JAY-Z received the 2nd annual Dr. Dre Global Impact Award during last night’s Grammy 2024 awards show to honor his impactful legacy — and brought 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy on stage to celebrate. “Thank you very much. I used to say it was a sippy cup for Blue, but Blue’s grown up now she doesn’t take sippy cups,” he began. “And she has her own Grammys.”
Then Hov continued his speech by giving Dr. Dre his flowers: “Thanks to Dr. Dre. He’s somewhere here. There he is! Andre Young, thank you sir. All the doors that you opened. Showed us that we can be a rock stars. Seeing you on Rolling Stone. When you came out West, you took it to whole new level. Put us on the covers. Put us around the world, you and Snoop, all that y’all did all these records y’all broke. Thank you for this.”
JAY-Z also used his acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammys to call out the organization by questioning the process behind the voted categories: “We want y’all to get it right. At least getting close to right. And obviously it’s subjective. Y’all don’t gotta clap at everything. Obviously it’s subjective because, you know, it’s music and it’s opinion-based. But, you know, some things — I don’t want to embarrass this young lady [Beyoncé], but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
Yesterday, The Recording Academy (The Grammys) presented the Special Merit Awards to Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award honorees Laurie Anderson, the Clark Sisters, Gladys Knight, N.W.A, Donna Summer, and Tammy Wynette. During an acceptance speech of N.W.A, Dr. Dre was absent and Ice Cube could not stop himself to throw a little joke.
Dr. Dre was a notable omission from the group of N.W.A members who were present in Los Angeles on Saturday (Feb. 4, 2024) to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys. However, Ice Cube explained the icon’s absence by cracking a little joke. “My man, Dr. Dre, is not here. He wanted to make sure I let you know he’s not hating. He a billionaire. He got sh-t to do…[Laughs] We would not be here without him. We are grateful for him and his brilliance and his talent. His leadership.” said Cube.
The award was received by Ice Cube, The DOC, MC Ren, DJ Yella, Lil Eazy E and Eazy-E’s mother Kathie Wright. The CEO of Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr. also revealed the message Dr. Dre sent him before the ceremony: “I did just get a text message from Dr. Dre and I wanna share it with y’all cause I think you’ll appreciate it. It’s very short. As expected. ‘I’m honored to receive this award with my N.W.A brothers. We’ve been together for a long time so I regret not being there and being able to celebrate with you all. This ceremony falls on my daughter’s birthday and as much as I want to be with you all and all the guys, I could not break her heart. And I definitely didn’t want anyone to think that I’m on some funny style sh–t.’ Thank you everybody. Thank you N.W.A.”
You can watch the acceptance video below and check all the 2024 Grammy winners list here.
Snoop Dogg joins Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson for a second time on ALL THE SMOKE to chop it up. The hip-hop legend opens up about his family life, talks about his new movie “The Underdoggs,” gives advice to Usher on his Super Bowl performance, and talks about finally getting Death Row Records. Plus, he sends a message to Jeanie Buss on the state of the Lakers, breaks down his Steelers future, and speaks on his partnership with Master P & Sketchers. He also gave an update on his upcoming album, titled “Missionary” which is entirely produced by Dr. Dre.
“I’m in the lab with Dr. Dre right now, working on, that’s Death Row/Aftermath. We are finishing up that right now. Tightening up the pieces. He’s a perfectionist.” said Snoop Dogg.
Then he continued: “That ni–a called me one day, about two years ago, and he was like ‘Ni–a, come over, let me do a couple songs with you. I’m like ‘alright, I get over there’, he’s like ‘ni–a, let me do your album.’ I’m like ‘alright, lets go.’ ‘It’s gonna take me two weeks, f–k it, lets go.’ We go in, knock out couple songs, he hit me back, ‘I need two more days’, I-need-two-more-days, I got that call probably 85 times. This ni–a needs two more days all the time. But when you here what we have and how he got me rapping, it’s like grown Snoop Dogg. It’s not like ‘yee ni–aaa’ but it’s a growth to him. It’s the way he selects his bars, it’s the way he uses his voices, I’m talking about me like it’s a third party motherf–ker. This ni–a used me like a f–king robot and I love it. Because I love to be produced. I love to be challenged. I hate when a motherf–ker just take it for granted that ‘I’m working with Snoop. Here’s the beat, make a song.’ And I may some bulls–t. Because I go through bulls–t. I maybe rapping some s–t I said long time ago. And the s–t that you don’t want to hear. But if I’m being produced, we are creating this piece together. And this s–t is masterful, because my voice is a part of your music. It is actually an instrument. Let me be a part of the music, so when you hear Dre and Snoop, you always this is what you gon’ learn, every song that you ever heard from Dre and Snoop, my voice is never on top. It’s always in there because it’s an instrument. And that’s what he’s doing. He’s using me as an instrument to create this masterful album.”
