How did Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg meet?

Rapper Warren G. was the conduit for a meeting between the young Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg with the pair eventually going on to work together and later establish successful solo careers with Dre later branching out as a producer, record label executive and founder of Beats audio which was subsequently acquired by Apple in 2014.

Snoop Dogg has also become an icon in the hip hop game with 35 million albums sold over an illustrious career with the Long Beach native having collaborated with the likes of Tupac, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake. The 52-year-old has also branched out into the world of acting and was a consultant with seminal label Def Jam.

The first meeting between the pair nearly failed to materialise after Dre called Snoop in the early 90s and invited the rapper to work with him. An incredulos Snoop hung up believing that the call was a prank. Eventually Dre persisted, called back and both hooked up at Dre’s studio the following week in work that would go on to develop into the 1992 debut album Doggystyle with its global hit ‘Who Am I (What’s my Name)’.

Snoop was brought to Dre’s attention after fellow Long Beach native Warren G played a demo tape with Snoop rapping at a party. The Compton native Dre had recently left NWA at the time and was starting to spend extended spells in the studio becoming more interested in the mechanics of producing as he worked on his solo debut ‘The Chronic’.

Their first meeting is documented by the producer in the Netflix documentary ‘The Defiant Ones’ (which studies the relationship between Dre and Interscope founder Jimmy Iovine and their influence on popular music).

Dre recalls the moment when he realized that Snoop was a rough diamond claiming: ”Snoop comes in the studio and I put this track on. He’s just freestyling and it was super sick. Then, the thought of my solo album started becoming a reality in my mind,” Dre claimed.