Dr. Dre’s 1988 demo for Eazy-E‘s “Eazy-Duz-It” was offered to Snoop Dogg, but Snoop turned it down. Snoop sat down with Eugene “Big U” Hensley for the Checc’n ~ In Podcast and reflected on life before fame and when he made the revelation to turn down the demo.
The Backstory
Snoop explained, “He [Dr. Dre] came over one Thanksgiving and Warren G had me nervous because he was telling Dre ‘Snoopy can rap’ and I was like man shut the fuck up, I ain’t ready yet”. “So Dre takes us to the back room and he starts playing that ‘He once was a thug from around the way,’ before it had even come out.”
“He [Dr. Dre] turned to me and was like ‘you rap?’ and I’m like ‘nah I don’t rap!’ That was my moment and I froze up on cuz. I wasn’t ready.”
Check out The Big U’s hype promo post he put up on his Instagram below:
Then, of course, Snoop Dogg got the courage to rap not only for Dre but also with him, as he went on to become a true legend of the game. In 1992, Snoop entered the rap world with “Deep Cover”. The song launched Snoop to new heights when he was just a teenager.
Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre Share Success
Dr. Dre’s The Chronic topped the Billboard 200 and spent eight weeks in the Top 10 when it was released in November of that year. Snoop Dogg made several appearances on Dr. Dre’s debut solo album. In addition to reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” reached No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles and Hot R&B Singles charts. It is considered one of the best West Coast gangsta rap albums of all time.
The last three decades have seen both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg become cultural icons. Dr. Dre is one of the world’s foremost music tycoons, while Snoop recently acquired the Death Row Records brand.
In the interview Snoop says, “I was trying to get my masters from eOne”. “All I was concerned with was my masters. But they talked to me like a bitch and make me ho for my shit and it rubbed me the wrong way. So I went to Def Jam and did a two-year play over there. Then a good friend of mine told me eOne sold Death Row to some people that don’t know what to do with it. So I talked to them and was like, ‘What’s up with those masters, not just mine all of them, everything…I don’t give a fuck what it costs. I need that.”
See the full video for the Checc’n In Podcast with Big U featuring Snoop Dogg, the Season 2 premier below:
