Dr. Dre - Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre (Official Discussion Thread)

[Sccit]

I just can't understand this Theo guy. What's your problem? That Dre's dropping an album after 16 years and giving it Comtpon name? Because DJ Quik didn't done that before him? He had his chance? Let's be honest, Quik can't top Dre or anyone can't top Dre with music. You can tell whatever you want but Dre is Hip-Hop. Dre is responsible for Pac, Snoop, Game, 50, X, Eminem... What else do you want? You're hating that album just because Quik isn't involved, if Quik had place on it you would kill us to death saying how good album is. Except Los Angeles area, Cali area nobody is interessted in Quik and you do know that. His time is almost over, ask youngsters about him, nobody would say a fucking word except "Who tf is that?". Dre is Dre. Even tho this album doesn't change the game like you've said, it changes everything. Only having Dre album after this long is changing the game. Everybody is talking about it, everybody is loving it. It ain't 2001-2-3 anymore, it's time for the sound he delivers with Compton. Youngsters don't want G-Funk. They want this sound so deal with it.

First of all you can say he's responsible for whoever you want but don't sit here and say he's responsible for pac,pac had a career before him and only came in contact with him thru suge and pac didn't even like dre when he died and some time before it...and to be fair he was responsible for Em who was responsible for 50 who was responsible for game...quik might not be as big as dre but he has worked with and influenced plenty of new school artists from Dom Kennedy,YG,Kendrick Lamar,iamsu,teeflii,tay f 3rd,Ty dolla sign,game....like come off it dude I swear you guys just use popularity as the only indication of quality...theo has been referred to as a "quik Stan" but look at the facts dre stans are just larger in number don't think because riding his tip is the norm that it's not the same thing the dude doesn't even write or produce his own music...like I said before the only reason DRE is relevant is because he has whoever is at the moment ghost write or produce for him...really tho that's like saying Picassos pieces were painted by someone else but with his paint brush so he gets credit...

All this talk of Dr. Dre is using ghost producers is just old rehashed groupie stories and unless you were in the studio with Dre you sound like a groupie yourself. Dre sometimes uses co-producers sometimes produces on his own just like your hero Dj Quik (Way 2 Fonky was basically a Rob Bacon production with help from Quik, all the bangers on Rhythm-a-lism was thanks to G-1). It's called collaborations, not ghost productions or stolen beats. Most producers that came from sampling background graduate to using collaborators (just like Quik). Anyone with half a ear and brain can tell that whoever Dre used as co-producer over thee years (from with he started with DJ Yella to whoever he uses now) the beats are still no doubt Dr. Dre beats and all have that sound so what kind of dumb fuck would accuse him of stealing other people's work?

the ghost producer argument is flat out retarded.....if u cant tell a dre production based on listening, you simply need your ears checked.

[Detox Is A Myth!!!]

The rest of the general public and industry - "Compton is incredible, probably going to be a classic"

Would like to see the evidence to support this claim.

I haven't really checked the hip hop review sites, but New York Times gave it a very mixed review.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/arts/music/review-dr-dre-compton.html?_r=0

And for non-Americans, the NYTimes is the biggest newspaper in the United States.  It's not a rinky-dink gossip paper.

I think a lot of this comes down to a generational divide.  "Compton" is basically Dr. Dre making a Kendrick Lamar album.  Like, if anyone wanted to know what a Dr. Dre-produced K. Dot album would be like, well, now you have it.

And the old school heads like me (I'm 33 years old) who were raised on funk in hip hop, especially in Dr. Dre's hip hop, are lukewarm at best with our reaction to this album; while the younger fans who love the Kendrick sound are naturally loving the continuation of that sound on "Compton" as interpreted/enhanced by Dr. Dre.

[Sccit]

The rest of the general public and industry - "Compton is incredible, probably going to be a classic"

Would like to see the evidence to support this claim.

I haven't really checked the hip hop review sites, but New York Times gave it a very mixed review.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/arts/music/review-dr-dre-compton.html?_r=0

And for non-Americans, the NYTimes is the biggest newspaper in the United States.  It's not a rinky-dink gossip paper.

