Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine on their tips for success | British GQ

and I just want to inspire you know I just want to be an inspiration I'm gonna leave a mark and a legacy here that's like just inspiring for years to come I [Music] mean you know it's got a once-a-week kind of vibe or once every two weeks kind of however we talk almost every day [Music] not only did we talk every day we laugh yeah you know like how long is this like it's almost 30 years and every single time we talk there's some type of laughs and I'm talking about a belly laugh it's really true which nobody understands and neither do I which I always found fascinating as part of one of the interesting things about our relationship if we really never had an argument you know I mean he knows what he does he knows what I do I know what he does and and if we have a we don't agree we just take on the other person who knows more about that particular thing yeah ajan to imagine a relationship like that a friendship do you know any others and we got lucky absolutely it works like a partnership it is a partnership it behaves like a partnership it's structured as a partnership see what it would always shocked me about America and what they did capture in in the Defiant ones clearly guy was Alan's original idea was that I don't know why the white guy in a black guy doesn't stop more businesses together why are we the only people to ever built a big business it's crazy it's crazy that this is the first time that this has happened for this amount of time you know other people have done it got work together and stuff but you know we built the number one head phone company in the world then we were in built Apple music you know because wouldn't you bring each other is crazy the different culture of how they work together see I consider african-american culture black culture the most under you utilize under-resourced and underappreciated asset that America has so you know that's where I come from and it still hasn't been taken to its full potential period Dre and I try to put our hustle into the schools and all right you know that don't quit attitude but you've got to have the right curriculum to do that because you can't just say hustle and don't quit and then go put them in education that hasn't changed in 150 years right schools don't teach hustle you know I mean come on I never remembered not having a hustle having hustle you know I would go and cut grass just to be able to buy shoes you know I came from just like a place where you know you had to get out and do your thing if you wanted to have special shoes so it started there for me and then it just snowballed on to wanting just to be able to get out and do anything I want to have anything I want you know and that's where I think most of my determinations started I'm not smarter than anybody else I just hustle I could take more pain than anybody else but that's what that's what it is you know I Drive that yeah that drive and that perseverance and dedication to success is just like you know you can't we have that you can't quit every time a pie comes you gotta do is lick it or wipe it off your face and keep going oh you know it said nothing to do you don't have to be smarter than the next guy you got to work harder than the next guy just have reasonable talents right but if you want to be Dre you want to survive me it was defense I was a record producer I was out there in the studio and I didn't know what was going on I didn't know anything about finances I never balance the budget never I'd even looked at a P&L right so to me it was pure defense I had to learn business in order to survive or else I'd be you know I don't like the business aspect of it I just want to be an artist but I know I have to make sure my business is right in order for me to but in order for me to be able to do what I love to do you know so I have to take care of that but I don't like it I'd like creating by the way I also don't like it because in business when you find yourself doing is wrestling the world from food I had to go out and figure out how to DJ I taught myself how to engineer and and so on it was just me trying to figure it out and just learning things and picking up different tidbits from from people that I admired you know and fortunately I was able to just sit and just like really focus on developing my skill and keep pushing it I'm still pushing and I'm still learning so this day because I actually feel like I can be better and I can do better things but maybe that's just one of the things that drives me still well I did I was very fortunate along the way I came out of Brooklyn with absolutely no skills you know and so I got a job I met this woman Ellie Greenwich who really took me from a clothing store and got me a job and with three recording studios you know which was amazing and the people in the recording studios told me had I had to find mentors there told me how to like do everything from sweep to work a console right so that people teach this guy Roy sakala at the record plant taught me working with John Lennon and through a session they taught me how to record a record literally he stopped me used to stand over me and say do this and he'd say I'm doing this watch me he would say no no no do this and I would do it would do it through me right which was a fascinating way to learn you know someone on the other side of the microphone is John Lennon right it's it's yeah it's I mean I'm going to see him this week man David Geffen I always check in he is he's been an incredible voice to me about business and understanding he has beat to business as an art form he turned it you know it's an art form to him you know and arts he's a great collector of our and he's agree was a great record company person he had great taste he has great taste in everything but he's also got great instincts in business meat oh he really helped me in all the areas I'm gonna see him this week I'm flying the way he is I just sit with man we just talk you know yeah David Geffen like help me out with just a few sentences I've only been around him a few times here in there but you know he'll say a couple of things and it's just like oh okay yeah I'm gonna I'm gonna apply that [Music] I mean kids are the ultimate form of inspiration now you can't fail you know you have to get out and do what the [ __ ] you have to do to succeed at least that's how I look at it you know because you want them to have at least a better springboard than you've had or then I've had unit mean so and yeah it's just kids are inspiring for me yeah well my kids know what I do in the mean and they have comments about what I do yeah that was good but I don't know about that you know I mean it's it's that's what happens with me and you know fortunately I've been in a place now where I can just I can record at home so I don't have to leave I can just go downstairs and do my thing and and that's what it is and everybody around me keeps it 100% honest and that's what I love I quit producing when I had my first son Jamie so I don't want to travel anymore because I had a kid and they prize to bring a lot of my work home with me so they'd be having they'd be having dinner with Dre or Trent Reznor or you know all these different people and you know good my my job let into my home it just did you know and it was a it was a great spirit of those kids and that's what they they grew up with that so they kind of know what I did you know they understood it they didn't see the producing part where they they now know what that was but more importantly my kids like most kids I hope because if the parent doesn't grow up there's gonna be a problem so those kids get you to grow up and no matter how much you resist if you want to get it right if you want your kid to be a proper human being a citizen then you've got to grow up at least a bit yeah I mean you have to make certain sacrifices when you're in this business especially when you're in the studio and you're making records but it really comes down to a balancing act you know and everybody has to understand and okay I'm here and I've always made time it's just like when I was heavily recording I would work five days and I would always take at least two days off usually Saturday and Sunday but it's a balancing act because you don't want to look you know have a disconnect away from your wife and kids you know so I always try to maintain that thing well I've retired now and I retired and I'm working with my kids the older ones and the little ones you know I'm part of the house you know and bringing them up and my stepkids and but I'm working with my kids and I'm working with other people's kids through education we're building these schools and you know we are we're gonna really try to influence and help these kids you know and we're gonna try to give them a place to go that they're proud of when they could say we go to this school place that they really want to go to yeah that's right and make it interesting and by the way I mean Young Academy is fun you interview any kid at that school and they will tell you the same thing everyone has tried they go on it every which way to get in and they've asked people like kids in that school they all love it let me tell you something these kids are so smart I'm terrified I'm asking me a question you're to me you know Jimmy has this thing in his backyard for the students every year and I'm walking around and the kids are coming up asking questions and I'm like man I hope nobody asked me to square root I think it did away with well I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm just being just you know that's the first thing that came to mind [Music] well then you can't start out thinking you make it a billion dollar deal that's the secret you got to do something great you guys say there's a hole there's the world when we saw the headphones we knew Dre was really upset about his kids wearing the the phone earbuds you know in the end the portable air buds those little ones that you'd get from that you get two free right that was really frustrating him sound coming out of the computers were really frustrating is because he goes in and one of the things the only thing in the studio that he does every day the same is try to make it sound great so I come from recording background as well so I completely got what he was talking about and we saw a hole and then we said what have we made them sexy kid may start wearing them right and depth that would make them one better headphones cuz people tell us no one's gonna pay for headphones cuz they get them for free he said no no no that's not that's not way that's not the way culture moves that's not the way things move you know so we weren't thinking we would think about making one headphone you know or multiple headphones but me I'm saying we were thinking about just beats being a headphone and what it turned into you know was a miracle that's where literally we have a lot of luck and one thing about us man if Dre smells something or if I smell something now we know how to go and get it you know and what we did with Beats is we were two vultures on a telephone pole looking around saying hey man screw this waiting for something to die stuff let's go kill something you know [Music] you know I don't I don't know the impact of Instagram I don't know what it is it's something it's not neutral right so if Michael Jackson had Instagram what if he ended up healthier I don't know I think Instagram I hope I to say what it is and what it isn't you know but I think what's happened is great was never behind Fame as much as it is now Fame is what the currency is likes or whatever the stuff is so Fame and if you happen to be great you know musicians in the a you know and up until like recently they that's why people put music out every day they think that it's