As a former Aftermath Entertainment artist, Brian “Hittman” Bailey offered some insight into the inner workings of the label and Dr. Dre, during an exclusive interview with Not Mad. According to Hittman, Dre could only be enthusiastic about another artist’s project when he wasn’t focused on a project of his own.
The former Aftermath rapper also spoke on Game and revealed why he feels Game was fortunate during his time spent at the label.
“I’ll give it to you like this. Game was fortunate for two reasons: 50 liked what he was doing, so he was able to jump ship, and Dre wasn’t working on his own album at that time,” Hittman said during his interview with Not Mad. “Those who were fortunate to be around when Dre wasn’t 100% focused on his own album were the ones able to launch their careers. But those who were positioned to springboard off of a Dre album (like 2001) got lost in the shuffle. If he’s focused (on his album), all your energy is focused on helping him see his vision. Once he doesn’t have enthusiasm about what you’re doing, it wanes.”
Hittman also recalled the fame that came along with being an artist signed to Aftermath at the time. He says it was like living under Dr. Dre’s shield, and added that going out with Dre was almost the equivalent of carrying a Black Card.
“That’s what I think happened to each and every artist (on Aftermath), and you also kind of get used to being under his shield,” he said. “You can get in to all the clubs, you know, ‘I’m rolling with Dre’ is kind of like a Black Card, it’s Aftermath motherfucker! So when you get on your own, you don’t really know how to fend for yourself, it’s like ‘which way do I go?’ (Dre) pretty much has a blank check budget, but you don’t. You don’t have the amenities that you’ve grown accustomed to having during his recording process and all of a sudden your comfort zone is snatched from under you with no real explanation. You feel slighted and helpless and unable to fend for yourself, well at least that’s how I felt. Not having the resolve on how to deal with those kinds of feelings can quickly send you into a state of obscurity. And yes, the political side of the music game stifled all my creativity and in that instance I totally lost my love for music and replaced it with disdain and hatred for it.”
Earlier this year, Hittman touched on his relationship with Dr. Dre in his verse on Asoka’s, “The Humble Hustle.” On the record, he raps:
“Spitting for Andre til he said ‘Stop, that’s all I gotta hear’ / Then and right there, dreamed of ballin’ and gear / All-in-all an illustrious career / Well, I thought wrong. Thought I was on. Got hella gonged.”
RELATED: Dr. Dre Split Addressed By Hittman In Guest Verse; Video Released
dre is a person who either gives you his all, or gives you nothing. Dre is on his own, and that’s how people in his circle need to come at it with him. As long as you are concentrating on building your own career, but still using dre to get ahead, then you’re okay.
the artists with talent that dre works with have still gone on to be successful. the ones he has to babysit tend to fall off
exactly my point
uh okay. if that was your exact point you would’ve said so to begin with
Dre is like a grandfather to his artists. He’s like a lone wolf, howling at the moon. You must be careful in how you approach him because he’s unpredictable.
This guy is just bitter cause he never blew up and tries to find excuses. Kendrick signed to Dre and blew up and Dre was still in the process of working on Detox, so his whole argument goes down the drain. You lost.
man dre wasn’t working on no damn Detox when kdot was comin up. shoot there is no detox haven’t you heard?
Just because he shelved Detox doesn’t mean that he had never worked on it, even released singles. I need a doctor came out in 2011 which proves that Dre was focusing on projects of his own while Kendrick was coming up. Hittman is just bitter, I could picture Slim da mobster coming up with the same bs excuses as to why he got dropped
@ The Truth Hurts; There is a 13 year span between me being at Aftermath and Kendrick coming out with his Aftermath debut. Maybe K.Dot hittin` his mark partly has to do with Dr. Dre learning from past mishaps. And what part about the article sounds bitter? Read the whole article let me know…http://notmad.us/2014/07/hittman-arises/# & http://notmad.us/2014/11/hittman-arises-part-two/
wattup hittman. was just listening to that foot soldier track off the murda weapon bootleg… so dope bro… drop some more singles bro, that verse on humble hustle was dope, but idk about that other dude rappin lol,email me some unreleased shit bro… and u should post on the dubcnn forums…
I think Hittman’s album would have been dope off of Aftermath as his voice complimented Dre’s beats well. His lyrics were some of the easiest to recite off of the 2001 album.
