The D.O.C. talks Dr. Dre split, Ruthless Records, and Death Row

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Last month, The D.O.C. shocked fans when he revealed he would no longer be working with Dr. Dre. Throughout his career, Dr. Dre has gone through many changes. The one person who has been with him the entire time has been The D.O.C.

Recently, The D.O.C. spoke with HipHopDX.com and was more in-depth about the split. D.O.C. revealed he was working on a documentary that will discuss Ruthless Records, Death Row Records, and Aftermath Entertainment.

The D.O.C. said the documentaries in the past only tell some of what really went on behind closed doors. Other insiders have not told the full story because it benefits them to keep quiet. But, The D.O.C. now has nothing to lose, so he is going to talk.

Not only did he discuss his documentary, but The D.O.C. also explained why the NWA documentary has yet to come. He said the members of NWA really do not like each other and could not get along long enough to put together a bio-pic for their legendary group. But, The D.O.C. knows enough, on his own, to put out a documentary about everything that went on around him, including NWA.

After holding his tongue for years, The D.O.C. is opening up on everything. He said without him, Dr. Dre would not be the legend he is today. The D.O.C. went on to say Death Row was his original idea and that he included Suge Knight, who was only one of his friends, not a bodyguard. But, he got into a car accident and it limited his ability to help, but he still helped Dr. Dre get off Ruthless Records and start Death Row.

The only reason The D.O.C. did not prosper was because his head was at the wrong place. While he claimed to put in the most work and most of the money, his lack of focus caused him to miss out. But, everyone else involved with Death Row made millions upon millions. Eazy-E even made major profits because of Death Row Records' success.

Another reason, The D.O.C. feels things did not work out for him was because Dr. Dre was not looking out for him the way he thought he would. D.O.C. said it does not mean Dr. Dre is a bad person, it is just the fact that Dr. Dre cannot be him when he is not in his right mind anymore than he could fill Dre's shoes. Because they are two different types of people, the situation cannot be reversed in his mind.

The documentary will cover the past twenty-plus years The D.O.C. has been in the game. This includes the time with NWA and Ruthless Records to the formation of Death Row Records and the launch of Dr. Dre's new label, Aftermath Entertainment. The D.O.C. claims he met Ezay-E soon after he moved to California and that he discovered Eazy-E was into devil worshipping.

Later, The D.O.C. said he discovered Eazy-E was only playing mind games with him. His reason for getting inside his head was because D.O.C. was so talented. The only way to have one up on The D.O.C. was to have him a little scared. Once The D.O.C. realized the game Eazy-E was playing with his mind, he was far from impressed.

The D.O.C. revealed he received a call from Dr. Dre when he was living in Dallas. He told him if he could move to California, they could all become rich. At the time, Dr. Dre wanted to be his DJ, but Eazy-E had released "Boyz N Da Hood" and the song took off. Despite having a hit record, Eazy-E did not even have a rap name yet.

When the single took off, NWA was started and everyone was rich. But, he did not realize Eazy-E was already getting over on the entire crew. D.O.C. claims Dr. Dre knew, but did not warn him until he was tired of it and ready to leave. The D.O.C. wanted to start a new label named Def Row, because he felt Dr. Dre was the Russell Simmons of the West Coast.

But, when they began signing artists, they assumed the label was called DeATH Row. Dr. Dre liked Death better than Def, thus ending The D.O.C.'s idea. He said Dr. Dre was too thug-minded, at the time, to catch on to the concept. In many ways, The D.O.C. feels the name of the label laid the ground work for all that would come ahead for them.

Even with all of the bad things that happened to him and others because of his affiliations, The D.O.C. said he holds no animosity towards Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, or Suge Knight. While he feels all of them have done him wrong, he said everything is in God's control, not his own control. In the end, things worked out the way it was planned by God and he cannot be upset with that.

However, The D.O.C. blames money, power, and greed on the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie.