By
MPC2060
Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:22 pm
dr dre jams with musicians in his studio, he lets them jam and tells them what direction he wants the joint to go in....
because of this, some of his beats may have been "produced" while he wasnt even in the studio (read wikipedia exerpt below)
it is a well known fact that scott storch played that piano riff for "still dre"
but west coast producers since way back have been more live instrument based or composing than sampling.. (think daz, quik, just to name a few)
if it interests you read up, if not just skip it...
THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA
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Musical allegations
Unlike the majority of hip-hop tracks even to this day, Dr. Dre's tracks have featured a large amount of live instrumentation, and he has often been praised for his musical ability. But since his earliest work in rap, Dr. Dre has produced records with the help of outside musicians, leading to allegations that he does not actually produce a significant portion of the tracks that are credited to his name. To date, only 3 co-producers have shared production credits alongside Young officially- DJ Yella on N.W.A. albums, Mel-Man on Aftermath releases between the label's inception and until approximately 2002, and most recently, Mike Elizondo, a Los Angeles-based bassist.
However, over the years word of other collaborators has surfaced. During his tenure at Death Row Records, it was alleged that Dre's half brother Warren G and Tha Dogg Pound member Daz made many uncredited contributions to songs on his solo album The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg's album Doggystyle (Daz received production credits on Snoop's similar-sounding, albeit less successful album Tha Doggfather after Young left Death Row Records).
It's known that Scott Storch, who has since gone on to become a successful producer in his own right, contributed to Dr. Dre's second album 2001; Storch is credited as a songwriter on several songs and played keyboards on several tracks. In 2006, he told Rolling Stone:
"At the time, I saw Dr. Dre desperately needed something," Storch says. "He needed a fuel injection, and Dre utilized me as the nitrous oxide. He threw me into the mix, and I sort of tapped on a new flavor with my whole piano sound and the strings and orchestration. So I'd be on the keyboards, and Mike [Elizondo] was on the bass guitar, and Dre was on the drum machine".[10]
Current collaborator Mike Elizondo, when speaking about his work with Young, describes their recording process as a collaborative effort involving several musicians. In 2004, he claimed to Songwriter Universe Magazine that he had written the foundations of the hit Eminem song "The Real Slim Shady", stating, "I initially played a bass line on the song, and Dre, Tommy Coster Jr. and I built the track from there. Em [Eminem] then heard the track, and he wrote the rap to it" [11]. This account is essentially confirmed by Eminem in his book "Angry Blonde"- in it, he states that the tune for the song was composed by a studio bassist and keyboardist while Dr.Dre was out of the studio -though he adds that Dre programmed the song's beat after returning (Eminem- "Angry Blonde". 2000, Regan Books, New York NY).
Furthermore, in the September 2003 issue of The Source, a group of disgruntled former associates of Dre complained that they had not received their full due for work on the label. A producer named Neff-U claimed to have produced the songs "Say What you Say" and "My Dad's Gone Crazy" on The Eminem Show, the songs "If I Can't" and "Back Down" on 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin', and the beat featured on Dr. Dre's commercial for Coors Beer (See references for details -Source Magazine, September 2003).
It should be noted that although Young studies piano and musical theory, he is not necessarily an instrumentalist himself. As he joked to Time magazine in 2001, "I bought a trumpet a couple of years ago, and everybody started hiding from me" [12]. In the same article, Time described a recording process in which Dr. Dre operates is more as a conductor than a musician himself-
Every Dre track begins the same way, with Dre behind a drum machine in a room full of trusted musicians. (They carry beepers. When he wants to work, they work.) He'll program a beat, then ask the musicians to play along; when Dre hears something he likes, he isolates the player and tells him how to refine the sound. "My greatest talent," Dre says, "is knowing exactly what I want to hear."[13] [14]
However, the fact that Young does not play instruments on his records may not necessarily diminish his contributions as a record producer. Some of the controversy may stem from a dispute over what the term "producer" means in music. In music, the role of producer is often simply given to the person who "creates the beat", be it through the use of a drum machine, keyboards, or even simply choosing samples and looping them. By this definition, allegations that Young was not the "real" producer of some tracks credited to him can have merit. However, the role of producer has generally been understood to mean controlling recording sessions, guiding performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. In this respect, Dr. Dre can be given the credit as the primary and most important producer, even in the face of these allegations.
In interviews, artists that have worked with Dr. Dre generally tend to credit him with bringing an overall artistic vision to projects, helping artists to give their best performances. In a 2006 interview with Allhiphop.com, Snoop Dogg talked about re-writing his lyrics to the single "That's That" after receiving advice from Young, and stating that his input is what made the song a hit. As Dr. Dre told Time Magazine in 2001, "One of the things I like most about producing is recording vocals," he says. "I like instructing people, but I'm also trying to bring out a good performance, so I work with them—encourage them."[15]
Although Snoop Dogg retains working relationships with Warren G and Daz, who are alleged to be uncredited contributors on the hit albums The Chronic and Doggystyle, he states that Dr. Dre is capable of making beats without the help of collaborators, and makes it clear where the credit for the success of his albums is due-
Beatmakers make beats. A lot of ****** make beats. [Dre] produces tracks. So that ain't disrespect what I'm saying. I'm just telling you what's real. I seen him make tracks from scratch. My whole record the ***** made damn near everything from scratch. [For the song] "Ain't No Fun", Daz and Warren G brought him the little [sings melody], that's all they had! Dre took that **** to the next level! Warren G brought in the [sample of] Donny Hathaway [singing], "Little Ghetto Boy, laying in the ghetto streets". Dr. Dre flipped it like "Hold on, gimme that!" Took that **** and made it straight hit!... They made beats, Dre produced that record. Point blank, and I'd say it in they face...I can make a beat, but I can't produce! I can make a beat, but can I tell a ***** what to rap about, can I tell him when to come with the hook? Can you break the beat down? That's what producing is.
It should be noted that Dre's prominent studio collaborators, including Scott Storch, Elizondo, Mark Batson and Dawaun Parker, have shared co-writing, instrumental, and more recently co-production credits on the songs where he is credited as the producer.
It is also widely acknowledged that most of Dr. Dre's raps are written for him by others, though he retains ultimate control over his lyrics and the themes of his songs. As Aftermath Producer Mahogany told Scratch: "It's like a class room in [the booth]. He'll have three writers in there. They'll bring in something, he'll recite it, then he'll say. 'Change this line, change this word,' like he's grading papers." (See references for details.)
As seen in the credits for tracks Young has appeared on, there are often multiple people who contribute to his songs (although it should be noted that often in hip-hop many people are officially credited as a writer for a song, even the producer). As a member of N.W.A., The D.O.C. wrote lyrics for him while he stuck with producing (See D.O.C interview in references for details). When Young went to Death Row, Snoop Dogg took on a lot of the writing work for Dr. Dre, although it should be noted that Dre has never openly admitted or denied this. More recently, famed New York rapper Jay-Z ghostwrote lyrics for the 2001 single "Still D.R.E." (He is listed under the songwriting credits as "S. Carter", or Shawn Carter).
