The iconic rapper Dr Dre considers a “forever artist”
Dr Dre is one of the most legendary producers hip-hop has ever seen and is a true pioneer of the musical medium. With the creation of G-funk attributed to him alone, the impact of his ingenuity can still be heard in hip-hop today. From Cardo to DJ Mustard, West Coast musicians draw on Dre’s work and many of his beat patterns have been emulated over the years.
It is hard to imagine a hip-hop scene without his fingerprints. Without Dr Dre, NWA wouldn’t have introduced the world to gangsta rap. There wouldn’t be any G-Funk, and the West Coast wouldn’t have become a prominent force in hip-hop.
As a musician, Dre has crafted the sound of various artists. As the co-founder of Death Row, Young executively produced the iconic 1993 Snoop Dogg album Doggystyle and helped 2Pac with his 1996 project All Eyez On Me. At the turn of the millennium, the Aftermath founder worked extensively with Eminem and then made sure 50 Cent went to the top of the charts with ‘In Da Club.’
That said, Dre has worked with a vast array of MCs. However, even The Chronic creator has a favourite emcee, and during an appearance on Kevin Hart’s Peacock television series Hart To Heart, Dr Dre spoke about his LA-born TDE prodigy child Kendrick Lamar.
Dre had unveiled to Hart earlier in the show that he although he isn’t a fan of the new school he will never hate on it, and told the comedian, “Anybody that’s talking about the state of hip hop right now, when talking about it from a negative place, sounds like somebody’s fuckin’ grandfather!”
He added, “This is just what it is. Hip-hop is evolving. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it, you know what I’m saying? I’m keepin’ it all the way 100 with you. Some of this shit, most of this shit, I don’t like. I don’t listen to a lot of that shit. But I’m not hatin’ on it. I’m never gonna hate on it.”
Still, as the founder of Aftermath Entertainment, the home of Kendrick Lamar, Dre explained that while there are a lot of mediocre artists on the scene right now, MCs like Kendrick e will stay in the history books.
Praising Lamar, he labelled him a “forever artist” and explained to Hart “Kendrick Lamar is a real motherfucking artist! Like, the true definition of the word…Kendrick is one of those artists that we call ‘forever artists.’ He could disappear for fuckin’ five years or something like that and come back and fuck our heads up.”
Dre detailed the mindset of some other rhymers, disclosing, “Some artists feel like ‘I have to do something’ all the time so I won’t be forgotten. That’s not him. He could disappear and come back with something that’s shocking!”
It is almost like Dr Dre predicted the future because only a year after that 2023 interview, Kendrick Lamar came back with a new album and a tour after destroying and embarrassing one of the biggest hip-hop artists of this generation.