Episode 6 of Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio streamed on Friday (May 29) and among the noted guests were none other than Dr. Dre. In the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police, Dre said he was hesitant to start the interview with Wayne discussing his personal life and accomplishments, given the circumstances.
During their near 20-minute conversation, both Dre and Wayne touched on the death of Floyd and their reactions to it.
“You know, I gotta be honest, I felt a little bit funny about doing this interview today because of everything that’s going on,” Dre said in the interview around the 9-minute mark. “I felt like … I almost felt like we should have led with this situation. George Floyd, it’s like … that situation hurt my heart.”
He added, “It felt like that cop had his knee on all of our necks, meaning black men. It’s extremely painful because it keeps going on. It continues to go on and it’s like, ‘What can we do to make this thing stop?’ What the fuck is supposed to happen?”
When Wayne asked if the 2001 hitmaker heard that Derek Chauvin, the cop at the center of Floyd’s death was arrested on third-degree murder charges, Dre quickly responded, “That’s not enough.”
He continued, “The other three cops are supposed to be arrested, they’re supposed to be convicted. They’re supposed to be arrested and convicted of first-degree murder. The fucked up part is, they’re so brazen with it, broad daylight with cameras on. He’s got his knee on this guy’s neck for that amount of time, and he doesn’t give a fuck. His hands are in his pocket and he might as well been whistling. That’s fucked up. It’s like, ‘What the fuck are we supposed to do to make this stop? What can happen to make this stop?’ This shit is baffling.”
Both Dre and Wayne agreed that Floyd’s death and the aftermath surrounding it might lead to more significant changes across the board.
“It really feels like something is gonna happen to put us in an area to think about ways to make this stop,” Dre said. Wayne added, “I think this one feels different as well. Something about this one feels different. I think any decent hearted human being, we’re all fed up.”
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Dre’s stance on the matter echoes that of he and N.W.A’s seminal 1988 song “Fuck tha Police.” It has become a record of protest and in the 2015 Oscar-nominated film Straight Outta Compton, the record was birthed from a scene where all N.W.A member were harassed by police officers during a Los Angeles recording session in Los Angeles.
Once the song blew up, the FBI sent a letter in response, stating that N.W.A pushed for “violence against and disrespect for the law enforcement officer.” A contract stipulation, according to the book Welcome to Death Row, forbade the group from performing “Fuck tha Police” as well as “Straight Outta Compton.” However, also depicted in the movie, they did so in Detroit on the last date of the tour, leading to plainclothes cops storming the stage.