Remembering old members of Aftermath, can you imagine if Raekwon and Rakim released their albums? I remember Raekwon saying before that Dre was hooked on Tetris and didn’t really feel like getting up in the studio 90% of the time.
uhhh rae did release the aftermath album, and it did really well and got great reviews… dre regretted letting him go. and the album had the 2 dre beats from raes time at aftermath… rae had said he brought the album to dre finished and dre added his 2 tracks, nigga me wit busta rhymes and catalina, the single….
and yeah I agree hittman would have made noise with his album, I think dre was trying to do a west coast “ready to die” type album like I think he tried to do with king tee before… and his vision just didn’t pan out… that’s always been my theory, hopefullt hit can come back here and comment…
whatever the case I think dre should have put more effort into hit and less into xzibit, even tho restless is cool, much rather hear a completed murda weapon…
and one last thing, hittman why did u wait so goddamn long to release anything? hittmanic verses and big hit rising are dope, but strike wen the iron is hot, I mean at least we got SOMETHING from knoc turnal while his name was still a lil hot… hittman forreal go on the dubcnn forums, we got a lotta questions for u homie…
Dre put his name, a couple beats, a verse and some mixing into GKMC the rest was Kendrick and TDE.
Yo samutahjazz, hitt me up on twitter @HITTMANsince87
‘harsh realities of life hit me after i smoke’
yo HITTMAN i cant believe its already been 15 years since that classic 2001 came out… how time flies, doesnt it?
Man, the time from then to now is pretty much a fuckin` blur! lol
It’s a blur because you couldn’t afford more light bulbs in your mom’s basement. You had your shot and lost it. Hungrier and more talents artists took your place though. Hope everything works out for you.
Respect Due HiTT.
Peace goes out.
Thanks, bro. Can I borrow a dollar or two? I promise I’ll pay you back.
Sure thing, just give me your PayPal account and password and you’ll get some dollars. =)
Thank`s a lot, greatly appreciated!!!
Is it me or does this guy sound like a little bitch? Even on the street, dudes can’t be holding your hand throughout everything.
Dre got way too much money. He needs to start giving back to hip-hop. Start dopping Detox tracks every friday for a year. Put some of those sheleved albums on itunes. What has he got to lose/
Dre “Made It” Like officially out this shit. Feet kicked the fuck up now.
There are plenty of Dre project that never saw the light of day. I remember HipHopSite talking about teh amazing King Tee project that never was put out for the public. Dre might be like Steve Jobs, worked with many people to find a vision, but very picky about what saw the light of day. That doesn’t mean there weren’t good projects, but his direction set the stage for what happened.
if ur talkin bout Kingdom Come, it did get released years ago
Good interview. I was definitely checking for a Dre-produced Hittman album in 2000. It was a shame it didn’t happen. So many quotable lines on 2001 though. Ackrite and Big Egos are two of my favourite songs on the album.
Maaannn fuck this thirsty ass bitch. This shit aint even on Dre’s radar.
I wouldn’t call nigga a thirsty ass bitch, but you’re right. Dre probably forgot Hittman’s real name lol.
hittman was damn near the reason why 2001 was hot.every nigga that was on that album gave props to hittman.Because he 1 of the main reason those beats was slapping right along with dre.
For reals? Can’t imagine all those steroids, testosterone, human growth hormone, cortisone etc doesn’d do “wonders” for a has-been woman beater like Andre?
Dogshit headphones also, bloated deaf fuck.
I CRINGE every time HITTMAN raps on 2001. Those beats are CLASSIC and this dude ruins them with his simplistic nursery rhymes in the hood bullshit. Seriously, I’m embarrassed to bump 2001 when that dude comes on and those cheesy ass kindergarden raps come on. I feel like an idiot when listening to those parts of the songs.
I’m also guessing this is why Dre got bored of his ass. After his cool little voice and persona wears off this dude got nothin’.
Wow. At least I don’t have to discredit you for being a troll, you’ve made that much obvious. I’m sure your rap career was so much better, right?
Don’t need a rap career to know when you hear whack shit…..
LOOK WHAT DRE DID TO THE D.O.C.
Fuck HITTMAN….he’S always been wack!!!
