West Coast Connection Forum
DUBCC - Tha Connection => West Coast Classics => Topic started by: Elano on December 28, 2010, 09:15:24 AM
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Long before Wiz Khalifa began representing that “Black And Yellow” to the nation, a fellow Pittsburghian could be seen sporting Pirates gear in the video for one of the most memorable singles released by the storied Death Row Records label, “U Better Recognize.”
Fast forward 15 years later and Sam Sneed is about to be recognized by a post-Khalifa generation thanks to the long-awaited release of Street Scholars (due January 25th courtesy of WIDEawake Entertainment). The previously vaulted Death Row debut from the man who first put Pittsburgh on the Rap map will include 10 new tracks in addition to the handful of songs that were ready for release before Sam was reportedly attacked by Tupac and Suge Knight’s underlings during a setup masquerading as a business meeting.
During a recent discussion with HipHopDX from his homebase in Atlanta, (where Sam relocated from Pittsburgh to in 1998 after “Following a woman,” as he jovially put it to DX. “You know they’ll have you all over the world.”), the musical mind behind much of Dr. Dre’s mid-‘90s creations (“Keep Their Heads Ringin’,” “Natural Born Killaz” and more) spoke for the first time in several years about his encounter with the darker side of Tupac. Sam also revealed the surprising supporting role he played in the construction of Doggystyle, the often overlooked role Pittsburgh producers played in the sound of southern California Hip Hop as a whole in the 1990s, and maybe most notably, the man who demanded recognition on his debut single explained how he was ironically forgot about by Dre.
Home > News > Sam Sneed Talks Dr. Dre's Abandonment And "That Crazy Meeting" With Tupac
Sam Sneed Talks Dr. Dre's Abandonment And "That Crazy Meeting" With Tupac
by Paul W Arnold
posted December 28, 2010 at 4:30PM GMT+0100 | 5 comments
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Sam Sneed Talks Dr. Dre's Abandonment And
Exclusive: Dr. Dre's onetime production partner discusses being forgotten about by Dre, and clarifies the circumstances surrounding the infamous incident with 'Pac.
Long before Wiz Khalifa began representing that “Black And Yellow” to the nation, a fellow Pittsburghian could be seen sporting Pirates gear in the video for one of the most memorable singles released by the storied Death Row Records label, “U Better Recognize.”
Fast forward 15 years later and Sam Sneed is about to be recognized by a post-Khalifa generation thanks to the long-awaited release of Street Scholars (due January 25th courtesy of WIDEawake Entertainment). The previously vaulted Death Row debut from the man who first put Pittsburgh on the Rap map will include 10 new tracks in addition to the handful of songs that were ready for release before Sam was reportedly attacked by Tupac and Suge Knight’s underlings during a setup masquerading as a business meeting.
During a recent discussion with HipHopDX from his homebase in Atlanta, (where Sam relocated from Pittsburgh to in 1998 after “Following a woman,” as he jovially put it to DX. “You know they’ll have you all over the world.”), the musical mind behind much of Dr. Dre’s mid-‘90s creations (“Keep Their Heads Ringin’,” “Natural Born Killaz” and more) spoke for the first time in several years about his encounter with the darker side of Tupac. Sam also revealed the surprising supporting role he played in the construction of Doggystyle, the often overlooked role Pittsburgh producers played in the sound of southern California Hip Hop as a whole in the 1990s, and maybe most notably, the man who demanded recognition on his debut single explained how he was ironically forgot about by Dre.
HipHopDX: The first time I ever heard Sam Sneed’s name was as a kid in 1992 while watching the video for K-Solo’s “I Can’t Hold It Back.” How did a guy from Pittsburgh end up working with K-Solo from Long Island, New York?
Sam Sneed: I brought [K-Solo] to my hometown [for a show]. At the time, my cousin had a club and we was promoting shows. And K-Solo was somebody that I had interest in, so we brought him to Pittsburgh. [Also] at the time, I had a group that I put together called Rougher Than Most. And I was trying to be the businessman [for the group but] didn’t know nothing... So anyway, when I brought Solo to town I was trying to get him to pay attention to my artists, and hopefully he’d like somebody and they’d get a situation. But, when I played my music he was like, “Yo, who’s doing the tracks?” And I said, “Me and my partner.” And he was like, “Yo man, you can come to New York and work on my album.” I ain’t believe him, but like two weeks after he left he called me up and he said, “You wanna come out here?” I said, “Oh, you serious?” [Then] I said, “Yeah!” So I went out there and I started working with him.
DX: [You said on “U Better Recognize”], “Was on the DL with the Squad but Solo couldn’t hold it back.” How were you on the DL? Like, were you doing other stuff within the Hit Squad?
Sam Sneed: [What I was referring to was] they really didn’t know that I had that side in me, as far as the [emcee] ability.
DX: Did you and Solo bounce to Death Row together after the Hit Squad split?
Sam Sneed: Nah, I actually went over to Death Row [on my own]. I was always pursuing [Dr.] Dre. So when we were on that [Hit Squad] tour [in 1992], anybody that I thought that may know Dre I was asking how to get to him. And what’s so crazy is that I ran into a chick on tour [in California] and she told me that – we was going to McDonald’s, and I said, “I’m really out here trying to run into Dr. Dre.” And she said, “Dr. Dre?! I baby sit for Dr. Dre.” I said, “You lying.” She said, “Nah, I’m serious.” And she wrote his phone number down. At the time I didn’t call it because I ain’t wanna just call his home. But then there was another guy that I had met out there that used to do bodyguard work for N.W.A. So when I got back from the tour my grandmother was telling me that some guy from California called [for me]. I was thinking it was Dre. So I said, “Shit, well he called me, I’ma call him.” [Laughs] And that’s how that connection happened.
