In this interview, hip‑hop artist DRE discusses the limits of online knowledge, emphasizing that many lessons come only from lived experience. He shares how he mentors his 13‑year‑old son, offering guidance despite feeling his son may already know more. DRE reflects on being named Artist of the Month by the DuBois Music Correlation, describing his reaction as a mix of surprise and validation, and explains his day‑by‑day focus on short‑term goals that serve long‑term ambitions. He stresses an unselfish mindset, urging the spotlight to also shine on his peers who are contributing to the community. Drawing on a “king” metaphor from his upbringing, DRE talks about the responsibility to bless and empower others, positioning himself as a conduit for collective success rather than personal glory. Throughout, his tone remains conversational, humble, and purpose‑driven, highlighting values of community, mentorship, and authentic leadership.
Chapters
It's certain things they can't teach you on the internet today, man.
Certain things you're gonna have to have life experiences with, you know what I'm saying? And don't get me wrong, like you say, I— it ain't like I was like, but my head plenty of times, you know what I'm saying, or whatever. But it's still certain situations that I try to tell my little boy like, hey man, it's never— like you said, this internet thing, like, you old, you old, you don't know what you're talking about, you know, you don't know what you're talking about. Okay, you know, like I used to ball, my son ball So I try to give him some pointers and tell him this and that, whatever, whatever. But I don't know what I'm talking— he only 13, but he know more than me. So yeah, but anyway, so Dre, you were the first hip-hop artist to become— to be named Artist of the Month by the DuBois Music Correlation. Tell me, man, what was that feeling like?
Um, it was, it was big, man. I think it was one of them scenarios where I'm one of those people who's very much like a I just put my head down and just focus on what I'm doing. And whether or not people notice me doesn't really matter because I'm more so focused on my short-term goals and how they lead to my long-term goals. So I'm more so like a day-by-day type of guy. So when they first sent me the email, I'm like, how y'all get my email? I'm more so focused like, you know, like, how you get my information? And then once we actually did the interview and they printed out the magazine and I'm seeing like the whole joint, I'm like, man, this is beautiful actually. Like, these people really see like what I've been out here doing. So then it really made me want to be like, all right, well, since we already got this here, hey, some of my homies is outside too. Like, you know what I'm saying? If y'all want to put the light on folks who are actually outside and doing something for the community and who you know what I'm saying, are really purpose-driven, well then let me go ahead and, you know what I'm saying, share some of that light too. Because I definitely didn't expect it. It was definitely one of them situations where I'm just doing me, I'm just gonna be me, and then people for some reason are interested in me and what I'm doing.
Yeah, I mean, that's how it is, man. You know, your light gonna shine even in dark places. You know, a lot of times a lot of things happen when we least expect it. But one of the things that you said in that statement is it just shows how the selfishness, how unselfish you are, man. When you say, hey, you know, y'all putting the spotlight on me, I'm just one of many that's out here doing this, you know. So, hey, y'all want to get me, I got my homies out there that's doing the same thing, that's out there putting in this footwork too, out here doing these concerts just like I'm doing. And they might be just as good as me. Or spit more just as good as I'm spitting, man. So why don't y'all go ahead and bring them into this light too? And I think that right there shows the character and integrity of a person when everything is not just about you.
Thanks. I mean, I grew up around— I grew up around like real kings, like, and not even just in like the, like the colloquial kind of way, like, oh yeah, king, but like guys who actually were like, no, like this is how we move. And one of the, one of the attributes of a king is his ability to give blessings. Like, if you aren't able to bless the people around you, then like, how you call yourself king? Like, for real? Like, every king has a kingdom. So I mean, he got to be able to— when they come to the king with problems, you got to be able to make something happen. So like, if you can't make something happen, then like, don't be giving yourself that title yet. Work, build it first. So usually when I am granted an opportunity or I have something I have the ability to bless people, I do. Because I'm like, this is— I was raised by kings, so I'm gonna hold myself in a manner that I believe is king-like. So that way, like, this table big enough for all my people to eat. So like, bet they coming to me with this, hey my man, come holla at these people too. Come let them know what you want. Go ahead, come get some of that too. Because I want to empower all my peoples who are really out here doing what is necessary. I want them to feel like validated and like, yo fam, what we doing is working. Because there's a lot of young guys who are seeing it and they like, I kind of want to go this route, homie over there got a Maybach. I kind of want to go this route and speak real and be conscious and all of the other stuff, but homie over here got all the girls. Homie over here, you know what I'm saying, he got all the— he got all the chains and everything, so I kind of want to do what he doing. So then when you take somebody like me, you know what I'm saying, who just out here putting his head down, knocking things out
