I just found the most unlikely story of collaboration. Here's how Hip Hop and can relate to every business.

I bet you don't know this story:

When Doctor Dre first started his comeback album 2001, he had no songs ready to go. But he made a phone call to a friend, and in 30 minutes, he had his biggest hit ever - "Still D.R.E." - and the album "2001" is now certified 6x Platinum.

In 2024, Dre has an estimated worth of $500M, having co-founded Beats in 2006. Beats sold to Apple for $3B in 2014. He could not have done that without "Still D.R.E."

Most of Dre's album 2001 is extremely explicit, panned by a critic as full of "endless gangsta babble, with its casual misogyny and flippant violence." I believe "Still D.R.E." (and "Forgot about Dre") were so good it put Dre in a favorable light with the public partially enabling this amazing net worth.

So how did this song happen?

Here’s the story:

-

Dr Dre’s story begins in 1999, he's in the studio trying to write a hit for a comeback album, his first since 1992.

The lead single, "Still D.R.E.", has one of the most recognizable beats of all time. The music video has 1.4 billion views on YouTube. The 2022 Superbowl Halftime performance has 225 million views on YouTube. Even covers of people just playing the beat on piano or ukelele get millions of views.

It is one of the quintiessential West Coast Hip Hop songs of all time.

- But the beat was written by a producer born on Long Island.

- And the lyrics were written by a rapper from Brooklyn.

-

Scott Storch, a keyboard player from Long Island who was playing with The Roots, was in Los Angeles for a concert. A friend of his (Eve) had just signed with Dr Dre, and she got him in to the studio where Dre and Snoop Dogg were working. He sat down at the keys and wrote the intro to the now classic "Still D.R.E."

Dre and Snoop loved it. It was the perfect West Coast feel they needed for the comeback album. But for four days, Dre and Snoop Dogg could not write a song over it:

- They freestyled over the beat.

- They wrote with a pen and paper

Nothing.

Until one day, everything changed.

-

Doctor Dre gave Jay-Z a call.

Jay-Z, who's given name is Shawn Carter, flew from New York to LA. He heard the beat, and in 30 minutes wrote the lyrics to "Still D.R.E." - both Doctor Dre's parts and Snoop Dogg's parts. Dre and Snoop were blown away.

Doctor Dre released his first album in 7 years. And Still D.R.E., with lyrics written by Jay-Z and a beat by Scott Storch, pushed it to #1.

-

Here was the key:

- Dre and Snoop dropped their ego.

- Dre and Snoop collaborated.

- Dre and Snoop focused on the OUTCOME.

It worked.

-

I love this story because it is the perfect encapsulation of what it takes to achieve success - collaboration.

I see way too many people let their ego get in the way of results. Drop your ego. The idea doesn't have to come from you. The right ideas are out there. Listen. Filter. Bring the right ideas to bear.

Great reminder for anyone with big dreams.