DX: How much of Doggystyle did you produce?
Sam Sneed: I just really brought skits to the table. I really didn’t produce anything. Like, the intro to Snoop [Doggy Dogg]’s album, that was my idea. And then the one [skit before “Pump Pump”] where I said “Fuck you bitch, I’m Sam Sneed.” That was just something [where] we was just freestyling in the studio. And then I gave Dre the records to “[Gz] Up, Hoz Down.” Yeah, I gave him a record… I was just throwing little ideas [at him], but Dre and a couple other producers really worked that album out.
DX: What all projects did you start working on after that, during those mid-‘90s years at Death Row?
Sam Sneed: Well…me and Dre used to just go record shopping [at first, around] when it was time to do Snoop’s album. And [then] around the time when we was doing the Murder Was The Case soundtrack I came across a couple of little samples… I had brought, partially, “Natural Born Killaz” to him. It was like partially done. So when he heard it he was like, “Yo, what you gon’ do wit’ that, Sam?” I’m like, “You know me Dre, it’s like whatever you trying to do.” I was actually on that record [originally]. It was me and Dre, and Ice Cube was on the hook. [But] then somebody at the label was like, “Dre and Ice Cube need to just be [together] rappin’ on it.” So they gave me the boot. [Laughs] I was a little salty about that. But I understood, it was a political move.
DX: I’m a little confused, ‘cause I thought originally the song was you and J-Flexx, a different song called “The Heist”?
Sam Sneed: Well, it was like, J-Flexx was writing for Dre [and he referenced both versions of the song for him]. And I already had a verse [recorded to the final version of the track], ‘cause like…Dre took me to meet with Oliver Stone and we sat down and watched the screening to the movie, [Natural Born Killers]… So when you hear [the song], it’s basically what we seen in the movie. [After] we recorded it [the label] changed it. They was like, they want Ice Cube to rap on it. So [shortly after that] Dre was like, “Man, you need to finish that one record [you working on].” I only had one verse to “Recognize” [done]. He said, “You need to finish that record.” I’m thinking he’s just pacifying me. [But] I did finish it, and it end up blowing up.
DX: So “U Better Recognize” was added to the Murder Was The Case soundtrack to sorta compensate you for being taken off of “Natural Born Killaz”?
Sam Sneed: I don’t really think so. I think Dre really did feel that record. At first it was [just one] verse, and the drum track wasn’t all that strong. But I went and touched it up, and then wrote the verses, and Dre was like, “Yo, man, that works!”
DX: So after the Murder Was The Case soundtrack you started right away working on your debut LP?
Sam Sneed: What had happened [was], Dre came to me and was like, “Yo, they ain’t really checkin’ for all the other records [from the soundtrack].” Like, “Natual Born Killaz,” “What Would U Do” from Tha Dogg Pound. These is his words verbatim: he said, “Yo, man, you gotta do an album. Everybody’s checkin’ for your song.” And I’m like, “Yo, man, I can’t carry no whole album by myself.” It was like, every now and then I’d write some stuff. I mean, I could write it, but it would take me some time to write a whole album. So what I did, I just said, “Okay, I know a couple people from New York [and] I’ma bring them out.” And that’s how we ended up writing Street Scholars. It was all my ideas, but they helped a lot with that. [It was] a brother from Queens named Drauma. I think they call him Stocks McGuire now. [And there was] a brother from Brooklyn named Sharief. And [then] J-Flexx. That was my team.
DX: You knew these cats from when you were working with Solo?
Sam Sneed: Well actually, Dre met J-Flexx. J-Flexx and his partner drove out to California and ran into Dre on the highway. How crazy is that? It ain’t nothing incidental, coincidental.
DX: So [Street Scholars] was gonna be like your Chronic, basically?
Sam Sneed: Well, yeah, pretty much. Yeah, I would say so. [But] I just don’t think with the budget that I had – I ain’t get to do what I really, really wanted to do.
DX: They didn’t bring in Snoop [Dogg] and [the rest of the Death Row camp]?
Sam Sneed: No, not at all. I’m not upset about it. Whatever’s given to you, you just do what you gotta do [with it]. But I’m talking about as far as like – you know how Dre gets a million dollars to do a record or something like that. So you can experiment with live instruments and…[make] that real quality music.
DX: Now, am I mistaken that somebody was in the cut helping you on the production side, that Mel-Man was already in the mix?
Sam Sneed: No, Mel-Man was somebody we planned to bring out [from Pittsburgh]. Bud'dha was a guy that I brought out from Pittsburgh. He ended up doing the Bow Down album [for Westside Connection]. [And] I had my own keyboard player at the time. He was from Pittsburgh. His name was [Stu-B-Doo].
DX: So did you [eventually] introduce Mel-Man to Dr. Dre?
Sam Sneed: Nah, Bud'dha did that.
DX: You have any clue where Mel-Man is these days, just out of curiosity?
Sam Sneed: I don’t know. I think he may still be out in California. I’m not sure though.
DX: So, the obvious question, why didn’t Street Scholars drop in [1995/1996] when it was originally supposed to?
Sam Sneed: Well, that’s when Suge [Knight] and Dre was having their little issues, and it just got stupid after that. So if Dre wasn’t gonna be [at Death Row] – I mean, everybody went there because of Dre. So it didn’t even really make sense to be there if Dre wasn’t there. That was my whole purpose [in] going to California.
DX: Now, you know what question that brings us to in the timeline of things, and I know you have to hate answering this shit, especially after 15 years, but as someone who’s always personally thought Tupac to be more misunderstood than maniacal, can you clear up once and forever what really happened that led you to leave Death Row, and what role if any ‘Pac played in that?
Sam Sneed: Well, it was basically [Suge and Tupac] was feeling some kind of way like – I don’t know, I think really, to be honest, it was Dre, man. It was Dre’s situation, how everything really unfolded with him [leaving Death Row that created issues for me]. Anybody who was a part of him, they basically had a problem with. They tried to use little excuses [to create issues with me] like me charging Snoop for a track, and all this other stupid stuff that we really never sat down [and discussed]. People was just doing business as business went on. It wasn’t like anything was organized. It wasn’t communicated like, “This is how everybody gets paid.” It wasn’t like I’m over there trying to [cheat them]. It wasn’t even like that, but they just tried to make it like that. Then they did that at a meeting for everybody to see. It was like, “If you ain’t a part of this, then we gon’ do this and do that.” Talking all crazy.
DX: I remember Nick Broomfield, the documentary filmmaker who made the movie Biggie & Tupac, he had this [poignant] line in the movie when he was talking about the incident in Las Vegas [at the MGM Grand Casino]. He said Tupac was “keen to impress [Suge Knight and his homeboys].” And, I was just curious if that’s what he was doing in that meeting?
Sam Sneed: [Short pause] Maybe. [Says dismissively] I don’t know… It was so strange, ‘cause when I first met him it was like, “Sam Sneed! Sam Sneed!” [He was] like real excited about meeting me. And me and Dre went to his interview with Bill Bellamy [from MTV and] he was like, “C’mon Sam Sneed, get in the picture, I’ll blow you up!” And all that went to the [side during] that crazy meeting that went down. I’m like, “What the hell is going on?” Somebody ain’t communicating. Dre telling me everything is cool, and then I go to this meeting [and] everything ain’t cool.
DX: So after all that craziness, why didn’t you then just go with Dre to Aftermath?
Sam Sneed: That’s the thing, Dre wasn’t really like – it ain’t like he really had my back at the time… It just wasn’t comfortable out there [in California] anymore. I really didn’t know where my career was at, [and] I’m like, “Well Dre, what are you gonna do?” And he wasn’t like really telling me nothing. After I had left, when I had came back out there a couple years later, he was like, “Why you leave?” I’m like, “What the hell you mean why I leave?” He was protecting his interests. And he started Aftermath with all my people: all my producers, all my artists. So you would think that he would [be] like, “Yo, let’s check with Sam, keep Sam still working with us.” It wasn’t like that. So I had to get up outta there. That’s when I went [back] to Pittsburgh. I said, “I’m outta here.” I had talked to a friend of mine from my hometown and he was like, “Man, you need to get outta there.” ‘Cause it just didn’t – it wasn’t comfortable.
Stay tuned to HipHopDX for the eye-popping conclusion to our conversation with Sam Sneed, in which he reveals how he beat a life-threatening brain tumor (with the notable support of an east coaster who also found himself eventually working with Dr. Dre), how he landed huge production placements for Jay-Z and G-Unit after leaving Death Row, and maybe most surprisingly, how he was denied Detox work after being given the green light by Dre to help construct his comeback.
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Good read.
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I don't want to read that interview now, but I would like to use this thread to point out again that I've rarely been so disappointed in a release. This should've been an album with all classic sounding, previously unheard, DR songs. Instead we get a newly recorded album. :-\
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they kept all the best stuff for part two
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thanks, nice interview.
i'm a bit surprised by the aftermath comment, as i thought dre wanted sneed to join aftermath in 1996.
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Good read.
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Nice ..
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thanks, nice interview.
i'm a bit surprised by the aftermath comment, as i thought dre wanted sneed to join aftermath in 1996.
Same here... although when you think about it, Sneed did introduce Dre to damn near his entire staff @ the beginning of Aftermath... Sneed would have contributed greatly, his basslines @ the time were top notch
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it shows that dr. dre doesn't give a care about his people........he fucked up Sneed's standing with deathrow and didn't have is back .......
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Very good read. Can't wait for pt. 2
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Good read, mos def. Shit that's fucked up what happened to Sam Sneed, i mean he could have be a big figure in westcoast rap and hip hop in general. "Betta Recognize" is a crazy song, he has mad flow on it!
& very few people know his contribution to some DR hits.
Can't wait for part2.
And that's fucked up Dre didn't have his back. He's not the first to talk about Dre as a selfish guy.
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Good read.
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Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
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good interview but im surprised they didnt ask him about the wa album.maybe the interview is old?because he didnt say anything if u ask me.
about that 2pac question, he avoids to speak clear what really happend. was he sayin they were mad at him because he wanted money from snoop for producing a track?
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good interview but im surprised they didnt ask him about the wa album.maybe the interview is old?because he didnt say anything if u ask me.
about that 2pac question, he avoids to speak clear what really happend. was he sayin they were mad at him because he wanted money from snoop for producing a track?
