here's some info on Dre and hos beat making and production;
BUSTA RHYMES SPEAKING ABOUT DRE;
This excert taken form
www.mtv.com (news)
...
In two days, Busta recorded one song with Mel and three with Dre, including "Break Ya Neck."
"He's the one that came up with the title for 'Break Ya Neck,' " Busta explained. "He said, 'Yo, look what this beat got us doing in here. We're breaking our necks to it. You should just call this sh-- "Break Ya Neck." ' That's right up my ally. I like making dudes break their necks anyway."
Busta said Dre acted like a modern day Mozart when composing the tracks in the studio.
"It's a strange process 'cause he'll have the foundation of the beat. He gives me a copy of the CD and sends me in another room to write to it. While I'm writing to it, he'll call a couple keyboard players. He'll call a couple guitar players. He'll have like an orchestra going on in the studio, and he'll be sitting around listening to the foundation that he laid, and he'll just start figuring out different melodies.
"He'll tell the keyboard player or whatever — give them the example of the sound from his mouth, humming it, singing it, and they'll play it back," Busta continued. "He'll tell the next dude with the guitar, 'Do this.' He's like an orchestra conductor."
MELLOWMAN (not Mel Man but another dude that works with Dre) COMMENTING ON DRE AND HIS PRODUCTION;
Q: Who is a better producer, Dre or Quik?
A: That is a question I get on this board and in public a lot. I don't know why but I will give you my opinion. Dre is hands down the better "producer". Before all you DJ quik fans jump all over me, please note that Quik is easily on of the best producers in all of music and I looove his sound. like Sven said quik is a lot like Dre. While both have sampled, or replayed and expanded like Dre did in the ruthless and death row years, both dre and quik try to create MUSIC using mostly live instrumentations. Both have used actual live drums on a number of records, as well as live bass of all types, pianos, keys, horns, guitars, flutes, sax, xzylophone, etc. Quik and Dre have different sounds for the most part but they are almost identical in how they hire musicians for most of the actual played music. neither really play any instruments. both are incredible on the drum machine and both can play keyboards, quik is arguably a little better than dre on the keys while Dre is agruably better on the drum machine. I do disagree with quik being a one man band. If you listen to Quik's first four albums you mostly hear the incredible Robert Bacon playing most, if not all of the instruments. Bacon is Quik's secret weapon. that doesn't take anything away from Dj quik but I am giving credit where credit is due. Robert is simply one of the best musicians to ever be involved in hip hop. Dre has discovered and/or used some incredible musicians during his career - Colin Wolfe, Mike Simms, Sean Thomas, T green, Scott Storch, Camara Kamron - to name a few. Dre gives all of the musicians he has used a lot of credit for being a big part of his success. Quik has also had other great musicans besides Fonksta Bacon too. The fact is that Dre and Quik are the top producers in rap MUSIC because they create music and hire some incredible musicians to help them bring their ideas to musical life.
Why is Dre a better producer, in my humble opinion, than quik? Being a PRODUCER is so much more than being a musician. Only in rap is a producer expected to play instruments on tracks. Most music producers don't play anything on the records. Great producers do however have the "ear" and understand melodies, and how best to mazimize an instruments and the musicians potential. Dre has one of the best ears there is. believe me he has made me a better musician than I ever thought i could be because he knows exactly how to tweak what I play from good to great. Producers coach, discover talent, mentor, shape, mold, compose, create, adjust, innovate, arrainge, focus, orchestrate, direct and so much more. Dre does all of that, and as a total package does that as well as or better than any producer in modern music history.
Quik hasn't really changed his sound ever. He was forced to after Robert left, but its been pretty consistent in direction(this is not a criticism of quik, this is the style he is so good at, and the style we all love). Dre has changed his music and the sound of music itself more than once. With NWA and being the main creative force behind Ruthless records he helped change the sound of rap music and what could be said on records. With The Chronic he was the leader in bringing a fresh sound - g-funk - to music. If you bought that album when it came out in dec. 92 it blew you away as it was unlike anything you had ever heard before. The chronic also brought gangsta rap to the masses and made it a cultural phenomenon (along with saving Interscope from folding). When Dre left to start Aftermath he changed the course of music forever (again) with the discovery of eminem. he also helped make 50 and now game into superstars as well.
