Who is cool and dre

Cool: That took us into another stratosphere. That particular record, we kinda took advantage of the sound a little bit. Me and Dre never really took advantage of the sound of the record that we had at the time.

Fire up this vibe. This is new. Like, when you heard The Neptunes, you knew it was a Neptunes record because you heard the certain bass sounds, the drums, it had a sound. Cool: I think the songwriting has been a humongous contribution. Like, god was preparing us for our career without us even knowing. Dre: And we really sing. So when we go in there, we always shock the shit out of the artist.

With the growing accessibility of production tools and software, has the value placed on the role of the producer changed since you two began making music? Dre: There was a point in the music industry where music producers became bigger than the artists. You had producers transitioning into artists. I feel as though a lot of upcoming artists, particularly in the South, started leaning on guys that were up the street to make beats.

A true quality producer has the ability to step into a room and set a tone and direct the flow of the room: Getting the songwriters on the right page, inspiring the room with a conversation, having the laptop on and creating something from scratch.

At the end of the day, great artists want to work with producers they trust. Cool: Definitely. I mean, Joe was going through his own ordeals, dealing with his own personal situations, and he would be in the studio every day for the last three years trying to figure it out. And Top Dawg, to see how far they've come from that initial meeting back in the day, is a blessing.

It's good to see brothers from the streets put their ideas to work and execute. It makes me and Cool feel good to have a connection to that whole brand. Another unsung gem from your catalog is Wale's 'Chillin,' which featured an appearance from Lady Gaga. What led to the two of you being approached to work with Wale for his major label debut single? Dre: Wale reached out 'cause he was on Interscope Records at the time and he was somebody who appreciated the music we were doing, and he wanted to work with us.

Cool and I, we didn't know too much about him. We knew he was running with Mark Ronson back in the day, so we finally listened to his music and we was like, 'Let's go. We had a good time and 'Chillin'' was one of the records that came out of that session.

And it was dope because when they approached Lady Gaga, she was somebody that fucked with our beats, as well. I'ma do it. That's someone we've always maintained a relationship with. He ended up going and signing to our brother's label MMG, so it all worked out. But, that was another gem, too.

How important was it for you to be involved in that reunion, given the history between the four of you? Dre: It's one of the most important records of our career because me and Cool decided to put everything we had into our record company Epidemic Music, and after a couple of years, it was just tough for us to break a new artist. So, with us being music producers and not producing as much hits as people are accustomed to So, at the same time, our brother Joe Crack had to go on vacation for a couple of months and he came home, and people was saying he was washed, he was finished.

Same thing with Rem. So, we all had our backs against the wall and that was the energy of that record. We had to prove everybody wrong. And for somebody like Joe Crack, he's been in the game for 30 years. So, he's had to prove people wrong countless of times. This was one of the first time in me and Cool's career [that] we felt like, 'Damn, niggas is sleeping on us.

We felt what it felt like for niggas to close the door on you and shovel the dirt over you. We felt that and we don't ever wanna that feeling again. So, 'All The Way Up' was definitely turning the page on a new chapter for all of us. And as you can see, Joe Crack ain't stop, me and Cool, we ain't stop. Speaking of Remy, she's supposed to be down here You're known for working with more established acts.

But, one of the newcomers you've worked with as of late is Kent Jones, whose track 'Don't Mind' has caught a major buzz. What was it like working with him?

Dre: Kent Jones is an artist that Cool discovered years ago as a music producer. We didn't find out until like two years later that he was also an artist. He was sleeping in our studio 'cause at the time, he ain't really have no place to stay and the thing we can say about Kent Jones is he's super talented and a brilliant musician. And for us to see the growth of him as an artist and producer -- from being homeless to making a single to go Top 10 on the Hot chart -- triple platinum, and seeing him live out his dreams is amazing.

What that did for me and Cool, it got the monkey off our back. We had been trying to break an artist for years and Kent Jones is the first artist that we discovered and broke, of course with the help of our partners We The Best Music and the whole crew at Epic Records.

But, it's a slight departure from what fans have come to expect from you. Dre: Working with those two icons is a dream come through and an opportunity, and a blessing, and to this day, we're so grateful to be able to even say that we worked with them. And shout out Young Guru. We called him upstairs where we was working They did what they did. So, working with them gave us an opportunity to showcase that side.

Another record from The Carters that garnered a positive reaction is 'Black Effect,' which boasts some of Hov's best verses on the album. Who's idea was it to use the dialogue at the beginning of the track? We cooked up the beat and that [sample's] The Carters', as well. Dre: Definitely Epidemic Music.

We're partnered up with Roc Nation, shout out our partners at Roc Nation. We got artists signed to us, shout out Eric Leon and Tom G. We're always looking for new artists. Dre : We were working at an L. Cool and I, we wanted to make a record that felt out of this world. All their production is crazy, but on their ATLiens album, they brought home that whole extraterrestrial feeling. It was like he was landing on Earth. Wayne was working at the Hit Factory at the time.

Get ready. So we went out there, and when he did it, the fucking place was nuts. We got a shit load of records with Lil Wayne, but that one stands out. He was tuned in, you can hear it in the verses. And it resonated, that record stayed with people.

Dre : Once we did that record, it opened up ideas to do the Rebirth album. Wayne did Saturday Night Live , and he had this band with him. Immediately, when Royce heard the record, he started telling us a story about this boat ride that happened in Detroit back in the day called Boblo Boat. All the guys from Detroit with the fly Gators and the suits and everything would come out.

Cole to see if he gets on it. Royce does his one-two, sends it to Cole, Cole lived with it for a little bit. Then Cole bodied it. Royce had a vision, and he executed it to perfection. Then the video came out crazy. We were just happy to contribute to his vision for that record. This man was in the studio for three whole days.

We damn near cut an album. The engineer was bout to die after day one. Dre : And he walked out of the studio maybe two times. Meaning, he walked out of the room we were working in to go into the living room or the backyard of our studio, probably twice. When I heard the music elements, we changed the tempo, chopped it up, rearranged it, and added specific effects.

Listen to that record; no other record has that programming, that shit is in the future.