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dr Dre reveals why he turned down a chance to collaborate with his music heroes like Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder.
During a recent interview On Kevin Hart’s talk show Hart to Heart, Dr. Dre on why he turned down an opportunity to work with late music icons Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder – the legendary producer didn’t know what to do with them.
“They just asked me to work with them and I was like, ‘What the hell am I going to do with them?’ These are my fucking heroes,” Dre said.
“I like the idea of what I heard as a kid and I want it to stay that way. And I don’t want to screw up that idea and that look,” Dre continues, explaining that he’d rather work with new and upcoming artists than stars with already established careers, and is drawn to artists like Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, who he helped build them all in their early days.
“My whole life and career has been exploring and working with new artists. I like that,” said Dre. “Nobody comes in with an agenda. It’s like a clay ball when they enter the room. You can just shape it and do whatever you want. This is what I want.”
“Everyone else, especially my heroes, come in and there’s a solid plan of how the shit is supposed to sound, you know? I can’t explore,” he added.
Dre expressed the same opinion in a 2001 interview with MTV radio about turning down the chance to produce Michael Jacksons Invinciblethen the artist’s first album in over a decade.
“Someone approached me about working with Michael Jackson and I said no because I like working with new artists or people I’ve worked with in the past,” he said. “I can develop them from scratch. There’s no set standard I have to live up to or anything like that.”
dr Dre is preparing to reunite with Snoop Dogg for two shows at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in October to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Snoop’s debut album. doggy style However, these shows will be suspended as long as the WGA strike continues.