The D.O.C. on Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline”: “Greatest diss record of all time”

On the latest episode of “Drink Champs,” N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN were joined by rap royalty, The D.O.C.

For him, the beginning traces back to the 1980s when he rapped in the Fila Fresh Crew. Toward the end of the decade, he linked up with other artists and N.W.A, a squad who pushed the art of gangsta rap into a newfound mainstream territory. As The D.O.C. simultaneously built his solo career, releasing platinum-selling projects like No One Can Do It Better, he not only helped the group get off the ground as a writer, producer and performer, but he also assisted key members like Eazy-E solidify themselves as legends.

The D.O.C. eventually left Ruthless Records and co-founded Death Row Records. There, he assisted with the making of Dr. Dre’s first project, The Chronic, helped Snoop Dogg evolve into the star that he is today, and many more worthwhile accomplishments. Overall, his impact in Hip Hop and the West Coast’s historical influence on the game is second to none. These days, the living legend is seeing the fruits of his labor. Notably, he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys this year.

On “Drink Champs,” The D.O.C. talked about building his career, the early days of N.W.A, his upcoming documentary and much more. Below are nine major takeaways from the four-hour conversation. Plus, watch the full episode here.

The D.O.C. is readying a documentary about his life. It’s slated to arrive soon, but in the meantime, he previewed the film and explained what makes it special. “The documentary itself, Kinfolk, is a top 3 Hip Hop documentary of all time. And it might [not] be 2 or 3 because it is Hip Hop, my n**ga. I’m the vehicle, but that story is about Hip Hop. That’s why it goes through New York, and it travels like Hip Hop did,” he explained.

The D.O.C. opened up about his relationship with Dr. Dre and how they’ve maintained a close bond since the beginning of their respective careers. “I am to words what he is to music,” he declared. “Before the world knew who he was, I knew who he was.” He went on to divulge Dre’s secret recipe as an artist and gave the legendary producer his flowers: “It’s the quality of the sound that he produces. It’s not the actual production, the beat-making. It’s the engineering. It’s that when you’re in the studio with the good doctor, how that s**t sounds that day is how it’s gonna sound. You don’t gotta wait until it gets mixed and mastered.” He continued, “I always respected him immensely for that skillset.”

Dr. Dre produced The D.O.C.’s debut album, No One Can Do It Better, in 1989. So, when it was time for Dre to craft his inaugural project, The Chronic, the favor was returned. As someone who wrote some of the biggest songs on the offering, D.O.C. voiced that he predicted its impact. “I knew what was finna happen. And in the early days, I thought it was gonna be my money too,” he joked. “But you knew what them boys was doing. And if you f**king with Dre, [9.999 percent of the time], you gon’ win,” he said. “You already knew what it was. And you went from ‘Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang’ to ‘Lil’ Ghetto Boy’ to ‘Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat.’ You was like, ‘Ah, he’s finna kill these muthaf**kas.’”

When Dr. Dre discovered Snoop Dogg, The D.O.C. was right there. During a trip down memory lane, he discussed the moment it all began. “Dre heard him and said, ‘That’s the guy.’ I said, ‘OK, that's what we gon’ do.’ And [I chose to] follow the lead, and play my role in this movie, and sit down with him and take him through structures. Because he would just rap for 30 minutes and s**t,” he remembered. “[I told him], ‘You need to remove all the ifs and stick to the meat that works.’ And he figured that s**t out. By the time he got to his record [Doggystyle], I couldn’t tell him s**t. He was flying and I happened to be on the ride with him.”

N.W.A was a carefully crafted group of artists who helped make gangsta rap the popular outlet that it is today. The D.O.C. dropped knowledge on how the group operated and more specifically, the major role that Ice Cube played in it all. “Cube was the spirit of N.W.A. That’s why it had a revolutionary feel to it. But when Cube left, Eazy is just a thug. He just wants to talk about murder, death, [killing]. He don’t give a f**k who dies. And so, it turned into that. And that’s what the world was built off of, at least as far as the music was concerned,” he said. “But Cube led those guys musically. When he rode, we followed the path.”

When Ice Cube decided to depart from N.W.A in the late 1980s, he took aim at his former group on wax. The D.O.C., a neutral party in the matter working alongside the group, recalled when the momentous diss track dropped and spoke on why he was able to ultimately duck the smoke. He called “No Vaseline” the “greatest diss record of all time.” And on the note of his name not being in it, he explained, “Cube knew ‘cause he had came to the hospital to see me. He knew that it would be like trying to beat up a handicapped kid at that point. So, he just tore they a** up. And I was so happy about that because he ate breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

The aftermath of a near-fatal accident in the late 1980s changed D.O.C.’s voice forever. However, with the growing popularity of artificial intelligence, the performer has plans to somehow revive the artist who existed before that incident. “Everybody feels this way; they feel that way. But it’s not possible for me unless I get those masters back. So, when the lady called and said she was interested in giving my masters back, it seemed like a G-o-d thing,” he stated. [God was] trying to tell me that ‘This voice is important. You need to keep this one. Because when you talk, now muthaf**kas are doing this, trying to hear what the f**k you gotta say.’ And so, I’ma take advantage of that opportunity and do the right thing with it.”

Death Row’s co-founder gave his unfiltered perspective of what the heyday of the successful label was like as someone who helped create and build the brand. On the note of the energy and aura of the unit, he said, “Suge had created this world; he controlled it. Dude said Compton is like prison, and really going to that studio every day was like being on the yard.” He added, “It was rough. They was in there looking like they was ready to bench press 8,000 pounds and ready to just do whatever.”

For those who don’t know, The D.O.C. used to write hits for Eazy-E back in the day. Together, they made timeless records and created moments in music history that still impact the world. Looking back at that run, D.O.C. discussed how Eazy impacted the genre of Hip Hop and the country. “I left Dallas in ‘87, ‘88… When I left, everybody looked like Whodini. When I came back [in ‘89], everybody looked like Eazy. The whole f**king city. It was like a cultural shock and s**t,” he remembered. “Eazy is still the prototype for every Hip Hop commercially successful artist that's in the game... 99.9 percent of them today.”

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