some kind of mark that's marketing but not all of its great because that's impossible right so I think I think great has pulled back a little bit now Billy Eilis is great Anderson PAC is great but I think great has pulled back behind Fame a little bit I think I'm I probably would have hated social media when I was coming up you know because there's a certain mystique that gets destroyed you know I like I like the mystique I like waiting I don't need anybody to know where I am every minute or what I'm doing or what I'm about to do there's a certain mystique that came along with music that was was it was entertaining to wait to see what was about to happen or unit I mean is some look I tell you man old men do things they shouldn't do one of them is wear v-neck t-shirts and the other one is go on Instagram all right [Laughter] yeah stop I got a couple of v-necks though you're right about that man unless you want to go to some document get that done no it's ugly as [ __ ] by the way proven by our president Wow we shouldn't go on social network old men should not go on social network of networks I'm telling you and it's a president it's a great example I understand I understand what he does you know what I mean I get it completely I think what you see is partially who he is the night in my take I don't know but he wanted evangelical Christians Imam simplifying a very complicated person and situation he said I'm giving you abortion so they overlook any side of Christianity that they're monitoring and trying to see if they got a president that works cuz he does a lot of stuff that you know nobody call somebody a Christian I don't hunt him you know I got a cross on you know what I'm saying that means something but I think and he told the extreme right I'm gonna stop brown people from coming in the country so now you lock up 30% of the something like that of the Republican Party and he's got a lock on it now does he feel those things I don't know I have no idea does he care about abortion I have no idea right so I'm not saying he doesn't I don't know man but that's what he did he locked that in whether he knew whether he believes in it or not because he knew he's a marketing guy and he gets it he's a smart smart guy that's where I do agree with them he's smart I'm not interested in those type of conversations to be honest bitching you know I just want to create I'm not yeah I just want to make art right now I don't I don't see anybody out there yet that could be the president you know including him but no I I don't know I mean you know certain things he's done a good but I don't like personally I don't like his style the way he doesn't you know personally for my kids to see I don't like that kind of you know and by the way my kids were brought around brought up around Eminem and Tupac so you know but the president's a different thing he's a character it really is you know and I'm not some evangelist I'm not some crazy psych the person about this whole thing you know I live my life with my family and do my thing and try to help education and help the they're underrepresented kids but I try to do it from the public side I don't believe I don't know I'm not waiting for the public I'm not waiting for the government to do anything you know only me briefly I could wait the [ __ ] rest of your life there are some policies that he has that I think are great there some policy has that I think are not great but how he gets what he wants sometimes jeopardizes the racial flow and tensions in this company in this country and if he stood away if he stayed away from that rather than stoking that to get the right really on his side you know the people I'm talking about then you know I could deal with it I mean I hate the Constitution stuff and all that stuff but what he does with race and I in the scary parties I'm not sure if he feels that way which is like an offhanded comment compliment to him but it's even worse if he doesn't you know so that's kind of how [Music] it's only a responsibility for that particular artist every artist shouldn't try to hold like that thing or try to be a role model we'll go out just create alright just create art from my perspective I'm just trying to make people feel good and inspire you know that's that's my way of delivering my art I'm not trying to tell you who you should represent politically or you know which which religion is you should be involved in or it's yeah I think that's just for me personally as nonsense I just want to create art and make people happy and inspire I really care about artists reflecting social justice injustice and in India and what's going on in the world I'm those of y'all that I always loved you know and I'm not sure but it I think the artist raised right whatever the hottest feels but if he feels it or she feels it because she doesn't want to piss off the sponsor from Instagram or the half because the company's country so divided they don't want to piss off Bernie Sanders people the liberal though they don't want to piss off the right with Trump then that's no reason not to do it doing it when Neil Young did Ohio when they kill those kids at Kent State you think he was thinking about his sponsor on Instagram no he didn't care what happened the next day Bob Dylan didn't care what happened Marvin Gaye didn't care you know James Brown I'm black and I'm proud didn't care so you know that's what I like that was them flexing their art you know but they weren't afraid exactly yeah they weren't afraid and what I'm implying is are some of these people afraid or the date or did it completely glad Society I don't know I think I've been talking about it throughout this interview I just wanna I just want to inspire and be inspired you know I guess the thing that I'd like to leave is you know kids to look up to me that grew up in similar places like the way the the place that I grew up and say I can do that as well because you know my ice is no colder than yours you know if I can do what you can do it that's my that's my thing you know I don't think I'm better than anybody you know I feel like they're producers and musicians out there that are much better than me that if they have the same drive they can do even bigger and better things that I've done in my career there's some kid somewhere right now that could be the next Doctor drill Jimmy Iovine that can come out and just do some amazing things that we would have never even thought about so you know I guess that's what I would say my legacy would be oh that's what I would like my legacy to be if I had to pick one I would say if white and black people are people of color and white people work together truly as equals and as partners the world would be a better place it'll be it will be more beautiful it'll be more soulful it'll be just better because what the two cultures offer each other and that's a big dream but that's what I think Trey and I didn't I think that's what we proved to a lot of young people I hear it all the time you know we that's important to me listen we are living proof that this thing right here can work that's right trust me that's right we both came from racially challenged neighborhood we are happy racially charged we are happy and we by legendary [ __ ] we both came from racially charged neighborhoods I came from all Italians look at West Side Story you know and Drake came from Compton we're the first white people he met were cops you know sorry right yeah we really believe in that and I know a lot of great people right now that have really focused on making this a better place in racial communications and the economic the economic injustice of the african-american you know that's got to be dealt with [Music] the thing that excites me is we know that one of the kids that comes out of our Academy has the potential to go on and do something to change the world that's the thing that's the most interesting to me you know we also was starting high school and we're starting it right outside a USC and it's it's for that neighborhood and it's going to be free and we're doing it with Loreen jobs and XQ and USC and whoever goes to that school in high school is gonna have an advantage when they come out we want to give unrepresented kids an edge because no one markets high school and the reason why they don't market high schools they don't have anything to market so kids really think you know a lot of kids today think it's not really necessary why am I doing this you know do I really need to know about this and that and not only that most of them hate it for me I the worst to come to mind a pain in the ass you know it's just I never liked school but I understand the possibilities that it can create you know so fortunately for me I was able to build a life and career without it there was nothing there that I really wanted to learn I mean of course I wanted to learn math and reading and you know that but I'm an artist and there you know in Compton in my particular high school there was nothing there available you know this thing that we're building has everything that I needed I hated every second high school there was in one minute that I liked not one minute and I went to an all-boys Catholic High School and I hated it hated every second of it and then I had to go to college because I knew if I hated high school I was really gonna hate Vietnam so I said I gotta go to college you know and then I got a good number in the draft and so I was able to leave school and go work in a recording studio but I hated every minute of school it was just you know it's not III I mean of course I've finished I'm with the College for two weeks yeah two weeks now we're building high school and I feel like that was too long but you know but I do feel like it's necessary and like I said for most it's necessary and these kids can go in and do some really really amazing things and I'm glad to be a part of that I think kids want hope they say all they see all day is Instagram and this and you know Mark Zuckerberg left school and became a trillionaire and all this other stuff so they want they want to hope they want a shot at the ring that's what kids want doesn't know where Niels want right so the way to approach that first is to give them an education where they have a shot at the ring you know who cares a [ __ ] who made the trophy you know what I mean these are the [ __ ] it's it's it's a TV show with trophies that's what it is that's what it was that's what it'll unless somebody does something else for the long ways because I know how many trophies last night to be honest it wasn't even an award show they put eight wards you know it's okay what cares but everybody gets excited about the kids getting excited but winning a Grammy that's all cool you know but I don't think that's where the issue is I think it's important I think puff-puff nailed it you know I think pop nailed the big time you know and I do think there are things that influence at that shirt and influence you know but I'm not a I was never a big trophy guy you know I'm not like that doesn't tomorrow excites me not not a victory lap of yesterday you should end it on that yeah that was good [Laughter] [Music]

Channel: British GQ

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Keywords: GQ, British GQ, Dr Dre, Dr Dre GQ, Dr Dre British GQ, Jimmy Iovine, Jimmy Iovine GQ, Jimmy Iovine British GQ, Dr Dre Jimmy Iovine, Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Dre interview, Dre interview 2020, Dr Dre Jimmy Iovine interview, Dr Dre Jimmy Iovine British GQ, Dr Dre Jimmy Iovine GQ, Dr Dre life lessons, Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine life lessons, Dr Dre Jimmy Iovine interview British GQ, Dre and Jimmy documentary, Dr Dre Jimmy Iovine documentary, dr dre and jimmy iovine tips for success

Id: a4Cyg1qATfg

Length: 28min 35sec (1715 seconds)

Published: Tue May 19 2020