Music

Timbaland and Metro Boomin Endorse Dr. Dre’s ‘One Producer on One Album’ Philosophy in Hip-Hop

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In speaking to Stephen A. Smith, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg opened up on the state of hip-hop, specifically setting out to celebrate originality in themselves and others within the industry. Snoop referenced the mogul as similar to retired college football coach Nick Saban while declaring that Dre was a mentor "to these stars in the game that he's helped cultivate."

When asked what they would say to the newly crowned artists, Snoop urged the spirit of originality, and Dre emphasized the spirit of collaboration, saying, "find your collaborator." He detested the trends involving multiple producers on an album and asserted, "I don't like the fact that there are, like, nine different producers on one album. I like the idea of one producer on one album." Continuity is everything. Dre reflected on how he believes a producer should be able to craft an entire album, recalling how he operated in the early stages of his career.

This struck a chord in other successful producers, namely Timbaland and Metro Boomin. Timbaland even published a clip of Dre's comments on his Instagram, captioning it "Preach!!!! @drdre." Metro Boomin commented from the current generation saying, "All facts!" which clarifies that this philosophy is something that transcends multiple generations of producers.

Snoop highlighted a monumental change in the business, observing: "There's a lot of beatmakers, though, Doc." He described how the best days of the current era are full of a multitude of beatmakers dependent on pre-made loops and samples instead of requiring to personally make and alter their sounds in the way earlier generations had to do. Dre acknowledged the change, stating that although there is much "weirdness" in contemporary hip-hop, he believes it can present another emerging talent like icons in the future.

Dre said, "There is somebody in somebody's garage that's happening right now that's gonna be the next Snoop and Dre, or next Prince and Michael Jackson that's coming up with something that's gonna change the game." He pointed out an incredible amount of room for invention currently in the music arena.

Now, while issuing a joint album by multiple producers may be part of the game in modern mainstream hip-hop, there are still so many independent producers - The Alchemist, Daringer, V Don, just to mention a few - who closely work with artists like Boldy James, Rome Streetz, and Larry June to create strong projects together. Metro Boomin, here, though, has shown that he indeed is up to it, fully producing the two No. 1 albums by Future this year so far.

The interaction between such influential personalities shows how hip-hop production is constantly reformed and, in this case, how collaboration and creativity are still the foundation behind which music is made to be pertinent and influential.