DRE’S THIRD BIG BREAK:Dre’s next big break arrived when he met a Detroit rapper named Eminem. There are many variations of the Dre meets Eminem story, but popular belief has it that Dre discovered Em’s demo tape in the garage of Interscope label chief Jimmy Iovine. Eminem was already making rounds in the underground circuit, having placed 2nd in the freestyle category at 1997’s Rap Olympics MC Battle in Los Angeles. Iovine approached him for a tape afterward. When he played the tape for Dre, the west coast beatsmith eagerly contacted Eminem.
Like a magician who has just discovered a new trick, Dre made Eminem a prominent fixture on his records. With Dre’s production prowess and Eminem’s lyrical aptitude, Aftermath would become one of the leading hip-hop labels in the world. The one-two punch of Slim Shady and Dr. Dre rolled out platinum album after platinum album, including The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and 2001.
