Exclusive: Cool & Dre Hit the Studio with Lil Wayne and DJ Khaled
As Lil Wayne embarks on a year that could yield five new albums, he’s called on the hitmaking duo of Cool & Dre, producer-extraordinaires who’ve helped craft heaters for Rick Ross, Fat Joe, The Game, Nas, and Weezy himself.
Recently, Marcello “Cool” Valenzano and Andre “Dre” Lyon stopped by Rap-Up HQ to talk about the new music they’re crafting for Tunechi.
“Carter V has been done for a while,” said Dre. “We don’t know if he’s putting new music on there, if what’s on there is staying. We don’t want to speak out of turn on that. But what we can say is that Lil Wayne is one of the greatest artists of all time, in our opinion. If he was in a rock ‘n’ roll band, he’d be one of the greatest frontmen ever. He’s one of the dopest lyricists ever. For him to be such a superstar and icon, he receives the music so freely. He doesn’t shut the door on people trying to get him music. That’s what we’ve always appreciated about him, he always opened the door for me and Cool to play him music and give him ideas. We’re so excited to get back home to give him the music.”
Wayne has been working on a slew of projects reportedly set to drop this year, including Tha Carter V, Dedication 6, Funeral, and Velvet. Plus, there are rumors that he is collaborating with Drake and Nicki Minaj as Young Money’s newly-dubbed “Big 3,” which was fueled by a photo of the trio that recently surfaced.
“Those pictures lit the ‘Gram up, right?” said Dre. “Just as fans, we can’t wait to hear whatever they’ve got cooking. You’re dealing with young legends. You’re talking about Nicki Minaj, she’s an icon. You’re talking about Drake, he’s a phenomenon, an icon, and is breaking so many records, and accomplishing so much so fast at such a young age, and Wayne. So, whatever they’re cooking, we can’t wait to hear it.”
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Aside from working with Young Money’s boss, Cool & Dre have also been in the lab with their longtime friend and collaborator, DJ Khaled, as the “Shining” star readies his “top secret” album Grateful.
“This is the biggest album that Khaled has ever made in his entire career and to say that is hard,” said Dre. “The last album, Major Key, was the biggest album that Khaled’s ever made in his career. We’ve had the luxury and opportunity to hear some of the stuff he’s been doing and also participate on some of the records as well. I’ll tell you this: It’s going to be a groundbreaking album and it’s going to be some of the biggest music you’ve heard in a very long time.”