There was a time when the biggest gangster in the Disney universe was Scrooge McDuck, but according to Dr Dre’s attorney, he almost met his match when the production giants tried to make Dre an offer he could not refuse.
Peter Paterno who represents many high-profile hip hop stars including Pharrell, discussed the impact that The Chronic had on the demand of his most profitable Dr with Connection is Magic podcast.
“The first album that I was actually involved in was [1999’s] 2001,” Paterno told podcast host Samson Shulman. “So I was working with Dre, and [The Chronic] came out and it blew up… it was Number One.”
He continued: “We’d have these music meetings every week with Michael Eisner at Disney, and Michael Eisner came by and he sees the record’s at Number One and he goes, ‘I thought you had a relationship with this guy?’”
Comically recalling: “I said, ‘I do’. He said, ‘How come we don’t have this record?’ I go, ‘Well, Michael, let me just read you some of the lyrics… Motherfucker, motherfucker. And you know what this is on the cover? That’s a marijuana leaf’.”
Naturally, this would be problematic but nevertheless the price must’ve been tempting despite what Paterno went on to say: “The deal was $4million. He goes, ‘We can’t do that!’ I go, ‘That’s why he’s not on the label.’”