He was saying they tried to claim Sneed charged Snoop too much money for that
'Blueberries" track on the Doggfather. That was the reason Pac and those guys gave him for beating his ass, but Sneed thinks it was just because they were mad at Dre.
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Very good read. Can't wait for pt. 2
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damn, some interesting facts, when is part 2 dropping?
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Very good read. Can't wait for pt. 2
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Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
dre sued death row a few times, he's not scared.
thanks, nice interview.
i'm a bit surprised by the aftermath comment, as i thought dre wanted sneed to join aftermath in 1996.
Same here... although when you think about it, Sneed did introduce Dre to damn near his entire staff @ the beginning of Aftermath... Sneed would have contributed greatly, his basslines @ the time were top notch
yeah he would have been a nice addition
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I don't think DoggyStyle would be DoggyStyle without those funny intro's. forealtho.
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Good interview. HipHopDx has come up with some interesting interviews lately, whether it's Mike Mosley, Spice 1 or Sam Sneed.
about that 2pac question, he avoids to speak clear what really happend. was he sayin they were mad at him because he wanted money from snoop for producing a track?
that's true, Daz talks about the meeting in a '03 interview I think. Now we all know Daz ain't the most reliable dude when it comes to interviews but here's what he says :
ThaFormula.com - Now why didn't Sam Sneed ever drop an album on Death Row?
Daz Dillinger - East Coast /West Coast shit man, and he had a tumor 'cause Tupac and them beat the fuck out of him! That's why he got a tumor and damn near died. He quit. We had a meeting one day right after we got shot at and so Tupac said to Sneed, "you just shot a video right?" So he said "yeah." Pac said "well we're gonna sit down and see if any West Coast muthafuckas is in there, and each time we see a East Coast muthafucka we gonna knock you in your muthafuckin' head." So every time they would see a East Coast dude they would kick him in the ass and Budda, you know the producer, he a bitch too 'cause he sat there and watched Sam Sneed get beat up. Didn't say shit!
ThaFormula.com - What would you have done in that situation Daz?
Daz Dillinger - I would have got up and whooped somebody's ass. I had guns so I wasn't worried about what they were doing. Me and Nate Dogg were the only ones that would be strapped up in that muthafucka. 'Cause when we would have a meeting it would be Bloods and Crips in there so it's like shit, if we get to fighting up in this muthafucka just start shooting and run towards the door. And then you know Kurupt and Tupac got into it once. Tupac was gonna whoop the shit out of Kurupt in Cancun. Tell somebody to ask Kurupt was Tupac gonna beat your ass, and Daz and Nate Dogg saved you from getting your ass whooped from Tupac and them?
If you want to check the whole interview : http://www.thaformula.com/daz_dillinger_ambitionz_of_a_ridah_thaformula_music.html
it shows that dr. dre doesn't give a care about his people........he fucked up Sneed's standing with deathrow and didn't have is back .......
true... I guess that's why he's never had a solid crew throughout his career. I remember Snoop saying in an interview that if Dre had talked to him in 96 he would have been down to leave the label with him. Dre has also abandoned countless rappers along the road, from Hittman to Bishop Lamont and Knocturnal, not to mention how he dismissed The Game. Overall he's always looking for his best interest (which is not a hateful reason since music is a business) that's why he brought out Snoop for 2001.
I don't know what to expect for this new Sam Sneed record though, it's gonna be good to finally be able to have his classics on official records, but Death Row Wide Awake are cheap motherfuckers. I bought the Chronic Re-Lit edition and it's absolutely not worth it, the bonus songs are mp3's and the Dr. Dre interview is boring as fuck. Plus I doubt Sam Sneed's current music is half as good as better recognize. But time will tell I guess.
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damn, some interesting facts, when is part 2 dropping?
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good interview but im surprised they didnt ask him about the wa album.maybe the interview is old?because he didnt say anything if u ask me.
about that 2pac question, he avoids to speak clear what really happend. was he sayin they were mad at him because he wanted money from snoop for producing a track?
He was saying they tried to claim Sneed charged Snoop too much money for that
'Blueberries" track on the Doggfather. That was the reason Pac and those guys gave him for beating his ass, but Sneed thinks it was just because they were mad at Dre.
he got his ass whooped because only east coast guys appeared in his video. for every east coast guy he he got some
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Good interview. HipHopDx has come up with some interesting interviews lately, whether it's Mike Mosley, Spice 1 or Sam Sneed.
about that 2pac question, he avoids to speak clear what really happend. was he sayin they were mad at him because he wanted money from snoop for producing a track?
that's true, Daz talks about the meeting in a '03 interview I think. Now we all know Daz ain't the most reliable dude when it comes to interviews but here's what he says :
ThaFormula.com - Now why didn't Sam Sneed ever drop an album on Death Row?
Daz Dillinger - East Coast /West Coast shit man, and he had a tumor 'cause Tupac and them beat the fuck out of him! That's why he got a tumor and damn near died. He quit. We had a meeting one day right after we got shot at and so Tupac said to Sneed, "you just shot a video right?" So he said "yeah." Pac said "well we're gonna sit down and see if any West Coast muthafuckas is in there, and each time we see a East Coast muthafucka we gonna knock you in your muthafuckin' head." So every time they would see a East Coast dude they would kick him in the ass and Budda, you know the producer, he a bitch too 'cause he sat there and watched Sam Sneed get beat up. Didn't say shit!
ThaFormula.com - What would you have done in that situation Daz?
