Dr. Dre on The Defiant Ones

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s highly-anticipated documentary The Defiant Ones is now airing on HBO. The four-part series traces both of their careers along with their 20-plus-year partnership.

On the first episode, Dre recalls his beginnings as a DJ.

How he got into DJing:

“There was a club in the neighborhood called Eve After Dark. One of my uncles was a bouncer at this club, and he snuck me in one night, and Kurtis Blow was performing. And his little brother, Davy DMX, he was the DJ. This [was] the first time in my life that I saw scratching. It just f#cked me up. I knew that this was my calling. There was a friend of mine, and he put together two turntables, and he used a balance knob to be able to go from turntable to turntable. I started [DJing], and I just fell in love with it.”

His first mixer:

“My mom bought me a Numark [DM]1150 mixer [for Christmas]; I [had] the ability to make tapes. [It was] one of the best gifts I ever got in my life.”

Making mixtapes:

“One of the first times that I performed for an audience was in Eazy-E’s backyard after a block party. Next thing I know, all the kids in the neighborhood were coming over to my house to get their tape. I would shout your name out on the tape, or you could talk on your own tape. This was the first way I started hustling and making money.”

Watch the trailer for The Defiant Ones below.

Related: Jimmy Iovine Recalls Hearing Dr. Dre for the First Time