Dre has discovered some of the biggest artists in music history and as a producer he molded those artists by taking them from unpolished diamonds to polished muliplatinum selling artists. Quik has never really discovered anyone who blew up. As a producer Dre works harder than anyone else and demands more from his artists than anyone else. He mentors artists and maximizes their talent. He has the incredible ability to bring the best out of any artist and helps them to perform at incredible levels or career best levels. And I haven't even brought out the fact that albums Dre has produced on have easily eclipsed the 100 million mark in sales. Quik hasn't even hit 10 million. But I don't really want to use record sales as a factor in determining how good a producer is. Jimmy Iovine calls Dre the most influential record producer in music history. While I won't put him alone at the top he's definetly on the short list.
In the end everyone has their own opinion. There is no right or wrong. if you think quik is the best great. if he's your favorite great. Quik is an incredible talent and a better musician but I just don't think its fair to compare him to Dre as a PRODUCER. Dre, as a PRODUCER, is as good as there has ever been. He is the Michael Jordan of Rap. But like I said i could be completely wrong. Just enjoy the talents of each man as you won't see the likes of them very often ever again.
Q: Does Dre steal credit?
A: I hate this f'in question. I know this will always be out there no matter how hard I argue it. So i'm not going to attempt to win this arguement. But No Dre does not steal credit from others. In my experience with Dre I have ALWAYS gotten proper credit and full publishing. Since the first Aftermath album Dre has given proper credit to every songwriter, producer, musician, engineer, whoever. Dre told me he learned how not to run a label during his Death Row days. He vowed to give proper credit to everyone who works on each track. Whether Dre produces or co produces , Dre's name will almost always go first. That's just the way it is. The only time it doesn't is when Dre doesn't actively work on the making of the track. If it is finished and he jumps on and adds or changes he will not be the first name. But if Dre is active in the true creation of the track he will go first, and rightfully so as Dre is the orchestrator and director of every track. At death row Dre and every other artist i talked to has told me suge would let Dre get his own publishing but suge would basically steal everyone elses. In music, getting publishing credit is almost everything. Whether Snoop or Kurupt or whoever wrote the verse it didn't matter. Suge publishing would get the credit. Dre will always admit that creating The Chronic and Doggystyle was a team effort, but that there was no doubt he was the mastermind behind the production of the tracks. Obviously I wasn't there during the Death Row days but everyone I have talked to during my time with Dre who was actually there said that Dre was the main force, the main producer and orchestrator of every track. he got a lot of help from musicians and ocassional help from co-producers like sam sneed, and warren g, etc. which Dre credits for helping make those classic records. In the end though suge would not pay them correctly so a lot of people left. the original death row is gone, and they almost all left after dre left - even daz - that should tell you something. suge stole credits and publishing from the musicians and writers all the time. and although Dre couldn't (although maybe he should have) force suge to change as co owner of death row he was ultimatley responsible, and Dre felt really bad about it. he felt responsible although it wasn't really his fault. That was a major factor in starting Aftermath. Dre wanted to run a label the correct way and make sure everyone who worked with him got full credit and the correct publishing. I can honestly say Dre has never cheated me or anyone else i know during my time at Aftermath. Egos can get involved where some people think they should get more credit than they deserve. Scott had those issues once but he's back and working with us and is very happy to be a part of dre's team.
If you ask anyone who has ever worked with Dre if he treats them fairly they will all say yes. If you are willing to put in the work it takes to be successful dre will treat you and compensate you like family. He will reward you for your efforts.
Hopefully this sheds a little light on things. Dre is far from perfect, even very irritable sometimes, but in this business of music you will find few people as giving and humble as Dre.
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