Brian “Hittman” Bailey, an artist formerly part of Aftermath Entertainment, said that he is still in the mix with Dr. Dre in Part 3 of an exclusive interview with Not Mad.
“I probably came back into the mix right around the time he had the prototype for the Beats headphones, I remember because he showed them to me,” Hittman says in the interview. “So I’ve been around, just lurking in the shadows. What I can honestly say though is that I know he wants to do his last album for sure. ”
Hittman says he’s not sure the album is the long-awaited Detox, but Dre has shown enthusiasm for his latest work.
“Dre stays in mover and shaker mode,” Hittman says. “He ain’t tryin’ to be stagnant, so he’ll poke his he’d into the studio to hear what you got brewing. He’ll say wassup and then he’s out of there, like ‘I got to hit this movie set’ or ‘I got to fly up north to meet the people at Apple.’”
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Hittman, who is working on an album called The HITTmanifestation, said he values his independence as an artist.
“It’s funny, because artists would run up on me and be like ‘can you give this to Dre?’” Hittman says. “And I’m like ‘No, I know you’re not gonna believe this — because you think I’m trying to block your opportunity — but independence is better man, it’s free.”
HipHopDX reported on Part 2 of this interview yesterday (November 13). In that story, Hittman discussed the difficulties of the transition process for artists leaving Aftermath.
“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,” Hittman says. “You feel slighted and helpless and unable to fend for yourself, well at least that’s how I felt.”
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In the conclusion to Part 3 of the interview, Hittman says that he and Dre are good terms now, after a difficult period.
“I am no longer bitter,” Hittman says. “I was for a long time, though. I am at peace with it all now. I have only a few regrets, but even with those I stood on my principles and made my decisions based on the knowledge I had at the time.”
RELATED:Dr. Dre Lost Enthusiasm For Aftermath Artists, According To Hittman