Dawaun Parker Talks Dr. Dre’s Coach-Like Production Process

Ever since Relapse, Dawaun Parker has been one of Dr. Dre‘s trusted collaborators. No stranger to exploring darker melodies and eerie soundscapes, Parker has contributed to no shortage of dark bangers, ranging from “Same Song And Dance,” “Stay Wide Awake,” and “Hello.” Now, Lord forgive him he’s back to his old ways on the recent Music To Be Murdered By, reuniting with the Good Doctor on four of the album’s standout cuts. The folks over at HipHopNMore recently chopped it up with Parker, who went on to open up about his first-hand experience working with Dr. Dre. 

Citing his experience working with Dem Jointz, Trevor Lawrence Jr, and Dre, Parker likens the process to that of a band. “We were like a band that already knows how to make beats as well so it just makes kind of like, a unique experience and Dre’s the coach of that,” he reveals. “When we lock in on something that everyone seems to like, we push the button on it and then go to the next idea, really. It’s not really anything more complicated than that.”

 Kevin Winter/Getty Images

He also clarifies a little bit about Dr. Dre’s involvement in the beat-making process, as the role of a producer has undergone a few changes in modern times. “A producer is a person who helps bring the artist’s vision into fruition and there are different methods of achieving that,” he prefaces. He proceeds to explain that a producer doesn’t necessarily make the beat, but plays an integral role in bringing the existing components together. “They might have said ‘these strings need to be over here and we’re going to get this singer and we’re going to get this person to write it’, bringing all of that together and making the in-studio decisions and helping to get everyone’s best performance for the particular record.”

“Now we have a lot of beatmakers who say they’ve produced, but they only make beats,” continues Parker. “And that’s not to diminish them or belittle them, but the difference is, I can say it like this and Dre has said this before so I learned this from him, “once you make the beat, you’ve still got to produce the record’.” 

For more wisdom from one of Dre’s most trusted collaborators, check out the full interview over at HipHopNMore. His words echo what Scott Storch told us about his own experience working on Dr. Dre’s 2001, citing a band-like mentality in laying down jam sessions.