Jay-Z is synonymous with hip-hop in New York. Albums like Reasonable Doubt are rooted in the mecca’s energy with its cold production and grizzled hustle. Moreover, The Blueprint still sold millions of records even after a tragedy like 9/11. He’s intrinsic to detailing the NY experience.
However, what you might not expect is for Jay to be a foundational piece to one of the best West Coast hip-hop songs of all time. Across many interviews, he revealed that he wrote both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s parts on their iconic collaboration “Still D.R.E.”. But the only way Jay-Z was able to truly nail their energy was through a deep love and respect for their work beforehand.
“On that reference track, I’m doing Snoop and Dre, both of them,” he said on HBO’s The Shop in 2021. “You gotta have somewhat of reverence for them, the music they were making, The Chronic, and all of that. In order for me to really nail the essence of Dre and Snoop, it had to be like a studied reverence of what they were doing.”
Admittedly, Jay-Z said that writing for another person can be particularly challenging because you’re taking on another perspective. Add in the fact that since they were artists he admired, it was initially difficult. But because he understood the mindset Dr. Dre was in while making the album, it worked out accordingly. All he had to do was remind himself who he was writing for in order for it to make sense.
Jay-Z Talks About Writing for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on ‘Still D.R.E.’
“Dr. Dre, I grew up obviously a fan of him and Snoop. You know, this is Dr. Dre coming off [of] leaving Death Row. I knew where he was trying to go ‘cause I’ve been there a couple times with Kingdom Come and those things. So, he’s trying to [say], ‘I’m leaving this place, and I want to mature,’” Jay-Z told The New York Times in 2026.
“So, for me, it was just natural to get into his psyche. Like, ‘What would he be thinking right there?’ What would I be thinking? I would be thinking, ‘I have to remind people that I’m Dr. Dre.’”
People still get shocked every day learning how pivotal Jay-Z was to West Coast hip-hop history. For instance, streamer Akademiks was particularly taken aback that Hov penned every part of the song in about 30 minutes. “Holy s**t,” he muttered to himself on stream while looking up the song credits.
The post Jay-Z Is Associated With East Coast Hip-Hop, but He Helped Establish the West Coast Sound With One Pivotal Hit appeared first on VICE.
