Look what the doc brought in…. Eminem and Dr. Dre are covering VIBE’s Aug/Sept JUICE Issue! Read an excerpt from Em’s introspective cover story, Dying To Live, penned by Thomas Golianopoulos and pick up the issue on newsstands, August 16th.

ON BEING HAUNTED BY DEATH:

Do you think about your own death?
Yeah, I do. A lot. I think about it a lot. I try not to think about it but I do and it creeps me the fuck out. It creeps me out because they say that if I got to the hospital two hours later then I would be gone. I think about that a lot. When I lay in bed at night is when I think about it the most. It creeps me out man.

THE BEST EMINEM DISS TRACK ACCORDING TO EM:

What was the best thing someone said about you? Was there ever a hot Eminem diss?
Um, no. [Laughs.] Nah, I’m kidding. Shit, there was a couple of lines Everlast said like, “You ain’t running up on me with no empty gun.” I know that there is a lot of shit that I would have said about me.

ON BRITTANY MURPHY’S PASSING:

What were your thoughts when you heard that your 8 Mile co-star Brittany Murphy had passed?
It was crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy because at one point we were very close and she was a really good person. It’s crazy when you see things not just with her but just all these things that are happening in Hollywood with people in music, with people in acting . . .

. . . famous people.
Famous people. Famous people are overdosing at alarming rates and—that almost sounded like a commercial. Wow.

It sounded like a Sally Struthers commercial. “Please give to this charity.”
Right. But they are. And it’s one of those things man where you’re famous, doctors will kiss your ass because they love the celebrity. “Oh, I can call up Eminem and get him on the phone right now. Oh, hi Marshall, how are you doing? Do you need that [prescription]?” There are doctors that will give you certain things just because of who you are.

Dr. Dre and Timbaland went back to school Wednesday night. Both shocked students when they appeared at a Culver City High School graduation party. Dr. Dre introduced Timbaland, who performed the tunes “The Way I Are,” “Promiscuous Girl,” “Carry Out” and “Say Something” on a stage inside the school’s gymnasium. Students invited had no idea the hip-hop masterminds were the guests of honor.

“When we walked in, we were like, ‘Whoa. Is this a second prom?’” said 17-year-old junior Saul Salmeron.

The surprise performance was sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and Interscope Records, who have partnered with the aim of improving digital sound quality. The promotional event, which was recorded for an online documentary, also featured free food, photos and a raffle of HP gear. The company said it was donating $10,000 worth of computer equipment to the school.

“Y’all got a curfew?” Timbaland asked the audience at one point.

Students held up their camera phones and gathered around the stage to get a glimpse of Timbaland and Dr. Dre, who sneaked a peek of the crowd before he took the stage. Dr. Dre, who is currently working on his next album, did not perform with labelmate Timbaland.

Is a possible collaboration is in the works?

“We should be so lucky,” said Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope, Geffen and A&M Records, who attended Wednesday’s event. “I can only get them so close. The rest is up to them.”

Fans voted Dr. Dre the winner of VIBE’s Greatest Producer of All Time contest. He went up against DJ Premier in the final round, garnering 62% of votes to take the title.

“I just found out that I got voted VIBE’s best producer of all time. That shit is incredible,” Dre said. “I’m a humble person and I would’ve never expected that, seriously. I just go in the studio. I try to do my thing to the best of my ability.”

Overall, there were 189,425 total votes in six rounds of voting among four categories: Homegrown Sound, Soul Sample, Mass Appeal and Boom Bap.

ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will honor hip-hop pioneer Dr. Dre with the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award during its 23rd annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. The invitation-only event will take place on June 25, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and will also honor the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP songs on the 2009 R&B/Hip-Hop, Rap and Gospel charts.

Commenting on the award to Dr. Dre, ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams said, “Dre is one of the most important voices in modern music. He created a unique, recognizable sound that dominated rap music in the early 1990s, and has played a major role in developing and launching the careers of some of the biggest names in the business. He continues to inspire artists and producers across all genres with his musical techniques, and we are very proud to honor him with ASCAP’s Founders Award.”

Legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre has enjoyed both critical and commercial success throughout his career, changing music, culture and perceptions while always remaining true to himself and his vision. As an artist, Dr. Dre began his career creating groundbreaking music as a member and producer of renowned hip-hop group N.W.A. His two solo albums which followed, “The Chronic” (1992) and “Dr. Dre 2001″ (1999) are two of the most influential and essential hip-hop albums. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine listed Dr. Dre as the 54th Greatest Artist of All Time. Dr. Dre has won five Grammy awards including Producer of the Year in 2001. He has produced albums that together have sold more than 120 million units worldwide and has worked with artists including Eminem, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 2Pac and 50 Cent. In 2008, Dre released his high-performance brand of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre. In October 2009, he teamed with HP to launch a line of computers that feature the extraordinary sound of Beats by Dr. Dre.

What up fam,
I met Dr. Dre in the studio last night. When I got there Snoop was in the booth laying the finishing touches on another classic from the dynamic duo. He played me some tracks set for the up and coming Detox record and we talked about me jumping on board the project. Of course I talked about him doing shit on my record and he said he’d bless the album. The Game came through ready to spit but Dre just wanted every to vibe. It felt like old times when me and Dre would work on shit in Eazy’s cold ass garage.

