Dr. Dre is revealing why he turned down the opportunity to work with music icons Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder.
While appearing on a recent episode of the Hart to Heart show, the rapper and music producer shocked host Kevin Hart when he told him that he “bowed out” a couple of times from working with some of the most legendary artists in music’s history.
“They just asked me to work with them and I just was like, ‘What the fuck am I going to do with them?’” he explained. “Those are my fucking heroes.”
After Hart reminded him, “You’re Dr. Dre,” the multi-Grammy winner admitted that Wonder was one of the most recent artists who he passed on collaborating with. He said the “Superstition” singer had called him up, asking to work on a song together.
But Dr. Dre said he likes “the way I feel about Stevie, Prince, Michael, Bruce Springsteen and all of these amazing artists,” which “could change by working with them.”
He added, “These are my fucking heroes. … I like the idea of what I grew up listening to and I want to keep it like that. And I don’t want to fuck up that idea and that look.”
Dr. Dre, who has played a big role in the careers of several successful artists, including Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, went on to explain that he prefers to work with newer artists.
“My entire life and career has been dealing with and working with new artists. That’s what I like. Nobody comes in with an agenda,” the record producer said. “It’s a ball of clay when they walk in the room. You can just form it and do what you want. That’s what I want. Everybody else, especially my heroes, they’re coming in and there’s a set plan as to how the shit should sound, ya know. I can’t, I can’t explore.”
Dr. Dre previously revealed in an interview before Jackson’s death in 2009 that he declined to work with the “Beat It” singer because “I like working with new artists. Unless it’s just somebody that, you know, I’m really feeling comfortable with in the studio. I can’t picture myself in the studio like, ‘Yo Mike, do that again.’”
