Once a song is done, for me, personally, it's usually two or three days to get the mixdown.
— Dr. Dre
Kids are the ultimate form of motivation. They're watching. They're mimicking. They're an extension of you. So you have to win.
I'm not no egotistical person. I just want what I'm supposed to get. Not a penny more, not a penny less.
I don't take any shorts. I don't say, 'Okay, it's good enough.' I try to get exactly what I'm hearing in my head to the tape, and I won't let it move until then.
I was the biggest Public Enemy fan - I think it's what inspired the aggression of N.W.A. We just took a different route lyrically.
I've never considered myself a rapper. I know how to do it. I know how to make my voice project, and I know how to stay on beat and what have you, but I've never considered myself a rapper.
I can't see myself ever spending hundreds of thousands on anything that doesn't come with a toilet.
I have tons of music stashed.
Somebody approached me about working with Michael Jackson, and I did say no because I like working with new artists or people that I've worked with in the past. I can develop them from the ground up. There's no set standard that I have to live up to or anything like that.
I know sound, and this is what I'm going to stick to: what I know.
I think it's incredible what I've done. A lot of sweat. But as an innovator, I look back and can't help but go, 'Damn, there's things I could've done better, you know?'
I've always hated authority from an early age. And authority have always hated me.
I work hard making music - that's how I earn a living.
I've been studying the planets and learning the personalities of each planet.
There's actually a lot of producers that I like to listen to.
The actual making of a record is the most exciting part of this business.
I like working with new artists.
The race factor was just a minuscule part of what I was doing with Eminem. It was really about the music and how well we worked together.
A lot of times when I'm at home kickin' it, I don't even listen to hip hop. I listen to all types of music.
Wreckin' Cru was a DJ crew. They used to call it that because it was the guys that came in after the party was over and broke down the equipment. We eventually made a record, and we had the costumes on and what have you. Back then, everybody had their little getups, you know, like SoulSonic Force, UTFO.
I have a high tolerance for pain - both physical and mental.
I just make the music feel the way I want it to feel, and I don't put it out until I'm totally happy with it.
I've always been a lunatic.
I'm not a big spender. I don't get into all the jewelry and all that.
I'm going to record forever.
I've been living the American Dream for over 25 years - just being able to do what I do, be creative, and make money out of it. It's incredible.
I sequence during the entire recording process. The sequencing changes as I'm recording and as I'm listening. From when I'm, like, four songs in, I start trying to figure out which song should come after which. Which is important, and it changes as the album goes.
'Straight Outta Compton' is the album I'm least happy with. I threw it together in six weeks so we could have something to sell out of the trunk.
I'm always going to talent scout and try to find new artists to work with.
If you know anything about me and my history, you know I'm very particular about my projects.
An instrumental album is something I've been wanting to do for a long time.
There is some sampling on my records and a lot of what I call replays, where I'd have musicians come in the studio and replay the sample from the original record. But mainly, we'd come up with our own music.
When we started Aftermath, we had something like 20 artists, and it was driving me crazy. I couldn't sit down and focus on any of it. Plus, it was doubly hard because you ended up crushing these people's dreams when you had to let them go.
The original version of 'Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang' was made to a Boz Scaggs song; I can't remember the name of the song.
My father is the oldest of seven boys.
I get butterflies every time a record comes out. I'm like, 'I hope people like it. I hope people buy it.'
In my opinion, some of the hip-hop records that come out, people are willing to compromise. I'm not.
I don't think I would go back and change anything that's happened in my career, because maybe those things were steppingstones to where I am now.
I'm a producer at heart. I like being in the control room and directing people. That's what I do. But I've gotten on the mic a few times in my career; people seem to like it, so I'll do it again here and there. But that's really not my thing.
I'd really like to do a movie, either as a producer or director. My ultimate fantasy would be to direct a movie and produce the entire soundtrack. I don't really see myself acting.
I've sold a lot of records. Did I keep other artists from eating?
Eminem is just incredible. That's the word that comes to mind: 'incredible.'
The difference between the headphones and making music, it's like, okay, I have a new business here that I'm proud of, but my soul still remains in the music-making process.
No matter where you are or what you're doing, it's always great if you don't have to get up and physically change the song that plays next.
I can take a three-year-old and make a hit record.
I don't ever see myself retiring totally from music, because I have a genuine love and passion for it.
Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs is a hustler. In fact, he's what I call an extreme hustler.
The reason 'Detox' didn't come out was because I didn't like it.
I don't make records so I can sit down afterward and listen to them. I make them so other people can sit down and listen to them.
Kendrick Lamar is the real deal. He's a real artist, and he's gonna be here for awhile because this guy is seriously talented.
