EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DR DRE
Artist:
RWD
Dr Dre (no not the Dr from Compton) the high profile surgeon from the East Coast, who with his sidekick Ed Lover pioneered YO MTV Raps, a show that MADE hip hop. If there was a pub quiz on hip hop trivia Dre would win hands down stealing the weekend break at Butlins and the fondue set! Dre and Ed started out in the old skool collective Original Concept who formed in the early 80s and then went on to organise and produce YO MTV Raps. The YO crew have seen every hip hop great over the last 20 years and in celebration this weekend MTV are running a YO MTV Raps marathon. If De La, Pac and Digable aren’t from your era fear not for Dre will educate on how 20 years ago MTV raps rolled out its multicoloured carpet for legends from a time when hip hop wasn’t all about the Benz and bi*****.
RWD:What impact has YO MTV Raps had on hip hop over the last 20 years?
DRE:In 1988 it was the first time visually that hip hop artists were bought to TV on a weekly or a daily basis, audiences from all over the world got to see artists live and in colour. Taking them to the mainstream like any other artist, it gave them the opportunity to get out there.
RWD:What was the worst calamity you made live on air?
DRE:We never made a mistake on TV, (laughs) I ain’t gonna tell you that. We were the only show on MTV that wasn’t scripted and we produced the show ourselves. The mistakes sometimes became the best part of the show.
RWD:Have you ever met Dr Dre, did you have complications?
DRE:No complications, just lots of laughing and joking.
RWD:For some of our readers that weren’t around to appreciate MTV Raps can you sum up the flavour, the feeling and the atmosphere of hip hop in the 80/90s?
DRE:It was the first real stage where hip hop was a scene you went to a tour or a concert, you went to a club. Hip hop was so well received around the world because it was uplifting, high energy, at times it was political but it was all about being yourself. The most important thing was it didn’t matter where you were from, what colour or race you were, we are all people together celebrating life for what it is . YO MTV Raps unified people and that is why this show is celebrated. I am very proud to be a part of the show, it was a celebration of what ever you were involved in and it bought out the culture the fashion and the music.
RWD:Do you think there is a lack of passion in modern hip hop?
DRE:The main game at the moment is the money, instead of the creation of music. There is nothing to unify people they are either one thing or the other. Where as with MTV Raps you could be a gangster rapper, you could be a De La Soul type of rapper, you could be a French rapper and you could be anything you wanted to be. To many artists spend too much money and time in the studio trying to make a song for radio because that is what their careers are based on. Selling records is so overblown that we have forgotten about being the artist. When we were doing YO there were very few radio stations around the country and around the world that were playing hip hop. Now you have hundreds of thousands of stations around the globe playing hip hop.
RWD:Who do you think are the key players in 2008?
DRE:Do you know what I find fascinating what you call a ‘key player’ is that there really aren’t any key players! They are people think they are going along with what is hyped up. There are some talented guys out there like the Jay-Z’s of the world and the 50 Cents and Little Wayne have all done very well, to me there is no sense of waiting for the next persons records any more, they just come out with records and records there is no desire, like in the 90s when you would be on the edge of your seat waiting for the next Public Enemy track, NWA or Hammer because they started to build a rapport with you as their career started to grow. I am not a bigger fan of either, but I’m not seeing anything genuine, it seems to be a publicity act. Before artists hardly got paid for their records, I suppose it is the post-nineties generation, the get paid generation.
RWD:What is like appearing on the Fresh Prince?
DRE:This will make you laugh, I did a performance with Beastie Boys, Original Concept, Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff were doing a show in Camden, New Jersey, I’ll never forget, and that is where I met Will and Jazzy. He was like ‘so you guys are going out with the Beastie Boys?!’ I have known Will since his career started and have always known him. We did a little recording in his studio and made a tune called : Summer Time. He asked me to come over and do the show so I did. Will is one of the most genuine people you will ever meet.
RWD:Who was your best interview?
DRE:I’d could never say there was a best we had so many artist pass through everyone from MC Hammer, Biggie, Naughty By Nature right up to from James Brown and Bill Cosby. The best thing about MTV raps was we were able to interview anybody because our viewers saw us as genuine.
RWD:How was it DJing for the Beastie Boys?
DRE:I was crazy at the time, I met them and they wanted me come out with them a few times and a year and a half later I was still DJing for them. I had a really great time.
RWD:If you could spin for anyone in the world who would it be?
DRE:I want to DJ for Run DMC because I knew Jam Master Jay very well and I would do for a ‘one time’ thing, because I used to love rocking out with them on stage and that.
RWD:I’m a massive fan of the film House Party, have you ever had KidNPlay on the show?
DRE:Of course!
RWD:Are you feeling UK hip hop at the moment?
DRE:I like the progression of music that comes from Europe, a lot of the stuff that you do is about the music, I like where the artists are going.
RWD:Where do you see hip hop in the next five years?
DRE:The whole industry is going to have an evolution I don’t think there will be any more record companies, artist will be their own record companies and purveyors of their own music. I think we are going to have a breakdown and it’s going to go full circle to what it was.
RWD:Concluding thoughts?
DRE:Be yourself that is the person you know how to be.
Here is a taster of what is to come at the weekend.
Catch YO MTV Raps this weekend on MTV Base Saturday 9pm-12pm and Sunday MTV 7pm-1am! If you want to know more check out the MTV Base website.
