The one iconic rapper Dr Dre called “awkward shit”
Dr Dre and Eminem were the most powerful duo of the 2000s, and to this day, as a rapper-producer pair, they are the highest-selling duo of all time. With Diamond-certified albums and record-breaking sales, the Aftermath musicians have since become legends in the music industry.
Both MCs came from humble beginnings. However, Dr. Dre rose to prominence as an emcee and lead producer of N.W.A long time before his protégé on the West Coast in the 1980s. That said, since joining forces, Eminem has revealed that he idolised Dr. Dre as a youngster and fell in love with his music very early in his hip-hop journey.
Although the ‘Stan’ artist was a hip-hop fan, he didn’t start rapping until the mid-1990s when he decided he wanted to pursue music professionally. The Michigan native was a skilful lyricist who was renowned on the Detroit underground battle rap scene. However, Dr Dre has since admitted that when he first met Em, the Encore creator left much to be desired.
In their 2017 HBO docu-series The Defiant Ones, Dr Dre and Eminem discussed their early days working together. The Compton native discovered Eminem when an Interscope A&R gave him a cassette of The Slim Shady EP, but it was the Detroit icon who was overwhelmed.
Recalling when he first met Dre, Eminem explained on the docu-series, “I’m looking at Dre like, ‘Dude, I see you on TV all the time — you’re one of my biggest influences ever in life.” However, at this point, they had not reached the studio.
Speaking about their first creation, Dre explained that when he heard Eminem on the microphone in front of him, he knew he was a gem. Recalling how and where they made their first hit, Dre told HBO, “I had a studio in my house at the time, and I went and I put some samples together and did a couple of things in the drum machine, and I did a lot of recording.”
He continued, “I was like ‘Man, listen. I put this sample together. Tell me if you like it.’ And I hit the drum machine, and maybe two or three seconds went by, and he just went, ‘Hi! My name is… my name is…’ Like, ‘Yo! Stop.’ S***’s hot. That’s what happened our first day in the first few minutes of us being in the studio.”
Today, it is almost impossible to imagine Dr Dre not liking Eminem’s presence. Still, in an interview with Music Spotlight, Dr Dre admitted his brain found it strange that a white kid from Detroit could rap so well, unveiling, “It was some very awkward shit! It was like seeing a Black guy doing country and western, know what I’m saying?”
Since 1998, the two artists have been inseparable and have prospered by each other’s sides.