In celebrating Hip-Hop History Month, one thing that always comes to mind are the pioneers that helped shape the culture into what it is today.
Dr. Dre is one of those formidable figures in the game, with decades of his influence spread out between producing hit records, dropping classic songs on his own accord as a solo emcee and reshaping what it means to be a hip-hop mogul. From his work alongside N.W.A. in ushering in the gangsta rap era, to making global superstars out of 50 Cent and Eminem for a new generation, the empire Dr. Dre has built for himself on the back of rap so far is something worth celebrating.
Now in 2026, he’s setting himself up to slow down a bit on the hip-hop tip to take some years to himself and figure out what’s next. He confirmed the plans during a recent visit to the Listen and Laugh podcast with Mike Epps and his former partner in rhyme, Ice Cube.
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“You never leave it,” Dre tells Ice Cube on being attached to the studio all 40 years of his career, going on to add, “Even when you’re outside the studio, your thinking about [it] — you’re looking at fucking storefronts, bumper stickers or some shit like that to give you an idea for the next time that you go into the studio. You’re never away from it; you’re always tethered to this thing.” He explains that the break will completely take him away from the booth for the first time in, well, ever.
He ended his thought by posing an interesting question: “What if there’s something else waiting for me that could give me the same exact feeling that I felt when I discovered music?”
That got us thinking as well.
While Dre more than deserves the sabbatical he seeks, we couldn’t help but ideate over the many lanes he could occupy in his time away from the rap game. At 61, there’s so much we can see him revisiting, a handful of ideas worth trying for the first time and movements that could see him opening up a whole new chapter in his trailblazing career thus far.
For the sake of Hip-Hop History Month, we say these suggestions are at lease worth a try!