Dr Dre (no not the Dr from Compton) the high profile surgeon from the East Coast, who with his sidekick Ed Lover pioneered YO MTV Raps, a show that MADE hip hop. If there was a pub quiz on hip hop trivia Dre would win hands down stealing the weekend break at Butlins and the fondue set! Dre and Ed started out in the old skool collective Original Concept who formed in the early 80s and then went on to organise and produce YO MTV Raps. The YO crew have seen every hip hop great over the last 20 years and in celebration this weekend MTV are running a YO MTV Raps marathon. If De La, Pac and Digable aren’t from your era fear not for Dre will educate on how 20 years ago MTV raps rolled out its multicoloured carpet for legends from a time when hip hop wasn’t all about the Benz and bi*****.
RWD:What impact has YO MTV Raps had on hip hop over the last 20 years?
DRE:In 1988 it was the first time visually that hip hop artists were bought to TV on a weekly or a daily basis, audiences from all over the world got to see artists live and in colour. Taking them to the mainstream like any other artist, it gave them the opportunity to get out there.
RWD:What was the worst calamity you made live on air?
DRE:We never made a mistake on TV, (laughs) I ain’t gonna tell you that. We were the only show on MTV that wasn’t scripted and we produced the show ourselves. The mistakes sometimes became the best part of the show.
RWD:Have you ever met Dr Dre, did you have complications?
DRE:No complications, just lots of laughing and joking.
RWD:For some of our readers that weren’t around to appreciate MTV Raps can you sum up the flavour, the feeling and the atmosphere of hip hop in the 80/90s?
DRE:It was the first real stage where hip hop was a scene you went to a tour or a concert, you went to a club. Hip hop was so well received around the world because it was uplifting, high energy, at times it was political but it was all about being yourself. The most important thing was it didn’t matter where you were from, what colour or race you were, we are all people together celebrating life for what it is . YO MTV Raps unified people and that is why this show is celebrated. I am very proud to be a part of the show, it was a celebration of what ever you were involved in and it bought out the culture the fashion and the music.
RWD:Do you think there is a lack of passion in modern hip hop?
DRE:The main game at the moment is the money, instead of the creation of music. There is nothing to unify people they are either one thing or the other. Where as with MTV Raps you could be a gangster rapper, you could be a De La Soul type of rapper, you could be a French rapper and you could be anything you wanted to be. To many artists spend too much money and time in the studio trying to make a song for radio because that is what their careers are based on. Selling records is so overblown that we have forgotten about being the artist. When we were doing YO there were very few radio stations around the country and around the world that were playing hip hop. Now you have hundreds of thousands of stations around the globe playing hip hop.
RWD:Who do you think are the key players in 2008?
DRE:Do you know what I find fascinating what you call a ‘key player’ is that there really aren’t any key players! They are people think they are going along with what is hyped up. There are some talented guys out there like the Jay-Z’s of the world and the 50 Cents and Little Wayne have all done very well, to me there is no sense of waiting for the next persons records any more, they just come out with records and records there is no desire, like in the 90s when you would be on the edge of your seat waiting for the next Public Enemy track, NWA or Hammer because they started to build a rapport with you as their career started to grow. I am not a bigger fan of either, but I’m not seeing anything genuine, it seems to be a publicity act. Before artists hardly got paid for their records, I suppose it is the post-nineties generation, the get paid generation.
RWD:What is like appearing on the Fresh Prince?
DRE:This will make you laugh, I did a performance with Beastie Boys, Original Concept, Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff were doing a show in Camden, New Jersey, I’ll never forget, and that is where I met Will and Jazzy. He was like ‘so you guys are going out with the Beastie Boys?!’ I have known Will since his career started and have always known him. We did a little recording in his studio and made a tune called : Summer Time. He asked me to come over and do the show so I did. Will is one of the most genuine people you will ever meet.
RWD:Who was your best interview?
DRE:I’d could never say there was a best we had so many artist pass through everyone from MC Hammer, Biggie, Naughty By Nature right up to from James Brown and Bill Cosby. The best thing about MTV raps was we were able to interview anybody because our viewers saw us as genuine.
RWD:How was it DJing for the Beastie Boys?
DRE:I was crazy at the time, I met them and they wanted me come out with them a few times and a year and a half later I was still DJing for them. I had a really great time.
RWD:If you could spin for anyone in the world who would it be?
DRE:I want to DJ for Run DMC because I knew Jam Master Jay very well and I would do for a ‘one time’ thing, because I used to love rocking out with them on stage and that.
RWD:I’m a massive fan of the film House Party, have you ever had KidNPlay on the show?
DRE:Of course!
RWD:Are you feeling UK hip hop at the moment?
DRE:I like the progression of music that comes from Europe, a lot of the stuff that you do is about the music, I like where the artists are going.
RWD:Where do you see hip hop in the next five years?
DRE:The whole industry is going to have an evolution I don’t think there will be any more record companies, artist will be their own record companies and purveyors of their own music. I think we are going to have a breakdown and it’s going to go full circle to what it was.
RWD:Concluding thoughts?
DRE:Be yourself that is the person you know how to be.
Here is a taster of what is to come at the weekend.
Catch YO MTV Raps this weekend on MTV Base Saturday 9pm-12pm and Sunday MTV 7pm-1am! If you want to know more check out the MTV Base website.
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