Can you at least elaborate on why you feel that way? You’re not contributing anything to this conversation.
respect to HITTMAN without him 2001 wouldnt be as acclaimed as it is now
truu
Makes $ence
GAME WAS FORTUNATE CAUSE GAME IS ON SICK MUTHAFUCKIN MC NOT TO MANY RAPPERS Can ACCUMULATE 25 Million without goin broke Game must be doin something right cause Doctors Advocate was a classic too and dre or 50 had nothing to do with it…. yall can quarrel over sales im sayin doc advocate was a classic regardless of what it sold you unhiphop educated sales nerds and it still went platinum went platinum.(BITCHMAN) GO KILL YO SELF today… Just seems that somewhere along the way these link card ebt havin muthafucks were blinded by diddy and jay z and started saying a nigga with 25 million dollars is broke… what royal family do you muthfuckas come from to say that a nigga with 25 million is broke…. im far from the smartest nigga but if my math is correct most of you fuckin bums wont see 1 million in ur lifetime let alone 25.
Uhh this was about hittman… not about sucking games dick
sounds quite logical, think of bishop lamont
Hittman u were by far one of best MCs on 2001 n still years later there is no MC that spit quite like u but fuck askin bwt where u been all this time and hw come u aint released shit since or y this or y that.
man this is the best tym to be independent u still hav much luv in the street and online from what u blessed on that 2001 album and im from UK btw
U prob make more profit on ur own nowadays with itunes, touring, merch etc than bein on the “famous” aftermath shelf collecting dust just like so many others who left.
Ask Bishop lamont, Rakim, raekwon, busta rhymes, joel ortiz, etc etc
what label issues they had. most common reason for leaving aftermath is “creative differences”, that really mean jimmy and dre hav to own ur ass n tell u how they want ur image style n character to be gangsta but also with radio friendly hits like 50 cent Game Kendrick.
Most artists that left aftermath esp. bishop lamont n rakim complained that dre always wanted them to kill muthafkaz on the track n rap about the same ol negative gangsta bollocks he been promoting all his life.
Just listen to Bishop Lamont – Hallelujah ft Xzibit [Produced By Dr Dre]. Thats not the type shit the people at the top(illuminati connected CEOs of major coperations) want the youth to hear.They mostly old white and jewish men who dont like hiphop but control mainstream hiphop
U better than that hittman D.I.Y my friend D.I.Y do it yourself cuz labels will soon be a thing of the past like VHS n cassette tapes
Cuz we all know they wna dumb us down keep feeding us this toxic radio party party twerk twerk work work im so stupid lets get stupid stupid shit.
To keep us from thinkin bwt real issues like pac used to talk bwt.
people starving homeless no jobs in debt banks and coperations pimpin us low ass wages etc etc While the fat ass bankers and CEOs dont pay tax keep tellin us “u gotta work hard yeah yeah hard work is key, thats y u broke”. thats bullshit people still need the right opportunty and a little help.
Damn u can work ur ass off in Mcdonalds cleanin toilets only outcome from that you get is a clean shiny ass toilet seat for the nextman to take a shit in. Aint no CEOs gonna stop u in the toilets n say hey damn u work hard son u wna work for me as a stockbroker? GTFOH
HAHA WTF you writing love letters for?
CANT FUCK WITH DRE SLIM DA MOBSTER WENT OUT AND GOT A BIG ASS AFTERMATH TAT ON HIS BACK NEVER RELEASED A ALBUM LOL
Respect to H.I.T.T.M.A.N. !!!
Youre still dope.
U don’t need dre.
Just Some dope beats…
Maybe fredwreck ? Even buddha or mel-man, just be sure you bring that ‘west coast’ sound…. Hook up with kokane, rbx, kurupt, slip capone and knoc…
Always wantend to hear you and king tee on some more tracks….
But keep it coming !
Respect hit, from Rotterdam !
True to that!!! Also respect from Rotterdam !!
Whats happening with the new tracks hit?!?
Mr Hittman I appreciate u ma nigga u r the best MC ,I dont see label is better than you Nop!! Get back to studio n release much lyrical for ur niggaz we know u can
Thank you!!! I appreciate you as well. Headed to lab right now, stay tuned… -H>
Hittman u was the truth lyrically back in the day. I’m glad u didn’t sell out like most do for the rags and riches. U stayed tru to yourself I respect that about u. Keep ya head up
Yo Hittman.. You made 2001 a classic man, dope lyrics , delivery and you had that confident swag.. Listening to 2001 takes me back to my senior year in highschool.. Keep grinding homie