Dr. Dre was the very first guest on the very first episode of Listen & Laugh, the new podcast from Mike Epps and Ice Cube. Dre got into some hotly debated topics during his appearance, such as his controversial embrace of AI in music, his many career lessons and experiences, and what he's up to these days. But he also answered a very interesting question from Cube at around the 9:50-minute mark of the YouTube video below: who is his favorite producer of all time?
The Chronic beatsmith said it's impossible to pick one specifically. But he said that, outside of Quincy Jones, the one that really inspired him was Larry Smith. "Larry Smith does not get his flowers," Dre remarked. "Larry Smith, to me, is the greatest hip-hop producer ever. He did Whodini, he did Run-DMC, all of the music that inspired us when we was coming up... Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow. He did all of those records that inspired us when we were young. But he just never got his flowers. Larry Smith is the f***ing best hip-hop producer ever, point blank."
Cube spoke on these inspirations as well, with Dre adding that he only learned who Smith was due to research, since it was harder to get those details behind one's favorite music back then. The group also shouted out others like Rick Rubin, Marley Marl, Russell Simmons, and Sylvia Robinson.
Larry Smith
In addition to what the group discussed, Larry Smith played and produced for a whole bunch of other genres and artists. DJ Premier also named Smith as the best hip-hop producer of all time in 2009. The Queens native passed away in 2014 at 62.
Elsewhere, Dr. Dre will soon be portrayed on the big screen in the upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic, with Myles Bullock embodying the role of the producer. With his billionaire status, he's doing a lot of reflecting on how he got to this point, sparking and facing discussions about the best and worst parts of his legacy.
For someone who often shows up in GOAT producer conversations, it's interesting to hear Dre give his own take about a legend that inspired him. Hopefully this proclamation leads more people to learn about the legendary Larry Smith.