He asked me did I diss him during the Paid Dues Show last Saturday. I did one of my new songs called “Drink The Kool-Aid” which got everybody thinking I’m dissing the whole industry…lol “You internet roaches…” I told Dre that I’d never diss the man that got me started.

No disses. Just style and grace. On another note, I rocked the fuck outta Paid Dues. I had my son Doughboy get down wit me while WC and Crazy Toones rocked France. I think people enjoyed the show. 20 years of West Coast hip-hop presented in 60mins. It was amazing. I can’t wait to put the new show together with all my new songs. I also dropped the single “I REP THAT WEST” on’em. They loved the new shit. The single and the video will premiere and be avaliable right here on icecube.com May26th.

My nigga Sir Jinx laced my wit a dope ass track. I’mma do it wit Jayo Felony and WC. This record is coming together like sweaty ass cheeks…
No Q & A this time ya’ll. I’m in a hurry. I’ll answer all questions next time.
Keep It Gangsta
Cube
(www.IceCube.com)

Murs, the self-proclaimed back-packer, helped headline the VIBE’s “Respect the West” showcase at SXSW, but not before vowing to buy WeNeedDrDre.org and explaining why Detox can help rejuvenate West coast rap.

Game said he got just about everybody he wanted for his upcoming The R.E.D. Album — he has some of the finest tracks featuring guests from all over the hip-hop hemisphere.

“I feel great about this album,” he said recently after going over tracks at Dr. Dre’s house. “It’s back full-force Aftermath and I’m conjoined with Star Trak.” (Pharrell Williams is one of the LP’s executive producers.) “I got this colorful movement over here where it’s beautiful music on this side [with Star Trak] — then when I need to go dark or super grown and sexy, I got Dre over here. The combination is crazy — mixed in with a Cool & Dre track and RZA track and all the sh– I been doing. The only person I’m upset I didn’t work with on this album is DJ Premier. I feel his sh– would have been perfect for this all-star producer cast that I have. One Premier track would have did me just fine. I would have murdered that sh–. But we ain’t get it in, ’cause he was doing a whole bunch of sh– for Christina Aguilera. I’m just Game. So I gotta just wait for the next album.”

The Compton MC said he lets the fans know from the start of the album that he’s not playing.

“They got the intro to the album, which is titled ‘Infrared,’ “ Game said of Cool & Dre. “It’s one of them joints that Shaheem is gonna love. All the real hip-hop fans, to hear me rap, how I’m rapping on my intro, it’s gonna f— people up. Before you get to #2, you gonna already know I’m serious. I’m spitting. I go in. I done played this for RZA, Dre, Pharrell — all the people who heard this is like, ‘N—a, that’s crazy!’ I haven’t spit like I’m spitting on the intro since ‘300 Bars.’ I touched every topic. Everything involving me, I touched.”

We’ll get a prelude to Game’s work with Cool & Dre on a song called “Shake,” as it’s one of the highlights on his upcoming Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama, All Red Everything. Game tells a mayhem-filled story over the beat that incorporates the looped word “shake” throughout.

” ‘Shake’ is bad, man,” Game said. ” ‘Shake’ is crazy. Cool & Dre brought it in and I went through the ’shakes.’ I told the story, cutting myself off right before the ’shake’ came in [on the track]. I didn’t write none of that down. I went in and said the whole sh– straight through. You know what it is about them?” he asked about Cool & Dre. “They are more like my brothers. I can go in with the any moment and make a song. The streets is gonna f— with it.”

Don’t write off Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre just yet. Fans who enjoyed the Dre-executive produced “Doggystyle” back in 1993, have been yearning for the two West Coast giants to collaborate on another LP for the past 17 years. They worked on tracks here and there(“B*tch Please, “Imagine”), but haven’t come close to releasing a joint project. Fear not. To let Snoop tell it, Dre producing one of his upcoming albums isn’t that far-fetched.

“What is the possibility of a Dr. Dre-produced album from Snoop Dogg?” Snoop pondered during a sit-down with BET.com. “I’d say about a 90% chance it can happen. You know, the 10% that lies out there is about availability as far as from Dr. Dre, not me, because I know and understand that I’m good, but when I’m with Dr. Dre, I’m great.”

In related news, Snoop is set to guest host BET’s “The Deal” starting with this morning (March 18) at 3 a.m. He’ll also guest host the show on March 19 and March 23. (BET.com)

Ice Cube is planning to reunite with Dr Dre on his forthcoming comeback album, ‘I Am The West’. He wrote on his blog:

“I wanna answer a few questions you have for ya’ boy – Beats by Dre? Not yet. Haven’t asked him, but I will. Any collabos? Not yet.”

Ice Cube went on to say; He added:

“I would give you guys the concept but I’mma save that and let you see it for yourself. Now I know it seems like my record is West Coast crazy- Yeah it is. But I got a lot of real s**t to say on this record just like I always do. So my political fans won’t be disappointed. But sometime the Big Dog gotta p**s on a few trees to let these puppies know what it is. They can’t f**k wit me lyrically or physically. They all talks s**t from a distance cause they know, I may do comedies but I aint no joke.”