Dr Dre explains why he doesn’t listen to his own music
Dr Dre is a legendary hip-hop figure. Notably, in the 1990s, by sampling George Clinton and the popular P-Funk music of the ’70s and ‘80s, he pioneered a new style of hip-hop, G-Funk, and it quickly became a formidable force in the genre. However, even after he created masterpieces such as The Chronic and Doggystyle, according to the icon himself, he can’t listen to his own material.
During an appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show alongside his friend and longtime collaborator Snoop Dogg, the 2001 creator told the host that he has never wanted to listen to his music, stating, “I don’t look back. I never listen to my old music or anything like that.”
He continued to emphasise how dedicated he is to not hearing his own creations, insisting, “I’ve never listened to my old music. I never let anybody play it around me. I feel like that’s masturbation at the highest level.”
Dre highlighted how the past isn’t attractive to him, and he likes to plan for the future, telling Smith, “I’m always thinking forward. I don’t live my life with a rear-view mirror. I don’t give a fuck about what I did or what’s in the past.”
The ‘Let Me Ride’ rhymer admitted there may be some predicaments in the future where he will have to listen to his old music, and imagined a day in the future where he might “sit down with my grandkids at some point and listen to some of the things I’ve done.”
Snoop confirmed Dre’s strange habits, telling Smith, “This n*gga ain’t never listened to The Chronic from top to bottom, he ain’t never listened to Doggystyle from top to bottom! Me and him together have never listened to them.”
Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre appeared on The Stephen A Smith Show to unveil their upcoming joint project, Missionary, which will be the pair’s first full album collaboration since Snoop’s 1993 debut, Doggystyle. Still, the project is not their only joint venture, they are also launching a new gin named after one of their songs.
In their promotional photo, the duo can be seen sporting tuxedos and holding cocktail glasses. The caption reads: “Introducing a fresh spin on tradition. Defiantly smooth, Still G.I.N. by Dre and Snoop has arrived. #StillGIN.”