Dr. Dre Discusses Defining Himself And Meeting Corey Hawkins

In the latest episode of his Beats 1 radio show The Pharmacy, Dr. Dre talked about how he defines himself as a creator and an artist, affirming that he thinks of himself as a producer first and foremost. "I've never considered myself a rapper," he said. "I know how to do it. I know how to make my voice project and I know how to stay on beat and what have you, but I've never considered myself a rapper. I'm a producer at heart. I like being in the control room and directing people. That's what I do. But I've gotten on the mic a few times in my career, people seem to like it, so I'll do it again here and there. But that's really not my thing. So I'll do a first verse on the record, then I'll put the really talented rapper on the second verse."

At another point in the two-hour program, Dre described the first time he met actor Corey Hawkins, who plays him in the new N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. "I gotta be honest, it freaked me out when I met him," Dre said. "We had a conversation. We went out to dinner at this restaurant over in Hollywood. We sat across the table and he started talking to me and I heard him like, 'What the ---- is that?' I'm saying this shit internally. It kinda freaked me out. At the same time, it's one of the things that let me know he was the perfect guy for the job."