Dre Day is this week, and Portsmouth is celebrating
Long before his name became synonymous with headphones, Dr. Dre (otherwise known as Andre Young) was shaping hip-hop on a daily basis. From his early days with World Class Wreckin’ Cru and N.W.A. to his career as a solo artist and producer, few artists have had as much influence on hip-hop for so many years as Dre.
For Patrick Bernard, otherwise known as DJ BeatPerv, and other fans, it’s a legacy worth celebrating. Luckily, Dre’s birthday is on Feb. 18, and it’s a good enough reason for a big party – namely, Dre Day at The Red Door on Feb. 19. It’s a night of DJ sets and live hip-hop acts in honor of the artist responsible for the West Coast sound, creating “The Chronic,” one of the most influential rap albums of the 1990s, and launching the careers of Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, among many others. Dre Day events have been happening across the country since 2003, when the first one was held in Minneapolis. Since then, it’s taken on a life of its own, Bernard said — there are Dre Day shows in Oakland, Chicago, Tampa, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, and, of course, Portsmouth, where Dre Day is celebrating its second year.
“I wanted to do something to represent New Hampshire,” he said. “I’m just trying to get something different in the Seacoast that we don’t really have.”
N.W.A.’s album, “Straight Outta Compton,” which Dre produced, was Bernard’s first introduction to Dre. One of his earliest Dre memories is of being in fifth grade and listening to “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” on repeat after breaking up with a girlfriend. “I thought it (meant) ‘nuthin’ but a girl thing,’” he said, laughing. “But I always liked the sound.”
“Dre isn’t just important to hip-hop culture. He was able to make music that crossed over multiple cultures.” — Doug York, local MC
What’s on tap for Dre Day? “It’s gonna be a blast,” Bernard said. He’ll be DJing, spinning tracks by Dre, Death Row Records artists, and other classic West Coast hip-hop groups. And local rappers Granite State, Human Speakers, Jamal Cooley, Cody Pope, and others will perform live sets.
“Granite State (has) really done a great job over the last decade to really try to branch out from New Hampshire, when the scene wasn’t as strong, and people are coming back,” he said.
Granite State MCs Brian “Bugout” Ladd and Doug York said taking a night to celebrate Dre is obvious — he made gangsta rap mainstream and influenced generations of artists.
“Dre isn’t just important to hip-hop culture. He was able to make music that crossed over multiple cultures without compromising who he was or watering down the music to make it appeal to more people,” York said in an email.
York’s earliest Dre memory is buying the cassette single of “Dre Day” for 99 cents. “It was the only tape I could afford, and I think I had seen the video on MTV once or twice. Before that, I mostly listened to whatever my older brother was listening to. It was back when people experienced music. I had never been to California and it transported me to a world that I never knew existed,” he said.
Ladd’s favorite Dre track is “Let Me Ride,” off of “The Chronic,” Dre’s first solo album. “Let Me Ride” samples Parliament’s song “Mothership Connection (Star Child)” and the song’s video featured the funk band.
“(It’s) the way he paid homage to such a legendary band without just jacking the sample and flipping it,” Ladd said. “He even put P-Funk footage in his video; no one did stuff like that then.”
“Dr. Dre gave me almost a ‘Back to the Future’ type approach to music. He was like a DeLorean and I was blown away by all the early sounds”
he used. — hip-hop artist Jamal Cooley
Dre’s ability to mix old and new sounds appealed to Portsmouth hip-hop artist Jamal Cooley. Dre’s output at Death Row Records in the mid-’90s was hugely influential on Cooley. But more so was Dre’s use of classic funk and soul in his songs.
“Dr. Dre gave me almost a ‘Back to the Future’ type approach to music,” Cooley said. “He was like a DeLorean and I was blown away by all the early sounds” he used.
Bernard also admires Dre’s work as a producer and DJ and said that Dre’s talent for digging for and sampling obscure funk records has informed and inspired his own career as a DJ.
“That was the influence … trying to find old sounds and make something new,” he said.
Bernard has been booking shows at The Red Door for more than a decade. In that time, he’s watched the New Hampshire hip-hop scene slowly form.
When “The Chronic” came out in 1992, Bernard said that, growing up in Manchester, hip-hop was seen as “outlaw-type music.” Now, there are regular rap nights at The Shaskeen in Manchester, and Cooley was recently featured on WMUR’s “New Hampshire Chronicle.”
“It’s weird how it went from being on the outskirts to being a mainstream thing,” Bernard said.
York agrees. “There are a few people really helping to create a scene, and I think having events like Dre Day can help,” he said.
Don’t forget about Dre Day, Thursday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. at The Red Door, 107 State St., Portsmouth. Leave the kids at home and bring cash: it’s a 21-plus show and there’s a $5 cover.