Rakim Recalls Difficulty Working With Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a phenomenal music producer. When he mentors rappers, he brings out the best in them. From Snoop, to Tupac, to Eminem, to 50 Cent, Game, and most recently, Kendrick Lamar; Dr. Dre turned all these talented rappers to super success stories. But, it was hard for him to work with Rakim. You see, the thing is that Rakim was already a legend before he got with Dre. Rakim got with Aftermath Records around the early 2000s, after he had enjoyed a timeframe of rap supremacy in the 80s...so, it is obvious why the two couldn't click.




Read Rakim's words on why an album never came out of his working relationship with Dr. Dre-

"As far as me and Dre, once we got together, we realized how different we was. To try and get on the same page was more complicated than we thought. A beat would come on, and we listenin' to the beat—I'm already seein' what I want to do. But then Dre might go, 'Yo, I want you to do such and such, and such and such on there.' I'm like, 'Come on, Dre. Been there, did that already, nahmean?' Realizing that, it was like night and day. Dre's formula is- if it ain't broke, don't fix it. At that point, he was lovin' Gangsta Rap and rappers beefin'. At that point, I figured, 'I did that already.' It's time to move on and just make good music.

Every time a beat came on, the same debate happened. I didn't really have to beef with my peers, nahmean? And he wanted me to set it off and brag about about who I was and what I did. At that point, I felt like they already knew. To brag about it, it'd take points off the board with what I did and what I'm doin'. I'm glad that he hollered at me, I'm glad that he had a vision in mind...we just couldn't find a medium where he was happy and I was happy with either the direction, the topic, or what I'd say to a certain beat, or what he wanted me to say."

Rakim got with Dre around 2001, not everyone listening to HipHop at the time knew who Rakim was. Or, if they had heard his name, they didn't know what he could do on the mic. I'm guessing that's why Dre wanted Rakim to do a litle bragging. I didn't even listen to  Rakim's Paind In Full (1987) album till 2010. After I heard that album, I understood why Rakim was classified god MC in Hip Hop. But, not everyone knows that. I really wish they have reached a middle ground or something, cos that would that would have produced another great album for the Rakim legacy.