Daz Dillinger - I would have got up and whooped somebody's ass. I had guns so I wasn't worried about what they were doing. Me and Nate Dogg were the only ones that would be strapped up in that muthafucka. 'Cause when we would have a meeting it would be Bloods and Crips in there so it's like shit, if we get to fighting up in this muthafucka just start shooting and run towards the door. And then you know Kurupt and Tupac got into it once. Tupac was gonna whoop the shit out of Kurupt in Cancun. Tell somebody to ask Kurupt was Tupac gonna beat your ass, and Daz and Nate Dogg saved you from getting your ass whooped from Tupac and them?
If you want to check the whole interview : http://www.thaformula.com/daz_dillinger_ambitionz_of_a_ridah_thaformula_music.html
it shows that dr. dre doesn't give a care about his people........he fucked up Sneed's standing with deathrow and didn't have is back .......
true... I guess that's why he's never had a solid crew throughout his career. I remember Snoop saying in an interview that if Dre had talked to him in 96 he would have been down to leave the label with him. Dre has also abandoned countless rappers along the road, from Hittman to Bishop Lamont and Knocturnal, not to mention how he dismissed The Game. Overall he's always looking for his best interest (which is not a hateful reason since music is a business) that's why he brought out Snoop for 2001.
I don't know what to expect for this new Sam Sneed record though, it's gonna be good to finally be able to have his classics on official records, but Death Row Wide Awake are cheap motherfuckers. I bought the Chronic Re-Lit edition and it's absolutely not worth it, the bonus songs are mp3's and the Dr. Dre interview is boring as fuck. Plus I doubt Sam Sneed's current music is half as good as better recognize. But time will tell I guess.
not true, for every bitter person, there are several positive ones.
by the way, how did dre dismiss game? game messed up, so he got moved to another label.
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PART 2
HipHopDX: How long after you moved to Atlanta did you learn that you had a brain tumor?
Sam Sneed: It was ’99. [There] was two days where I was having these real extreme migraine headaches that was just unbearable. I couldn’t even sleep… So the second day I went to the doctor’s [and] they did an x-ray on me and they said that they noticed a large mass inside my head. I talked to my aunt – she had flew out to Atlanta ‘cause she’s a nurse, so she understand the language. From what they were telling me, I was real close to having a seizure. So anyway, to make a long story short, they kept me in the hospital for two days and stabilized me, and then I flew back to Pittsburgh to be with my family and to get with a doctor. That led up to me getting radiation, seven weeks of radiation, after they found out – ‘cause they gave me a biopsy – it was a astrocytoma, grade 3; 4 being the worst… The doctor sat down and told me what I would have to go through. So we started the radiation, of course I lost my hair. The radiation was supposed to shrink the tumor, but before a tumor actually shrinks it has to swell. And they said most patients can’t even get through that process. In my case, the tumor didn’t do anything. So we went on to chemo. The first two days of chemo I was real drowsy [and] tired a lot. But [by] the third or fourth day I wasn’t all that tired, and I was still doing beats, still trying to stay positive. I ain’t allow no one to be around me being sad and all that. ‘Cause I truly believed that I wasn’t going nowhere. So [then] it was this specific day where I was having headaches real bad and my aunt told me to take some extra Medrol pills… And the toxicity of the Medrol pills made me real, real sick. So I was throwing up constantly, all the way to the hospital… That’s [when] I decided I’ma go ahead and get [the risky surgery to remove the tumor]… Dr. Sulker, he was a older guy, but he was really good, man. He was definitely a blessing. His decision making was just phenomenal, because in the middle of the surgery he came out to my family and was like, “I wanna try something different…[and] go in to his head from a different angle.” And had he not went that direction, my motor skills, my speech, my peripheral vision, all of that would have been effected. We wouldn’t even [be having] this conversation right now. But being that he went that direction, the tumor was sitting right there [and] he just scooped the whole thing out.
It was a couple brothers that was influential support-wise in that whole situation, and Dre was one of ‘em…Busta Rhymes, and a lot of people from overseas. I felt the love and the blessings and the positive energy.
DX: How did Busta [come into the picture]?
Sam Sneed: Well me and Busta, we pretty cool. And that’s all through the Hit Squad [connection].
DX: Are there some Busta Rhymes tracks produced by Sam Sneed floating around out there somewhere?
Sam Sneed: Nah, we tried many times, but he never really heard anything that he was [feeling]. Those was the times of my experimental days. Back then, [in the early ‘90s], I was really just trying to find a sound.
We skipped a lot [in the timeline]. When I left the whole Death Row situation, the first thing I did was for Capone-N-Noreaga, the [12” “Sam Sneed Version” of] “Closer” [which was included on some pressings of The War Report]. And then the next thing was Jay-Z…
DX: Did you do [“Anything”] while you were battling this brain tumor?
Sam Sneed: Actually, that happened right before. And the crazy thing is, right [before I learned I had the brain tumor] I was like, “Man, I’m getting bored. I need a challenge.” You gotta be careful what you ask for, right?
DX: I personally love “Anything,” but you know at the time there were folks that thought with the show tune sample it was just a bite of “Hard Knock Life.” Were you trying to emulate “Hard Knock Life” when you made the beat?
Sam Sneed: Not really. At the time a lot people was doing the TV [show theme song sampling] stuff. So it was just a creation. I never even looked at it like that.
