Dr. Dre‘s admiration for Eminem runs deep.
The rapper and report producer, 59, spoke about his collaborative relationship with Eminem and why he thinks the “Lose Yourself” icon, 51, can out-rap anybody else within the game — regardless of being a “white guy” — in a new interview on SiriusXM’s This Life of Mine with James Corden.
The pair’s dialog about Eminem started with Dre recalling how they met for the primary time. “I was just starting this new thing, this new campaign with Aftermath Records, and I was working on my second solo album at the time, and it was just OK,” he defined.
During that interval of the Nineties, Dre was spending “every Sunday” at report govt Jimmy Iovine’s home to look at films and take a look at new music.
Eminem and Dr. Dre.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
“We would go down to his garage, which he turned into a listening room, and he would just play demos,” recalled Dre. “He just said one day, ‘What do you think about this?’ And he played this artist — which was Eminem — and I had no idea he was a white guy at the time.”
Upon recognizing Eminem’s expertise, Dre could not get sufficient: “I took it home with me, and I could stop playing this s—. Couldn’t stop playing it, and Jimmy called me the next day and he’s like, ‘You know it’s a white guy, right?”
Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Getty
“I’m like, ‘Oh, OK,’ so long story short, I met Eminem at Jimmy Iovine’s office. We slapped hands, went to the studio and started recording,” mentioned the previous Death Row Records president. “I’m not sure if anybody knows this, but I think [Eminem’s] first four albums was just me and him and his writing and his delivery.”
Dre then declared his ideas on Eminem’s place within the rap game. “His imagination is off the charts, and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. I think he’s the best MC ever. Point blank, period,” he mentioned. “Of course, there are going to be arguments about that because he’s a white guy. I don’t think anyone that’s rapping can touch Eminem on that microphone.”
Eminem and Dr. Dre in Los Angeles in February 2011.
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Finally, Dre appeared back on their first collaboration: 1999’s “My Name Is.” Released because the lead single of Eminem’s The Slim Shady LP, the music grew to become his first top-40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy Award for finest rap solo efficiency.
According to the producer, the hit got here collectively shortly. “We’re in the studio. I had a couple of things prepared before he got there,” mentioned Dre. “Back then I was playing with the NPC, and I hit play on it, and he just went, ‘Hi, my name is.’ It happened that fast. No bulls—, and then we went from there, and that was the beginning of this relationship.”
New episodes of SiriusXM’s This Life of Mine with James Corden air Thursdays on Stars (ch. 109) and on the SiriusXM app.