The producer Kendrick Lamar labelled a “genius”
Kendrick Lamar wouldn’t be the artist he is today without working with some of the most talented producers in hip-hop. K. Dot has collaborated with some of the best, teaming up with The Alchemist, Pharrell, Boi-1da, 9th Wonder, Terrace Martin, Sounwave, Thundercat, Just Blaze and Hit-Boy across his albums.
Kendrick aligned with Dr Dre in 2012 by signing to his Aftermath label. As a rapper from Compton, it doesn’t get much bigger than that. After looking up to him during his youth, Kendrick had the opportunity to witness Dre in the studio first-hand and hear some of his beats directly from him.
In 2014, Kendrick described Dre as a “genius” while being asked about his infamous Detox album. “I couldn’t give you that word,” he told Kube 93.3 about when it would drop. “He’ll have to give you that word, but I know that he’s still a creative genius in there.
“Dr Dre is focused like he always been. He focused on music, man. One thing about Dre, you can’t take the music away. No matter how much money he has, he’s always gonna be right there in that studio.”
The respect goes both ways, with Dre describing Kendrick as a “forever artist” in terms of the quality of his music every time he returns to the spotlight. “He’s amazing, man,” Dre said on Hart to Heart. “Kendrick is one of those artists that we call ‘forever artists.’ He could disappear for fucking five years or something like that and come back and fuck our heads up, you know?
“Some artists feel like, ‘I have to do something all the time so I won’t be forgotten.’ That’s not him. He can disappear and come back with something that’s shocking, that’s amazing and everyone’s gonna tune in and listen.”
Kendrick told Dre he was “the greatest” the first time they met before being humbled; the session resulted in ‘Compton’ from good kid, m.A.A.d city. “It came to a point where I had to really snap out of fan mode and become a professional because after we were introduced, he said he liked my music and I said that I’m a fan of his work,” he said on BBC Radio 1. “Then he said, ‘Okay, now write to this, write a full song to this.’
“Right after, I said, ‘Man, Dr Dre, you’re the greatest,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah man, you’re good too, you could be something. Alright, now write to this beat’. And that beat ended up being the first song I did with him and ended up on my album called ‘Compton’.”
On another occasion, Kendrick complimented Dre on being open to answering questions, calling him “wise” regarding both work and personal endeavours. “Dr Dre is always involved,” he told Complex. “He’s somebody I can always go in the studio and just vibe with, ask questions about different frequencies, about how snares hit, about how drums is hitting. When you into music, you into all of that.
“I’m always asking questions so the fact that I can just pick up my phone and ask him anything that I want at any given time about this business, or just in life in general, that’s a plus with me because that’s a very wise man.”