DX: Your next really big production credit after “Anything” was G-Unit’s infamous “I Smell Pussy.” Was that a track intended for Dr. Dre originally?
Sam Sneed: Nah, not at all.
DX: So how did it get to 50 [Cent]; was that facilitated through Dre?
Sam Sneed: At the time there was a brother from Queens that I was dealing with and he kinda knew those guys. So he was the one that was influential in that situation. [And then] that led up to “Curious,” which I did for Tony Yayo.
DX: So did Dre give you a call at that point like, “I heard you’re doing some stuff”?
Sam Sneed: That’s the whole thing, it’s like, why he never called me? I used to live with this guy. We was like the best of friends, hung out all the time. We never fell out, any of that. And I always wondered like, “Well why don’t he never [reach back]?” He reached back for Kurupt. He reached back for [those other guys that were on Death Row], but he never reached back for me. I was always curious about that.
In 2007 I went out [to Los Angeles] just to hang out and see what I could get my hands into. And, my partna, he took me past where Dre worked out at. So we popped up on Dre, and he was like, “Ohhhh!” Like, all surprised. “Yo, you out here?!” I’m like, “Yeah, man.” So he invited me to his house…and right when I was about to leave his house I’m asking, “Well, what is the whole Detox about? What’s the concept?” ‘Cause I’m seeing he’s all cut-up now. He’s working out. So I’m asking him [about that], ‘cause I’m trying to get some ideas [about detoxing as a concept] so I can bring some ideas to the table for his project… He seemed like he really didn’t know. He was [like], “[Detox], it’s just a name I came up with.” And [now looking back] I’m like, if you detoxing you don’t be smoking weed no more, right?
DX: Yeah, you don’t smoke “Kush” no more.
Sam Sneed: Yeah! That’s what I’m saying. I’m trying to understand that. But, I’ve seen stranger things. So when I was in the studio [with Dr. Dre in ‘07] I had some nice little sample pieces and I was playing ‘em, and he was like, “Damn, Sam got some nice pieces!” He kept saying that. [And] there was this one particular day…where I played this one track, and he was about to leave the studio [but] he [stayed] and just sat there for like a half-an-hour. And people started coming around, then he was like, “See, this is how you know it’s a hit.” So the next day he was talking about how he was gonna [put me to work]: “Call Karidis, I’m about to cut you a check, put you on the payroll for a $100,000 a year.” And I was like, “For real, Dre? I really appreciate that.” So, maybe a couple of days later Karidis called me and she was like, “Um, well, Dre kinda jumped the gun. He really wants to do it, but –.” And I was like, “That’s fine. It’s all good.” It just seemed like at the time he really was still searching; he really didn’t know [what to do for Detox]. I couldn’t afford to be out there. You know how Cali is, it’s expensive as hell. And I was staying with somebody at the time. [So] if [Dre] wasn’t gonna try to like put me up, I couldn’t stay out there. So that’s when I bounced.
DX: I was hoping for some Sam Sneed on Detox.
Sam Sneed: I was trying to get on there. Actually, about a week ago I reached out and called Karidis up and told her, “I would like to try to do something with him for the project.” But I ain’t heard nothing back, so…there it is.
DX: Well let’s move off of that on to what you got going on. What all is on the Sam Sneed itinerary for 2011?
Sam Sneed: Street Scholars, it’s four of the songs [from 1995] that never came out…and everything else is new stuff. I got a song about my cancer situation, [about] me conquering cancer. I got my party records. It like gravitates from the streets to the clubs to consciousness. We got a song called “Nu World Order” on there. And [I got] a song called “Exodus,” [as in] exodus of the mind, a movement, as far as black people, our train of thought and where we need to be at mentally.
DX: Sound-wise, can [the album] compare to “U Better Recognize” or is this some completely different shit sonically?
Sam Sneed: It’s different… I was trying to be real different. Because, you hear so much now and everything kinda sounds similar. And I was trying my best to be different on this project. I [still] got my pimp records, of course. I got a song called “Uncle Sam.” It’s like [a] playful, crossover [record].
DX: Are you still spittin’ like in that sort of more aggressive way you were back in the day?
Sam Sneed: Nah. See that’s the thing, I’ve never really been on that real aggressive – that really wasn’t my thing. And when I did do it, it was basically like from a perspective of the cats that I knew around me that was going through how the hood was. But I’m really like a playalistic type of person, and the ladies man type of person… That’s why I did the [original version of the] song “Lady Heroin” [that was remixed for the Gridlock’d soundtrack], which went totally against the grain from what everybody was doing over there at Death Row. Dre, he even slept on that record. ‘Cause when I was doing production back then I would always take a track to Dre to get his approval and opinion, and when I did “Lady Heroin” he was like, “Eh, not really.” And [then] he let his girl hear it, and his girl was like, “Oooh, I love that song.” [So] then he gonna come later and say, “Told you Sam, I knew you shoulda did [that record].” Yeah, right, Dre. [Laughs] You know you didn’t fuck with that. [Laughs]
DX: So on these new tracks you got any other emcees spittin’ with you…?
