Music

Drake was once a ghostwriter for Dr. Dre

by Richard Howard

January 15, 2016

Dr. Dre paid 19-year-old Drake $10,000 to ghostwrite never released songs.

There’s really no need to rehash the public spanking Meek Mill received last year when he made the unwise decision to call Drake out as a fraud for using ghostwriters. Somebody apparently needs to tell Meek that it’s over, but the rest of us have moved on.

Believe it or not, Drake’s name has now popped up again with a connection to ghostwriting in hip-hop – but not how you might think. Turns out that when he was about 19, Drake was the one doing the ghostwriting – for non other than Dr. Dre.

Late last year, New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook released the book The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory, which investigates the world of modern hit making: its origins, the way it affects how we listen to music, and its biggest players. He shares an interview with Drake where the rapper talks about an intense writing session for Dr. Dre he was involved in when he was “like, 19:”

“It was some of the most strenuous, militant shit I’ve ever done. But no useable songs came out of it. When I think of how he worked us, it’s no wonder he didn’t get anything out of it. It was just writers in a room churning out product all day long.”

Even though no songs were used, Drake told Seabrook he and his writing partner Noah “40” Shebib were paid $10,000 for the session. Incidentally, this story would explain a 2011 interview where Drake told soccer star Rio Ferdinand his first check was a $10,000 one from Dr. Dre for “just being there.”