Dr. Dre x Arsene Wenger - Leap of Faith

Nobody’s ever reached the top by themselves. A lot of times, the success stories of individuals are forged in luck, chance and people taking a gamble on them.

Because sometimes someone can see something in you that you don’t even see in yourself, that nobody sees in yourself and the trust and motivation of that person can be all it takes for the fire to light.

In the summer of 1999, Arsenal’s French talisman Nicholas Anelka departed North London for Real Madrid. The turbocharged nineteen year old from across the channel had just accumulated 22 goal involvements in the Premier League and so his missing presence was keenly felt.

So Arsenal and their manager Arsene Wenger replaced him with Thierry Henry.

But he wasn’t that Thierry Henry yet. He was a Thierry Henry, who despite finishing as France’s top scorer at the 1998 World Cup just a year prior, found his career at a point of stagnation. He was featuring more prominently for France’s u21s rather than the senior team now and a bad move to Juventus left Henry out of form and out of confidence.

That’s why fans around the country didn’t take too much note when a player with 28 goals in 5 years for Monaco and who flopped in the hardest league in the world joined the Gunners. But someone knew something that nobody else did.

Up to this point, Thierry Henry was viewed by all as a winger with the raw pace and running power to unlock any fullback. But Arsense Wenger has been watching closely. He was Monaco head coach whilst the teenager was storming through the youth ranks and he saw something nobody else did.

He told the French forward he was wasting his time out wide and possessed all the fundamental skills of a striker as the two bumped into each other on a plane back from a Juventus game. Henry, who was suffering with a lack of self-confidence at the time, struggled to believe his words but Wenger was steadfast.

The manager had already signed and developed a number of French players into superstars at Arsenal such as Emanuel Pettit, Patrick Vieira and Nicholas Anelka. He knew what it looked like. Henry also possessed a burning desire to work for his former manager and so he was brought to Highbury only 6 months into his lackluster spell in Italy.

The earliest iterations of his career in England failed to catch flight. The player, now entrusted to fill the void of Anelka and carry the legacy left by Ian Wright, looked off the pace. He missed chances, his touch was baggy and he was half a step behind everyone else but Wenger’s belief didn’t waver. After going through his first 8 games without scoring, the 22 year old found the back of the net with a brilliant curled effort against Southampton.

And from that point on, the flame was lit. Henry scored 17 goals in his debut season and went on to become the player we celebrate to this day. Most say he’s the greatest footballer to ever step foot in the Premier League and with the countless records, accolades and ridiculously special goals he scored during his 8 years at the club - it’s a fact hard to dispute.

But you never get Thierry Henry without Arsene Wenger. The manager took a risk by bringing him in when he was so unproven. But he sae the potential, he saw the strengths in him before the weaknesses and had the belief he could be great. And that’s all it took to launch the career of one of the most celebrated footballers in history. A man who saw a spark of genius when everyone else failed to.

And the same year the Frenchman arrived in England, the seeds of a different but equally as momentous legacy were being sown halfway across the world.

In 1999, Eminem had just released his first project, the Slim Shady LP. It was an album that sold 283,000 copies in its first week, debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and states in the top 10 for 2 years. It was an album that changed hip-hop and took it into uncharted territory by pushing every boundary conceivable.

But without the faith and confidence of one man, we never would have got that album and we never would’ve got Eminem.

Let’s rewind a year to 1998. Dr. Dre, one of the most revered names in Hip-hop, the super producer who made the legendary Chronic album and spearheaded the sound of NWA - was flailing. After leaving the infamous Death Row records in 1996 and forming his own record label, he struggled greatly commercially with his compilation album ‘The Firm’ completely flopping.

He found himself lost in his direction and his sound. The consensus was that he fell off - the game had moved past him. But when a demo tape from an unknown artist from Detroit fell into his hands - it all came flowing back to him.

Eminem had impressed industry figures with the raw and audacious lyrical prowess he showed at the rap Olympics host in 1997. Impressed so much, that despite finishing second - he was asked for a demo tape which would eventually find his way back to Dre.

Dre says that the first time he heard the tape, he was awestruck. He flew Eminem in from Detroit and immediately began working with him. Within a few minutes of their first ever recording session, the foundations for the song ‘My Name Is’ had been built.

Every record executive told Dr. Dre to stay far away from Eminem. A provocative and unproven white kid from nowhere was not what he needed to get his career back on track. But the mogul didn’t budge. He was so convinced by Eminem and the magic they had created in the studio that famed day, he was willing to risk everything to get him signed to Interscope.

Nobody saw what Dre did but the faith of just one person was enough. Enough to launch one of the most notorious figures in rap history into superstardom. After Eminem was signed and the Slim Shady LP was released - the duo didn’t look back. They worked in tandem with one another. Dre would produce and feature on his songs whilst Eminem returned the favour. Dr. Dre released 2001 in 1999 also and it went nuclear. Eminem’s career was just beginning whilst Dre’s was simultaneously reborn. History made on the back of the belief of one man.

The power of finding someone who sees the world in you is immeasurable and can give you self-belief you never even knew was there.

Arsene Wenger and Dr. Dre risked a lot when they made those decisions. But they were rewarded 100 times over for it. The biggest gambles bloom the brightest flowers - if you believe in your gut and yourself, these two stories are examples that you double down on it and let nobody tell you otherwise.

Belief is sometimes all it takes.