The story behind Dr Dre and Eminem’s ‘Forgot About Dre’
Arguably one of the most definitive tracks of the late 1990s hip-hop scene, and one of the most important tracks across the career of Dr Dre, ‘Forgot About Dre’ is a bona fide classic that is hip-hop at its best: brash, assertive, with something to prove.
Released as the lead single from Dre’s 1999 album 2001, it is a response to various diss tracks released towards the end of the decade by Death Row artists on the album, Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000. Despite not often rapping himself, Knight led the idea that Dre’s relevance in the rap had dwindled, and publicly mocked Dre in interviews and events. The Death Row collective soon followed, taking indirect shots towards Dre’s longevity in the scene.
And then Dre burst out with ‘Forgot About Dre’. With an impactful feature from Eminem, Dre confidently asserts himself as a pillar of the West Coast hip-hop scene, attacking his haters with witty wordplay and sharp delivery upon a classically Dre production: heavy bass, crisp snares, and a thrilling, cinematic ambience. The beat is minimalist, allowing the lyrics to really take centre stage.
In an interview with MTV, Dre spoke about the story behind the single that would go on to win the Grammy Award for ‘Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group’ in 2001. “The song is basically about the little period of time I went through in between records, and what people out in the street were saying about me, about, you know, how I fell off and how I couldn’t do it anymore, and all this nonsense,” Dre explained. “So this is just a response to that. That’s all it is. Period.”
He continued, “This is actually one of the few times where the lyrics were written before the track. Eminem actually wrote that. He came in and was like, ‘I got this song I wrote for you.’ So, we had the problem of trying to figure out what the track was gonna be to the lyrics, and it was a little bit difficult because I’m doing it that way. But we made it happen.”
Eminem’s verses are particularly notable. While Dre’s delivery is a charming sneer towards his haters, Em bursts onto the track with great ferocity: listeners can literally hear his loyalty to his mentor in the track, establishing himself as Dre’s protégé and his own status as a major player in the rap game.
Mainly written by Eminem, it’s regarded as one of Slim’s greatest tunes. The track performed significantly well upon release: it peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Rhythmic Top 40.
Over a quarter of a century on, Dre and Eminem are regarded as two of the greatest individuals in hip-hop history: the former has cut his teeth mentoring iconic careers in music, while his polished production outpaces and subsequently sets the industry standard.
Eminem was named Billboard’s Artist of the 2000s and is one of the highest-certified music artists in the US. As for Suge Knight? After the rapid decline of Death Row Records, Knight spent years behind bars for convictions of assault and parole violations, where he has, presumably, not forgotten about Dre.