The year was 1989 and N.W.A. had taken the world by storm, especially white America. Conservatives were ready to run for the hills while those of us curious about the inner-city lifestyle were treated to a behind-the-curtain view courtesy of Dre, Eazy, Ice Cube, Ren and DJ Yella.
In the song "Express Yourself", Dre professes "I don't smoke weed or sess" (around the 4:30 mark on the video below), which seems highly contrary to the message promoted on the rest of their album.
Fast foward to 2001 and we find Dre replacing Cheech & Chong as the official poster-boy of herb, releasing the iconic album The Chronic. I present Exhibit B - "The Roach".
Real Talk Tuesdays is all about exposing inconsistencies in lyrics (as well as praising good writing). That said, Dre remains one of the best producers in hip-hop today. It's the sounds he gets. When you take away the marketing, the videos, the endorsements, the hype (the ghostwriting) - what you have is the sound. Listen. As a DJ, I usually have to pull back the faders a bit when I put on a Dre record because it bangs so much harder than the rest. Well done, Dre. Light one up.