been 15 years since Rakim and former partner Eric B. scored a hit with Paid in Full, and other comeback attempts have not faired well. Orchestrating Rakim's return is a challenge Dre is embracing.

I told him I wanted it to be both of our best albums, Dre says, proudly setting his expectations high. "With any project that I get involved in, I feel like there's pressure. I think that's what makes my music come out so good. I'm my worst critic, so I guess I give myself most of the pressure. More pressure than probably the public does, you know. So I just have to please myself, and once I do that usually the public digs it."

Before Rakim's album drops in the fall, the public will be asked to dig Truth Hurts, a seasoned songwriter whose debut, Truthfully Speaking, will introduce a new raw style of R&B Dre is crafting for his more hardcore fans.

"I think a lot of the music the female artists are putting out right now is kind of bubble-gumish," Dre says. "I like it a little more edgy, closer to the type of music that I'm used to putting out."

Like Eminem, Truth Hurts is blessed with natural talent. Her first day in the studio, Dre was testing the microphone levels when she started belting out a song. Dre hit record and by the time she finished, the track was wrapped. One take.

Impressive indeed, but not entirely enough to earn a deal on Aftermath. "When I work with a person, it's not strictly about the talent," Dre explains. "I've got to feel like I can leave the studio with you and we can go sit down and eat and enjoy each other without getting on each other's nerves."

Aftermath is like a big family, according to Rakim, who appears on "Addictive" and has studio time scheduled with Eminem. It's about more than collaborating though. It's about mutual admiration and a desire to learn from each other.

And the head of the household is the biggest facilitator. "I don't feel like I know everything there is to know," Dre says. "If a person is hot, there's something I can learn from them. [With Truth Hurts] I learned a lot about vocal direction and just arranging vocals.

"I also learned that I don't see myself working with too many other female vocalists," Dre says with a smirk he likely learned from his smart aleck pal in Detroit.

[Tito]

Dre is interrupted by one of his engineers, who hands him a CD. Dre puts it in and jacks up the volume. The sound of shotgun being cocked consumes the room. Then again. And again. The sound, it turns out, is a beat Dre fashioned, and it's catchy as hell. He doesn't say who it's for, but you can hear any of his artists on it. It's a got the Dre flavor.

Along with The Eminem Show, Truthfully Speaking and Rakim's Oh My God, Dre hopes to release the debut album from another R&B chanteuse this year, Shaunta. He's also developing hip-hop up-and-comers Joe Beast and H&R Block, but like a true label boss, he says neither are ready this year.

Depending on the success of Truth Hurts and Rakim, Dre may stage an Aftermath tour sometime this summer. The last outing he put together, Up in Smoke, with himself, Ice Cube and Eminem headlining, was a massive success.

"We just didn't want to put together a regular show with turntables and mics," Dre recalls of the landmark trek. "We put together a real show, and we kept it gritty. I think people really appreciated that. And we kept the audience's attention, so there was no time for trouble to start."

Up in Smoke turned out to be the top grossing rap tour ever, not that money matters to Dre, who says he's "livin' pretty good right now."

"Let's just say I haven't even spent all my N.W.A money yet," he laughs, referring to the seminal late '80s hip-hop crew in which he helped invent gangsta rap. C'mon, Dre — you're in awe of Rakim's accomplishments, but don't you have a pretty tight résumé yourself?

(musictelevision.com)

Not properly an interview,but nice article.

[krazyk]

thanks dawg, tight article

[Tito]

"Let's just say I haven't even spent all my N.W.A money yet,"

[LyRiCaL_G]

dre goes that he gonna release eminem show oh my god and truthfully speakin this year and his gonna try n get shaunta out to and he got joe beast and h&r block coming up soon.

but like the fact that he didnt mention hittman kinda answers any questions around him, he aint doin shit on aftermath no more really cuz dre cuz in the article dre dont say nuttin abot him meaning he got no plans for aftermath on him, which is a shame.

oh and whos h&r block y'all???

[Don Seer]

dope dope shit............. looks like hittman is outta the frame.... or something

[Peter-5150]

Yeah too bad for hittman. He had some pretty good tracks off that promo but nothing spectacular that you would expect from Aftermath.

Thanks for the article.

[DreSnoop00]

nice article, thanks for postin that up, yeah rakim is gonna be tight with "oh my god"

[DJ_Jay_Deee]

Dope acticle thanks 4 that

[serv-on]

yes i dont understand, he doesnt even mention hittman. Do they have beef or something?

[.:R-E-L:.]

is that inferring by the beginning that Dre lives in Burbank??


cuz he doenst live in burbank, and i kno that 4 sure!

[bricklayer]

myrealname do u know if the person who gave the interview heard any of rakim's tracks.......hollllllla
peace

[The Watcher]

goto musictelevision.com and ask, that's where he got the interview from

[Hatesrats™]

WHoa!!!
I forgot what I was going to say....


Oh yeah....That's fucked up how this whole Dre/Hittman relationship ended up.
I thought Hittman was the shinin' star off of "2001".
I was heated off of "Acrite", and his spot's on the lp were blaze homies....oh well.
I guess Dre just didn't feel the time was right for Hitt....and put em' to the side.
And well you know a muthaphucca got ta eat...so Hitt took the back road and did his own thang.
But really tho...I don't think their is any animosity between the 2....maybe just an understanding.
I mean Dre literaly pushed his shitt to the side. (King Tee style)

Fuck all that.....Yo Hitt make that dough homie..

And give the homie's some acrite...

Hatesrats 2oo2