Ice Cube and Mike Epps officially opened up the porch. Their new weekly podcast, Listen & Laugh, premiered Friday, November 6, and the first guest was none other than Dr. Dre, according to the show’s official announcement. Watch the full episode, “Dr. Dre On How It All Started,” below.
Dre on AI and Larry Smith
Dre didn’t play it safe. He told Cube and Epps he’s “extremely excited about AI” in music, calling it “a whole new level of creativity,” as reported by Complex. He even said he’d respect a producer copying his mixing style. Cube was more cautious. He’s fine with creators using AI as a tool, but not with computers taking total control. The two agreed to disagree.
Dre also gave flowers to an architect of ’80s rap: “Larry Smith to me is the greatest hip-hop producer ever,” per Complex, pointing to Smith’s work with Run-DMC, Whodini, LL Cool J, the Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow. Cube admitted he expected Dre to say Quincy Jones.
The IAHHM Take
Starting a podcast with Dre is a statement. That’s N.W.A. history sitting on one porch, with Epps there to keep it loose. Dre rarely does long sit-downs, so hearing him get this open about AI and about who inspired him is a big deal for anybody who studies the craft.
The Larry Smith pick is the real gem here. It’s a reminder that the biggest producers in the game still respect the people who laid the foundation. That’s the kind of history we love to dig into in The Archive.
New episodes of Listen & Laugh drop every Friday at 6 p.m. ET on the Listen & Laugh YouTube channel, with audio on Apple Podcasts and other platforms. The show’s trailer teased T.I., The Game, Regina King, Stephen A. Smith and more, per AllHipHop.
Is Dre right about AI, or is Cube? Let us know.
Sources: PR Newswire, Complex, AllHipHop