Sam Sneed: On [“Uncle Sam”] I got a guy singing on it named L.J. He’s a really dope R&B singer. “Gorilla Pimpin’,” he’s on that also. He’s singing on that. I wrote like all the hooks on all the records. If you don’t hear me rappin’, when you hear the hook it’s [still] my writing… I’m not [rappin’] on a lot of records, but I’m on enough. I’m really trying to play the background…but I had to do a couple of my records. There’s another guy named Ramaj. I think y’all gonna really get a treat listening to him. Sonically he just sounds great. And the stuff that he talks about is just different from what you normally hear. You’ll hear him on “Nu World Order.” You’ll hear him on “Cold World.” And “Kingdom Come,” you’ll hear him on that also. And then Money Inc. They’re a south group, so when you hear that you’ll know it’s like something that [you’d hear in Atlanta]. I’m just trying to give them some light. They got a song called “Weatherman.” It’s a really sexy type of record for the ladies. And then they got a song called “I Keep A Check,” and that’s like straight Atlanta.
DX: So do you know if this project is gonna be the only thing you’re doing with WIDEawake…?
Sam Sneed: I’m not sure… I gotta see if they like it. If they like it, I’m sure they probably would wanna do something else.
DX: Is there other stuff in the vault from those Death Row years that Sam Sneed produced for - ?
Sam Sneed: With the right budget, I was thinking I could go ahead and [restore] the rest of [the songs I originally recorded for Street Scholars]. The same thing I did with this record, do the same thing with another record: bring [some original] songs to the table [along] with some more new records.
DX: What I was asking was, are there other [songs] that you produced for other Death Row artists in the vaults?
Sam Sneed: Nah, I was just really working on my album. Dre at the time was like, “You need to just go ahead and finish your record up.”
DX: So “Blueberry” on Tha Doggfather, that was the [Snoop Dogg] track that [Suge Knight and Tupac] were pissed about you trying to charge for?
Sam Sneed: Nah, it wasn’t that [one]. Snoop came to me one time because he was trying to do something with Def Jam [Records] at the time. So he came to me for a track. And I said 15 or $20,000…but at the same time I knew I had to talk to Suge [Knight] and Dre about the whole situation. I was just really going off of what I was getting paid for doing tracks. So it wasn’t like it was crazy [to be charging that amount]. Like, they paid me $15,000 for doing “[U Better] Recognize.” I didn’t get no publishing on that. “Keep Their Heads Ringin’,” Dre gave me $20,000 for that. I ain’t get no publishing on that. “Natural Born Killaz,” I ain’t get no publishing on that. When “Keep Their Heads Ringin’” [was released from the Friday soundtrack] I was like, “Dre, I mean, shit, y’all might as well just tell me I can’t get no publishing!” Like, what the hell is going on? And when “Recognize” came out I was like, “Well Suge, I don’t see my publishing on that.” [And he was like], “Aw, they messed up the paperwork, but we’ll work it out.” [But] at the same time, with “Recognize” I really wasn’t trippin’. I was like, that’s a part of paying dues… I lived with Dre for damn-near a year, so I’m like, “Okay, that’s cool.” I wasn’t really trippin’ off of that record. But when “Keep Their Heads Ringin’” [was certified gold and] I ain’t get no publishing on that, I had a problem with that. I talked to Suge about it, and he was asking me what my manager felt at the time. And I said he was upset about it too. But, you know, when you come to somebody’s camp you can’t – If I didn’t have street decorum, you really can mess some shit up, you feel what I’m sayin’?
DX: Yeah, you could end up hanging out a balcony. [Laughs]
Sam Sneed: Yeah! You gotta really know how to [approach someone like Suge Knight]. And being that I come from the streets, I understand that whole situation. And, I knew they had love for me. Business-wise everything might not have went my way, but…I made history, people know my name [and because of that] I’m still doing what I do. So I ain’t holding no grudges or anything, I’m just telling you how it did go down.
DX: Let’s end this discussion on a different note. I wanted to get from the first person to put Pittsburgh on the national Rap map, his thoughts on the current “Black And Yellow” representer, Wiz Khalifa?
Sam Sneed: I mentioned his name in my song. On my song “Uncle Sam” I mention Wiz’s name. I’m happy for that brother. I wish him the best, because I know how hard it was to really blow in Pittsburgh. And he really did it. So I just advise everybody else [in Pittsburgh] to stand wit’ him, get behind him, [and] support him.
DX: When is the Sam Sneed remix of “Black And Yellow” coming?
Sam Sneed: They would have to reach out to me.
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thanks
will there be 3rd part?
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thanks
will there be 3rd part?
it's just 2 parts
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Good interview. HipHopDx has come up with some interesting interviews lately, whether it's Mike Mosley, Spice 1 or Sam Sneed.
about that 2pac question, he avoids to speak clear what really happend. was he sayin they were mad at him because he wanted money from snoop for producing a track?
that's true, Daz talks about the meeting in a '03 interview I think. Now we all know Daz ain't the most reliable dude when it comes to interviews but here's what he says :
ThaFormula.com - Now why didn't Sam Sneed ever drop an album on Death Row?
Daz Dillinger - East Coast /West Coast shit man, and he had a tumor 'cause Tupac and them beat the fuck out of him! That's why he got a tumor and damn near died. He quit. We had a meeting one day right after we got shot at and so Tupac said to Sneed, "you just shot a video right?" So he said "yeah." Pac said "well we're gonna sit down and see if any West Coast muthafuckas is in there, and each time we see a East Coast muthafucka we gonna knock you in your muthafuckin' head." So every time they would see a East Coast dude they would kick him in the ass and Budda, you know the producer, he a bitch too 'cause he sat there and watched Sam Sneed get beat up. Didn't say shit!
ThaFormula.com - What would you have done in that situation Daz?
Daz Dillinger - I would have got up and whooped somebody's ass. I had guns so I wasn't worried about what they were doing. Me and Nate Dogg were the only ones that would be strapped up in that muthafucka. 'Cause when we would have a meeting it would be Bloods and Crips in there so it's like shit, if we get to fighting up in this muthafucka just start shooting and run towards the door. And then you know Kurupt and Tupac got into it once. Tupac was gonna whoop the shit out of Kurupt in Cancun. Tell somebody to ask Kurupt was Tupac gonna beat your ass, and Daz and Nate Dogg saved you from getting your ass whooped from Tupac and them?
If you want to check the whole interview : http://www.thaformula.com/daz_dillinger_ambitionz_of_a_ridah_thaformula_music.html
it shows that dr. dre doesn't give a care about his people........he fucked up Sneed's standing with deathrow and didn't have is back .......
true... I guess that's why he's never had a solid crew throughout his career. I remember Snoop saying in an interview that if Dre had talked to him in 96 he would have been down to leave the label with him. Dre has also abandoned countless rappers along the road, from Hittman to Bishop Lamont and Knocturnal, not to mention how he dismissed The Game. Overall he's always looking for his best interest (which is not a hateful reason since music is a business) that's why he brought out Snoop for 2001.
I don't know what to expect for this new Sam Sneed record though, it's gonna be good to finally be able to have his classics on official records, but Death Row Wide Awake are cheap motherfuckers. I bought the Chronic Re-Lit edition and it's absolutely not worth it, the bonus songs are mp3's and the Dr. Dre interview is boring as fuck. Plus I doubt Sam Sneed's current music is half as good as better recognize. But time will tell I guess.
DAZ INTERVIEW IS THE BEST EVER! Haha real funny! When Kurupt was at DR haha check an extract:
"ThaFormula.com - But I mean damn, you guys were together for so many years man...
Daz Dillinger - Yeah, but I was doing all the fucking work. He fighting muthafuckas, getting beat up and callin' me. Shit, when he was fucking Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Andre Rison come over to whoop the shit out of him! You know him and Suge was fucking that bitch. I mean R.I.P. to her but they was getting down and that's what's gonna be in my book. They didn't know all that huh!"
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Thanks. I gotta say that Sneed should've released an album with 2 CD's. First one with the old DR songs and the other CD with all new material.
Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
dre sued death row a few times, he's not scared.
Oh, so that's why Dre got a restraining order against Suge Knight.
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Sneed kept it real during the whole interview..
I wish him success with that new record.
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thanks
will there be 3rd part?
it's just 2 parts
ok!
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Thanks. I gotta say that Sneed should've released an album with 2 CD's. First one with the old DR songs and the other CD with all new material.
Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
dre sued death row a few times, he's not scared.
Oh, so that's why Dre got a restraining order against Suge Knight.
where did you get that from?
anyway true or not, he wasn't scared of suing death row
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I don't like what I read about his album...too bad
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Thanks. I gotta say that Sneed should've released an album with 2 CD's. First one with the old DR songs and the other CD with all new material.
Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
dre sued death row a few times, he's not scared.
Oh, so that's why Dre got a restraining order against Suge Knight.
where did you get that from?
anyway true or not, he wasn't scared of suing death row
I believed Suge said this in an interview with Howard Stern
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Thanks. I gotta say that Sneed should've released an album with 2 CD's. First one with the old DR songs and the other CD with all new material.
Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
dre sued death row a few times, he's not scared.
Oh, so that's why Dre got a restraining order against Suge Knight.
where did you get that from?
anyway true or not, he wasn't scared of suing death row
I believed Suge said this in an interview with Howard Stern
i see.
well suge has also said that dre is gay & that he wanted to be white.. ::)
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Thanks. I gotta say that Sneed should've released an album with 2 CD's. First one with the old DR songs and the other CD with all new material.
Good read. It's funny seeing Sneed say Dre didn't want to work with him. I remember when Dre left Deathrow and he did an interview with the Source, and the writer said Sneed was gonna be on Dre's first Aftermath record if he could get out of his contract with Deathrow. I guess Dre didn't wanna get his ass whooped by Pac too.
dre sued death row a few times, he's not scared.
Oh, so that's why Dre got a restraining order against Suge Knight.
where did you get that from?
anyway true or not, he wasn't scared of suing death row
I believed Suge said this in an interview with Howard Stern
i see.
well suge has also said that dre is gay & that he wanted to be white.. ::)
hahaha yeah you're right. But his interviews are always full of entertainment, ain't no denying t in that ;)
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Once again it's the man with the not so great master plan, his name is Sam and i think y'all better recognize ;D
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it shows that dr. dre doesn't give a care about his people........he fucked up Sneed's standing with deathrow and didn't have is back .......
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Bruce Williams wrote in his book that both he and Dre warned Sam stay clear of Death Row and not take that meeting because they knew from being on the set that the Row camp was going to be pissed about the video and likely take it out on Sneed.
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Bruce Williams wrote in his book that both he and Dre warned Sam stay clear of Death Row and not take that meeting because they knew from being on the set that the Row camp was going to be pissed about the video and likely take it out on Sneed.
yeah i read that too.
hence i said i thought it was odd that sam said that dre told him everything's cool.
that's bullshit, dre was working at home.
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it shows that dr. dre doesn't give a care about his people........he fucked up Sneed's standing with deathrow and didn't have is back .......
wanna add my quote on that sentence, im feeling that's true..