Collaborating with Dr. Dre helped Eminem get his music heard but he did not necessarily need Dr. Dre to mentor him for this song.

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When it comes to Eminem‘s career, Dr. Dre has always been credited as being the mastermind behind the jumpstart to the incredible success he has had. While it is true that Dr. Dre worked with Eminem in the studio and got Eminem’s name out there using his connections in the music industry. When it came to the talent that Eminem had with his lyrics and writing ability, that was something Dr. Dre had nothing to do with.

Eminem’s rhymes are unlike many other rappers in the industry. This is because Eminem can enunciate the words in his lyrics while rhyming at an unparalleled speed. The words that Eminem chooses to put together in his rhymes are words that other rappers writing about the same thing would never use and the choice of melodies for the tracks makes them catchy. Eminem’s talent is undeniable.

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With the talent that Eminem displayed while in rap battles and demo tapes, it was just a matter of time before he got noticed by the right people. One of the first was Dr. Dre. The talent that Eminem displayed led to Dr. Dre “mentoring” him, though Eminem probably did not need the help — especially when it came to their first in-studio recording session and one epic Eminem hit.

Dr. Dre Mentored Eminem Though He May Not Have Needed It

Despite the naysayers around him, Dr. Dre refused to listen to them. Instead, he went with his gut, which told him that Eminem was going to be something. Dr. Dre wanted to mentor Eminem the way he had with other artists.

All that people needed to do was look past the ‘white boy from Detroit’ packaging that Eminem came in and just listen to the pure talent he had when he was delivering lyrics — lyrics that Eminem wrote himself, without input from Dr. Dre.

The songs themselves led people to realize the talent Eminem had, regardless of the color he was or where he was from.

“Working with him is crazy,” Dr. Dre said. “He never lets me hear what he’s gonna say until he gets on the mic.”

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Dr. Dre went on to explain, “Everybody around me at that point in time was trying to talk me out of working with him. ‘Listen man. This is a white boy. You’re getting ready to ruin your career.’ I’m like, ‘He’s that hot. People are gonna get into it because it’s that good’.”

Despite the fact that everyone around Dr. Dre had their doubts, Dr. Dre chose to mentor Eminem. However, it was clear by the time Eminem and Dr. Dre had their first meeting to work on rhymes together that Eminem did not necessarily need a “mentor.” The first lyrics out of Eminem’s mouth were a hit song.

“I was like, ‘Man, listen. I put this sample together’,” Dr. Dre said to Eminem. ‘”Tell me if you like it.'”

Dr. Dre went on to state, “I hit the drum machine and maybe two or three seconds went by and he just went, ‘Hi, my name is… My name is…’. Like, ‘Yo. Stop. S***s hot.’ That’s what happened our first day in the first few minutes of us being in the studio.”

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That first display of greatness that Dr. Dre got to witness from Eminem in the studio confirmed what Dr. Dre knew all along and that was that Eminem was talented. So talented, in fact, that after the first time the two worked together, Dr. Dre knew Eminem was going to be a star.

Dr. Dre Knew Eminem Was Going To Be Famous Minutes After Being In The Studio Together

Dr. Dre was first introduced to Eminem’s style and lyricism after he was given a mixed tape in 1997. But before Dr. Dre was willing to sign Eminem, he wanted to see if Eminem had the talent in person that showed in his recording.

Dr. Dre set up a meeting at his home studio with Eminem where he was blown away. It was then that Dr. Dre knew that Eminem was going to be a star.

“Well, I first heard Eminem’s music at Jimmy Iovine’s house. He just happened to have gotten Eminem’s tape maybe a couple of days before,” Dr. Dre explained. “He actually got it from an intern that used to work at Interscope.”

Dr. Dre went on to say, “He popped it in and then I heard it. And I thought it was incredible. At this time, I had no idea he was a white guy. I didn’t find that out until a few days later. And I was just like ‘What the f**k is this? I really need to meet this guy’.”

“The first thing that we did was ‘My Name Is.’ I had already prepared a sample that I thought he would sound great on,” Dr. Dre said. “Immediately after I put it on he just went ‘Hi, my name is’… That was the beginning of what became an amazing creative collaboration.”

“Then came the backlash. ‘Look at him Dre. This guy has blue eyes. You can’t sign him’,” Dr. Dre expressed.

“There was a massive amount of resistance from my own team and people around me that didn’t want me to work with him simply because he was white. Didn’t want me to sign him or anything like that.”

While everyone else around me had their doubts, I knew that his gifts were undeniable. His raw, dark humorous lyrics coupled with an impeccable cadence stood out from anything I’d ever heard before. And he was hungry. Both of us were. We were two artists in do-or-die situations. He was desperate to find a way to feed his family and I was searching for something that I can sink my teeth into creatively. Each of us were exactly what the other one needed and I was willing to bet my entire career on that.

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“My rebuttal to those naysayers was something like this… ‘He’s gonna be the best-selling artist on our label’,” Dr. Dre said. “Little did I know he was going to be one of the best-selling artists of all time.”

Not only was Eminem one of the best-selling artists on Dr. Dre’s label, but it was the first album that My Name Is was on that would go on to win a Grammy putting all the naysayers talk to rest.

Eminem Would Go On To Win A Grammy After Working With Dr. Dre

Working with Dr. Dre, Eminem would put together an album that was unlike anything the rap world had heard. It was so intriguing that that Eminem’s first major studio release, The Slim Shady LP sold 14 million copies worldwide.

This got the attention of those in the industry as well as the Recording Academy members. As a result, Eminem’s album was nominated for two Grammy Awards. A feat that those who doubted the Detroit native would never have expected.

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The Slim Shady LP was nominated for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance for “My Name Is” Grammy Awards in 1999. Eminem walked away with both Grammy Awards and put an exclamation point on the fact that he was indeed a great talent. He also made sure to thank Dr. Dre for believing in him.

While Eminem did not need Dr. Dre as a mentor, having someone with that amount of power in Eminem’s corner to vouch for him did not hurt the situation either. As a result of their collaborations, Dr. Dre and Eminem have had more success in their careers than they had ever expected to have.

The net worth that Dr. Dre has speaks volumes about that. Eminem’s net worth does as well. All of this is thanks to a mixed tape that showed a rap mogul all he needed to hear to know a star was in the making.