“Doomsday Pt. 2” by Eminem from Cole Bennett and Lyrical Lemonade compilation album, All Is Yellow, is out now! The song is produced by Daniyel and John Nocito with the original “Role Model” production coming from Eminem, Luis Resto, Mel-Man and Dr. Dre.
In the song, Eminem makes fun of Benzino, who has been dissing Slim Shady in the last few years. “Now I got a riddle, one condition, you mustn’t laugh, what is the opposite of Benzino? A giraffe, “Go at his neck,” how the f–k is that? How can I go at somethin’ he doesn’t have?” Eminem raps in the song.
Eminem employs a riddle to draw a comparison between his old rival, Benzino, and a giraffe, an animal known for its distinctively long neck. This riddle cleverly references a moment back in 2010 when Eminem, during the filming of “Not Afraid” behind the scenes, was ironically asked what he feared, to which he humorously responded with “Giraffes.”
By posing the riddle and asserting that the opposite of Benzino is a giraffe, Eminem is essentially saying that Benzino is not, and has never been, a source of fear for him. This is reinforced by the punchline that Benzino has no neck—a playful exaggeration suggesting there’s nothing there for Eminem to attack, both literally and metaphorically.
The line “Go at his neck,” a common phrase in rap that typically means to verbally attack someone fiercely, is turned on its head with Eminem’s retort, “How can I go at somethin’ he doesn’t have.” Here, Eminem is not just making a physical joke at Benzino’s expense but also implying that Benzino is not a worthy opponent in a rap battle. The joke about Benzino’s lack of a neck is used to underscore the point that Eminem feels there’s nothing to attack because Benzino poses no real threat or challenge to him.
The giraffe metaphor serves a dual purpose: it recalls a personal joke from Eminem’s past, thus connecting it to his larger narrative, and it functions as a tool to diminish Benzino’s reputation in the rap community. Eminem’s use of this comparison to a giraffe, which is known for its long neck, to claim that Benzino has none, is a classic example of his complex lyricism and sharp wit. This is a testament to Eminem’s skill in integrating personal anecdotes, and humor and dissing his rivals within his music. (via Genius).
Em continues bashing Benzino and mentions his daughter Coi Leray: “Arm so short he can’t even touch his hands / When they’re up above his head doin’ jumpin’ jacks (Wow) / Sorry, I don’t mean (What?) to upset you, Ben’ (Yeah) / When I talk about (What?) all the debt you in (Uh) / I hear that you been (What?) creepin’ on the low / In them cheap hotels (Yeah), that they catch you in (What?) / Jesus Christ, dawg (Damn), when you said two-ten (What?) / Never guessed you meant (Damn) at the Red Roof Inn (Shit) / In a room with one single bed, two men (What?) / Shady, man, you can’t—, yes, you can / Well, I guess then I regret to inform you, hate to spoil the day (What?) / But this doesn’t bring me no joy to say (Huh?) / Guess that Coi Leray feat’s in the toilet, ayy?”
Red Roof Inn is an American economy hotel chain in the United States with over 600 properties globally, primarily in the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern United States. Benzino has been reportedly kicked out of the hotel and allegedly sleeping with another man. Several rumours have been spread that Benzino is gay after he has reportedly “told the LGBTQ+ community to stop flirting with him.”
At the end of the verse, Eminem also shouts out J. Cole and Dr. Dre’s label Aftermath: “I’m back with Cole Bennett, And I been at the level J. Cole been at, It’s Aftermath that I ride for ’til I die.” Em has previously mentioned and praised J. Cole’s skills in the numerous interviews and Cole has named Eminem as one of his biggest influences. Even though there is much mutual respect between the two rappers, they have never released a song together.
Em also reminded everyone who had the best verse on Drake’s 2009 single, “Forever,” which also features Lil Wayne and Kanye West: “I’m not tryna be controversial, I’d rather, Talk about s–t with the purpose that matters, Like who had second best verse on “Forever”?” It’s popular consensus that Eminem laid the best verse on “Forever,”. Em is suggesting people to discuss who had the second best verse on a song, because you know who belongs the best title. Kanye West also previously revealed that when he first heard Em’s verse, it made him cancel appointments to rewrite his verse.
The lead track off Marsha Ambrosius ‘s new album Casablanco, which is entirely produced by Dr. Dre, was released today.
The song is titled “The Greatest” and finds the former Floetry singer showcasing her impressive vocal range while detailing a passionate love affair.
“You said the day I met you that you’d never let me go/ Enchanted by your passion, I’m enamored, got me wanting you/ And the things you do to me/ You’re by far,” she belts out.
Marsha Ambrosius even flexes her rapping skills, spitting a few bars in the third verse: “This’ll be me saying, ‘What’s up?’/ Bossed up, bringing the pain before the glow up/ Done growed up, but I never changed, I am evolving/ Claim it, who the greatest? Mama, I made it.”
In addition to Dr. Dre, the song was produced by Aftermath producers Dem Jointz, Focus…, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Erik “Bluetooth” Griggs and Marsha Ambrosius herself.
Despite being from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Usher has made a name for himself in Las Vegas because to his iconic musical career.
The singer has performed his fair share of one-off shows and his My Way residency in the city and now, he’s being honored with a key to Las Vegas.
On Tuesday, the city celebrated the R&B star with a ceremony conducted by City Councilman Cedric Crear and Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who declared October 17 to be “Usher Raymond Day.”
“Councilman, thank you so much for this momentous moment. I know the efforts that go into doing something like this and I don’t take it for granted. I wanna thank you for your belief in the future and your ability to be able to recognize those things that actually do grow your city. I am someone who is not just contributing by way of entertainment, but also to the heartbeat of the city.” said Usher in a speech.
During a recent Las Vegas show, Usher payed homage to Dr. Dre by playing some of the legendary producer’s iconic singles: “Forgot About Dre,” “The Next Episode,” “Still DRE” and “Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang.” He even rapped Eminem’s hook from “Forgot About Dre”
Ez Mil has recently sat down on RX931’s All Out show where he talked about meeting Eminem and Dr. Dre for the first time, how Eminem found out about him and how “Realest” joint came about.
“We were all minding our businesses and then suddenly we get hit with this message from our people that there’s gonna be a secret meeting. I had already made the beat for “Realest” by myself and it kinda had first verse and a hook little bit and that was even before we knew it was them! It was Em and Dre. I was trying to contain myself. Even keeping it in secret you know?!” said Ez Mil
Then he continued: “And then you get hit with the info that you gonna be meeting Em and Dre. Then we went to LA and meeting them, it was the whole trip man. Even going through the lobby, Dre was sitting right there, Em was inside the studio. I was peeking through the door, my girl and my mama we all went in. Then Dre stood up with his huge self and he was like ‘hey superstar’ and I was like ‘what the heck! what the hell you talking about?!’ I shook his hand and when I saw Em I almost fainted. Thank god I stood up and kept it firm. He stood up and said ‘Ezekiel, where have you been for the last twenty years? Alright, you were 4.'”
“And then they were talking about how they really messed with ‘Up Down’, they heard that, and the story of that goes like, they said that Em was just going through Wormhole and Paul said that he found ‘Up Down’ and they really f–ked with it.”
“Right at that point when Eminem stood up there and I asked him straight up ‘why you never went to Philippines bro?!’ And he was like ‘Never went? Oh, Okay.’ I was talking about ‘Not Afraid’ cause when I went to high school we thought he was rapping ‘Philippines, It’s gassed up’ instead of ‘feed it beans, It’s gassed up’ and he was laughing bro! I made Eminem laugh!”
“About the collaboration, like I said, I had already made the beat and some vocals. And right there at the studio, I played it for them. And Dre was like [nodding head] and right after the beat was playing, he was like ‘yup, Marshall gonna eat that up.’ And Em was at the back like ‘yup! give it to me!’ Straight like that.” – Ez Mil added.
During a recent appearance on Kevin Hart’s Peacock show “Hart To Heart,” Dr. Dre revealed that some of the biggest and most gifted artists of all time Prince and Michael Jackson approached him for collaboration but refused to work with them both. Check out the conversation below.
Kevin Hart: Who did you have the opportunity to work with that you was like ‘Naw, I didn’t’ that you regret and that you should have worked with? But I don’t wanna throw you story off.
Dr. Dre: Nah, but yeah. That’s a good segway. Prince, Michael Jackson. [I bowed out from working with them] They just asked me to work with them and I was just like ‘What the f–k am I going to do with them?!’ That happened. What the f–k am I going to do in the studio with them? Those are my f–king heroes. Man, you know.
Kevin Hart: YOU ARE DR. DRE!
Elsewhere in the interview, Dr. Dre revealed why he calls Kendrick Lamar “Forever Artist” and Eminem being the only artist that he ever liked when he heard a demo tape.
You can watch the Michael Jackson and Prince segment below:
Pretty sure a Dr. Dre/Michael Jackson song would’ve melted people’s brains 🤯
On his Peacock talk show called Hart to Heart, Kevin Hart has had chats with many of the greatest and brightest names in music, including Jay-Z and Miley Cyrus. The Emmy-nominated multi-hyphenate has enlisted Dr. Dre, a legend in the music industry, for the most recent installment of the program. The seven-time Grammy-winning rapper and record producer briefly talked about Eminem and Snoop Dogg.
“I’ve collaborated with some of the smartest motherf–kers and the most talented motherf–kers that ever stepped in studio. The only person that I ever heard on a demo tape that I really liked and really f–ked with in he studio was Eminem.” said Dr. Dre.
Then he continued: “Everything else is the word of mouth. It’s exactly what you said, ‘oh you gotta hear hear this guy. Hey, you got to hear this guy named Snoop. Brought him in the studio and he started rapping. He didn’t even understand a song structure on anything like that. I think DOC taught him to do that s–t. It just happened like that.”
On his Peacock talk show Hart to Heart, Kevin Hart has had chats with many of the greatest and brightest names in music, including Jay-Z and Miley Cyrus. The Emmy-nominated multi-hyphenate has enlisted Dr. Dre, a legend in the music industry, for the most recent installment of the program. The seven-time Grammy-winning rapper discusses the making of The Chronic and the Straight Outta Compton biopic.
In a clip from Kevin Hart’s Hart To Heart series obtained by Billboard, Dre detailed how he shifted towards a solo career after NWA. “The difference there was money and business got involved, and it separated the friendship. I had to separate myself from Eazy-E because he decided to take a different route. Ice Cube had already left, so I’m out here on my own. I have absolutely no idea what the f–k I’m gonna do, I just know I have this talent and I’ve been developing these skills with mixing in the whole s–t.” – said Dre.
Then he continued: “Close friend of mine, we call him D.O.C., talked me into doing The Chronic album. It was not my decision. I was talked in to do that. And I just went in there and went for it because I felt like at that time it was life or death situation. This record is gonna determine whether I’m gonna stay in the studio or not.
“It’s really tough to find that kind of ambition and energy today.” Dr. Dre added.
From there, Dre continues talking about Straight Outta Compton: “We’re in there, we’re kids and we’re saying the most wild outlandish s–t just to get some attention. Okay we are not gonna hit them over the head with a pillow we are gonna hit them over the head with a sledgehammer when we come out. Straight Outta Compton, F–k The Police, all of that. We wanted to come out and get attention. It was really just for to impress our neighborhood. If we can be good in LA and everybody in LA is paying attention to us that was good enough for us at that time. Little did we know we are gonna get attention around the world and FBI, that s–t was crazy.”
“I think that everybody that were involved in the movie Straight Outta Compton, at the beginning, didn’t believe in the movie and didn’t trust it. And then myself, Cube and Gary Gray, we went for it.” said Dre.
Fiddy might have rapped about partying ‘like it’s your birthday’, on his iconic single “In Da Club,” from Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ album but it appears 50 Cent favors a more low-key approach when it comes to his own born day.
West London locals were no doubt rather surprised to see the musician and actor, who was in London to perform at the Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park on Saturday, enjoying a belated birthday celebration at Somalian restaurant, The Village, on Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, on Sunday evening.
Friends, including music moguls Dr. Dre, Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg, Fredwreck and Jimmy Iovine who co-founded the Beats Electronics brand in California in 2006, put on a surprise belated birthday bash for the star, who actually turned 48 on July 6, 2023. Unfortunately, Eminem was missing.
Check out pictures and videos below:
50 Cent celebrated his birthday alongside some of his friends Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine at Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in London. pic.twitter.com/Jxzo14ku0S
According to Layzie Bone, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony would immediately reunite for new music if Dr. Dre was involved.
In an episode that was released on Wednesday (July 5) of The Digital Soapbox Network, the Bone Thugs member was a guest and talked about how the group never got a chance to jump on a Dre beat.
Despite their affiliation to the legendary producer through being signed to Eazy-E, he explained what prevented them from doing so in the past, and added that if Dre was to call right now then all five members would be right there.
“I got couple of tracks from Dre that I was never really able to to use but Dre thing was when the opportunity was presenting itself, we was internally f–ked up. And that ni–a Dre was like, ‘If I can’t have all five of y’all, I ain’t f–king wit y’all. And that was that. So hopefully one day hell get it. I know all of us individually tried. I mean, that’s Dre. Who don’t want a Dre beat? We all tried to go individually but the way the word got back to me was like, ‘Dre said if he can’t have all y’all, it’s no beat.”
At the suggestion Bone Thugs-N-Harmony get together with Dre now, Layzie said: “Wassup Dre? One call from Dre, watch how fast all five ni–as get together. Let’s preach on that. I’ll drop everything I’m doing for an opportunity to work with Dr. Dre. I’m pretty sure my ni–as feel the same way.”
You can watch the interview below:
Earlier this year, Layzie Bone sat on Surreal Talk Radio where he revealed his wish to have Eminem on Bone Thug’s Legacy album.
“I probably want that Eminem feature more than fans do. C’mon man, cause that boy is the GOAT. He must have been practicing because that boy is doing his thing. We all gonna come team ready. That will blow this world’s socks off.”