I think a lot of this comes down to a generational divide.  "Compton" is basically Dr. Dre making a Kendrick Lamar album.  Like, if anyone wanted to know what a Dr. Dre-produced K. Dot album would be like, well, now you have it.

And the old school heads like me (I'm 33 years old) who were raised on funk in hip hop, especially in Dr. Dre's hip hop, are lukewarm at best with our reaction to this album; while the younger fans who love the Kendrick sound are naturally loving the continuation of that sound on "Compton" as interpreted/enhanced by Dr. Dre.

not true... i always questioned kendrick as an a-level talent (though he's grown on me since), was raised on that 90s shit, and i feel this album STILL. the production is top-notch, and thats pretty much all u can expect from a dre album. it's been a long time since we've heard production this great in hip-hop. i think it'll grow on u.

[Detox Is A Myth!!!]

DRE magnifies new talent like some pro fucking scout.

None of the new artists stands out to me on Compton.  Can you even point out a stand out moment on Compton by King Mez, Justus, et al.?  Hell, nobody's even talking about them in this thread.  They are not the subject of conversation.  When The Chronic dropped, best believe Snoop was a major point of focus in what people noticed.  Same even with Hittman on 2001.

[me1]

10 years from now yall will be begging for the next "Compton" type album to come out.

Stack this album up against any modern classic and what do you think then?

+1.

A few of my own personal observations. Quick thoughts...

• I've bumped this on great headphones after drinking about 15 drinks the night it came out, low volume driving around my kids on Friday, and then again today using shitty earbuds, good headphones, in the car, and again in the house on a good system. Between each listen I find myself thinking about a new song. That tells me a lot about what I will think of this album one week from now, one year from now, one decade from now.
  
• Shit is vintage Dre all day and night. If people were expecting a Chronic sound, or a 2001 sound, he gave you a combo of both on the last track. That beat is at least 5 years old, by the way. Dre can make that beat in his sleep.
  
• The comparisons to Kendrick's album confuse me. I feel a lot more energy in Compton than in that album. For me, Compton has far more replay value, and is a more cohesive, flowing body of work. IMO, of course.
  
• I don't hear any trap on this album.
  
• DJ Quik's music has been a great blessing to many, me included. Legit. Love his work. But he himself said respect the god, more or less. Called this "the future of music." So his fans that really ride for him need to chill on the comparisons to Quik's past work, his skill set as an engineer, etc. Using the Dre album to enlighten Quik non-believers isn't the way to go about making those people fans of Quik. It's totally ineffective. Especially when Quik himself sees himself as a Dre understudy, for lack of a better word.
  
• The features and collaborations feel far less forced to me than all the Detox leaks, needless to say. There is genuine chemistry on all these tracks. Organic chemistry. Something all the Detox stuff was lacking. And something that 2001 was lacking from front to back, IMO. Chronic, of course, was as cohesive as anything can be.
  
• The features ALL. KILL IT. Every single one. And not in a drum solo type way. In a way that is a completely organic piece of that song's puzzle. I personally like that I don't know who is doing what on some of these joints. It makes the song the star. And each song ties to the one before and after it in a way classic albums tend to do. As varied as the production is on here, it all feels like one body of work. That's Dr. Dre. He's never been able to do that to this degree, in my opinion (tie varied production styles together over the course of an album). That's the true value of his engineering and production excellence.
  
• Every person you hear talk about this album seems to gravitate to a unique song. For example, Whoo Kid played Satisfiction today. The Em joint. Premier loves It's All On Me, All In A Day's Work. Etc. When you consider what mere mortals like me, my buddy, whoever think about this, each seems to be gravitating to a new song with every listen. That is the mark of great art, imo.
  
• A great friend of mine said Dre may not be so much a genius as an incredibly hard worker (contrary to many opinions in this neck of the woods). He tirelessly looks to achieve magical chemistry in the studio. He may have not found it for a long time with respect to his solo work (hence, Detox never dropping). But when he says the work started flowing and magic began pouring out the speakers over the course of the movie's filming, I believe it. This album is proof. It's the product of organic chemistry and it's roots and ambitions are as pure as any in music. Dre is a fucking billionaire. Further, he had nothing to prove. He only stood to lose by releasing any body of work. The fact that he put in that work for so long to cement his legacy and give his fans new product is a beautiful thing. That's sadly lost on a lot of people. People bitching that there isn't a joint with MC Ren and King T rapping about their glaucoma is fucking ridiculous to me.
  
• The content shits all over his past work, and will impact the longevity of this album very favorably. It's no longer fictional. "YEEEAH JUST TOOK SOME ECSTASY." Uh, no you didn't, Dre. You're not cheating on Nicole. Dre found out how to talk about important grown up content in a fresh way. That may have been his biggest obstacle over the years in crafting a 2001 follow up. He succeeded with Compton. You could see him trying to go down this route with Bishop (no gimmicks, like Obie). Maybe the best example of what might have been from that era was Grown Up. But he still fell into the trap of making bullshit like Drug Test with the usual suspects. The new dudes (Justus, Paak, etc) made this work in a way the old dudes like Kurupt couldn't have. Same for the god D.O.C. He made a grown folks album. Abandoned all the old gangster shit, threw in some political content, gave the album an inspirational vibe, and wrapped it all up with incredibly tight and clean production that we are only now beginning to fully appreciate.
  
• I'm happy as fuck with this album and I'm happy it's getting some serious props out there. A couple of very loud voices in these forums won't be much of a roadblock to the momentum this work will carry forward.
  
• The best art isn't appreciated fully out of the gate. Paul's Boutique was met with some critical praise but fans wanted Licensed to Ill Part 2. Something to keep in mind. Dre always says his best work is ahead of him. Positivity is a good thing, but maybe in this instance it's misplaced or delusional of Dre to think that way? Regardless, if he felt like this is worth putting out there, a listener is doing themselves a disservice by passing negative judgement on this album too soon. (For those few contrarians that think this album isn't excellent)
  

[PLANT]

Some are saying that Dr.Dre needs to go back to his own flow.. but he's been using others flow his whole career for example when I listen Still DRE i can hear Jay Z all over it

Yep...

Dre sounds pretty normal on "All On Me"' , "Animals", and " Talking to my Diary".   His lyrics and flow don't sound forced at all on those songs, which are 3 of the best records on Compton.

[dubcoast]

What's wrong with consumers/listeners of this current generation? All they do is compare apples to oranges and if the orange doesn't taste like the apple, then they blame the fruit and not themselves! No one here is a producer or who has knowledge of the entire process, but can sit and write an encyclopedia on why this individual did this, why he didn't do that, this album is better/worse than someone else......give it a fuckin' break! If you like it, because it's music that moves you and you feel good after listening to it fine, if it has no redeeming value to you, that's cool! Nobody was in the studio during the making of this album, no one here is proficient in music theory, but all these know-it-alls act as if they know how to construct or guide someone to make a hit album.......perhaps when someone has a track record like Dre, then their asinine opinion/ASSumption might mean something! It's only music and no one wasn't making a big deal when Mike Jax made Thriller which was different from Off The Wall (even though virtually the same producer(s) and musicians were on both records)! All the consumer cared was that it moved them and they were able to dance and/or nod their head, ain't no one was comparing Michael's lyrics and all the other shit that is already 10 pages in length..........smh!

[teecee]

10 years from now yall will be begging for the next "Compton" type album to come out.

Stack this album up against any modern classic and what do you think then?

+1.

A few of my own personal observations. Quick thoughts...

• I've bumped this on great headphones after drinking about 15 drinks the night it came out, low volume driving around my kids on Friday, and then again today using shitty earbuds, good headphones, in the car, and again in the house on a good system. Between each listen I find myself thinking about a new song. That tells me a lot about what I will think of this album one week from now, one year from now, one decade from now.
  
• Shit is vintage Dre all day and night. If people were expecting a Chronic sound, or a 2001 sound, he gave you a combo of both on the last track. That beat is at least 5 years old, by the way. Dre can make that beat in his sleep.
  
• The comparisons to Kendrick's album confuse me. I feel a lot more energy in Compton than in that album. For me, Compton has far more replay value, and is a more cohesive, flowing body of work. IMO, of course.
  
• I don't hear any trap on this album.
  
• DJ Quik's music has been a great blessing to many, me included. Legit. Love his work. But he himself said respect the god, more or less. Called this "the future of music." So his fans that really ride for him need to chill on the comparisons to Quik's past work, his skill set as an engineer, etc. Using the Dre album to enlighten Quik non-believers isn't the way to go about making those people fans of Quik. It's totally ineffective. Especially when Quik himself sees himself as a Dre understudy, for lack of a better word.
  
• The features and collaborations feel far less forced to me than all the Detox leaks, needless to say. There is genuine chemistry on all these tracks. Organic chemistry. Something all the Detox stuff was lacking. And something that 2001 was lacking from front to back, IMO. Chronic, of course, was as cohesive as anything can be.
  
• The features ALL. KILL IT. Every single one. And not in a drum solo type way. In a way that is a completely organic piece of that song's puzzle. I personally like that I don't know who is doing what on some of these joints. It makes the song the star. And each song ties to the one before and after it in a way classic albums tend to do. As varied as the production is on here, it all feels like one body of work. That's Dr. Dre. He's never been able to do that to this degree, in my opinion (tie varied production styles together over the course of an album). That's the true value of his engineering and production excellence.
  
• Every person you hear talk about this album seems to gravitate to a unique song. For example, Whoo Kid played Satisfiction today. The Em joint. Premier loves It's All On Me, All In A Day's Work. Etc. When you consider what mere mortals like me, my buddy, whoever think about this, each seems to be gravitating to a new song with every listen. That is the mark of great art, imo.
  
• A great friend of mine said Dre may not be so much a genius as an incredibly hard worker (contrary to many opinions in this neck of the woods). He tirelessly looks to achieve magical chemistry in the studio. He may have not found it for a long time with respect to his solo work (hence, Detox never dropping). But when he says the work started flowing and magic began pouring out the speakers over the course of the movie's filming, I believe it. This album is proof. It's the product of organic chemistry and it's roots and ambitions are as pure as any in music. Dre is a fucking billionaire. Further, he had nothing to prove. He only stood to lose by releasing any body of work. The fact that he put in that work for so long to cement his legacy and give his fans new product is a beautiful thing. That's sadly lost on a lot of people. People bitching that there isn't a joint with MC Ren and King T rapping about their glaucoma is fucking ridiculous to me.
  
• The content shits all over his past work, and will impact the longevity of this album very favorably. It's no longer fictional. "YEEEAH JUST TOOK SOME ECSTASY." Uh, no you didn't, Dre. You're not cheating on Nicole. Dre found out how to talk about important grown up content in a fresh way. That may have been his biggest obstacle over the years in crafting a 2001 follow up. He succeeded with Compton. You could see him trying to go down this route with Bishop (no name, no gimmicks, like Obie). Maybe the best example of what might have been from that era was Grown Up. But he still fell into the trap of making bullshit like Drug Test with the usual suspects. The new dudes (Justus, Paak, etc) made this work in a way the old dudes like Kurupt couldn't have. Same for the god D.O.C. He made a grown folks album. Abandoned all the old gangster shit, threw in some political content, gave the album an inspirational vibe, and wrapped it all up with incredibly tight and clean production that we are only now beginning to fully appreciate.
  
• I'm happy as fuck with this album and I'm happy it's getting some serious props out there. A couple of very loud voices in these forums won't be much of a roadblock to the momentum this work will carry forward.
  
• The best art isn't appreciated fully out of the gate. Paul's Boutique was met with some critical praise but fans wanted Licensed to Ill Part 2. Something to keep in mind. Dre always says his best work is ahead of him. Positivity is a good thing, but maybe in this instance it's misplaced or delusional of Dre to think that way? Regardless, if he felt like this is worth putting out there, a listener is doing themselves a disservice by passing negative judgement on this album too soon. (For those few contrarians that think this album isn't excellent)
  

[/quote

Nailed it. Great post

[Chitown]

Medicine Man 10/10

[UCC]

The best art isn't appreciated fully out of the gate. Paul's Boutique was met with some critical praise but fans wanted Licensed to Ill Part 2.

Paul's Boutique is a great comparison... most fans of the Beastie Boys didn't really like it at first because there was no obvious big hit singles,
it sounded totally different to their debut, and it was very dense and layered and it took a while to "figure out" what was going on in the music...
it also had lots of different sections and songs that changed beat lots of times and that put people off...

And now it's considered their masterpiece and one of the best hip-hop albums ever made.

Not saying that the same will happen with Compton, but all the elements are there...

[PLANT]

Does anyone else think FredWreck may have been involved on Satisfiction?  That bouncy sound throughout the song sounds very similar to "Crazy" from Blue Carpet Treatment.

[Chitown]

I would like to hear an in depth interview on the production process. Was this tracked to tape, etc.

[Rebel]

After a few listens, I can honestly and objectively say that this album is great, and definitely a satisfying end to Dre's epic career as an artist. The album is perfectly produced and sequenced. I'm sure it'll take many fans some time to get used to Dre's new sound; but even if some don't see how this can be revolutionary, peeps have become SO critical (if you took individual song from both Chronics today, they'd be like "that song was aiight..not Dre's best...etc. coz seldom do young fans today consider sequencing and LPs as a whole), but, most will respect the creativity.... especially coming from a 50 year old billionaire legend who's given us sooo much that he didn't need to release a new record. The expectations for everything Dre does is unreasonably heavy (especially after "2001")- practically impossible to please everyone, especially after so many years anticipating his third and final lp. But I can easily see this being labeled as a masterpiece ultimately...and eventually...a classic. Plus we finally got a joint Dre/Primo beat!    

If I were to be nit-picky, I guess I'd like to have more songs, mainly from artists he's worked with throughout his career like The D.O.C., NWA, DPG, Rage, Mary J., Rakim, Nas, Jay-Z, RBX, Sticky Fingaz, Bishop Lamont, Knoc Turnal, an unreleased Nate Dogg verse, 50 Cent, Stat Quo, Eve, Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Truth Hurts, King T, Last Emperor, KRS...etc. As a fan of Aftermath and their musical partnership- I could've used one more epic collab with Slim Shady (like on the level of "What's The Difference") as well as Snoop that has a nostalgic feel- much as how "The Wash" payed homage to "G-Thang" like "The Last Episode" type track. It also would've been cool if he got his 3 main proteges on a single (Snoop, Eminem, Bishop/now K. Dot)- basically the Robin's to his Batman from all 3 eras (Chronic-2001-Compton). However, I'm happy he put all those newcomers in the spotlight (respect).

It would've also been nice if he released this as a double album with his best DETOX materiel...or at least a bonus EP/mix-tape. A DVD would be a nice companion to this record, too (featuring a documentary with interviews from people all over the music world, legendary Hip Hop producers like Primo, RZA, Quick...etc., and rappers he's worked with...etc.).

Overall? I love this album  

Thanks Andre

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

The rest of the general public and industry - "Compton is incredible, probably going to be a classic"

Would like to see the evidence to support this claim.

I haven't really checked the hip hop review sites, but New York Times gave it a very mixed review.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/arts/music/review-dr-dre-compton.html?_r=0

And for non-Americans, the NYTimes is the biggest newspaper in the United States.  It's not a rinky-dink gossip paper.

I think a lot of this comes down to a generational divide.  "Compton" is basically Dr. Dre making a Kendrick Lamar album.  Like, if anyone wanted to know what a Dr. Dre-produced K. Dot album would be like, well, now you have it.

And the old school heads like me (I'm 33 years old) who were raised on funk in hip hop, especially in Dr. Dre's hip hop, are lukewarm at best with our reaction to this album; while the younger fans who love the Kendrick sound are naturally loving the continuation of that sound on "Compton" as interpreted/enhanced by Dr. Dre.

Did you even read that review you linked? They praise Kendrick and his chemistry with Dre on the album. They also praised the production and the only negative comments they had to make were on the lyrics. And fyi:

Rolling Stones - 4/5
Complex - 4/5
Allmusic - 4/5
The Guardian - loved the album
USA Today - loved the album
Yahoo - loved the album
NPR - loved the album


All you had to do was use google to confirm this. And pretty sure all these journalists are "old school heads" like you. If by "old school head" you mean white guy, over 30 and a passionate fan of hip hop. Though personally I wouldn't label anyone born after 1980 old school anything, since you aren't old enough to have been listening to old school hip hop. You were still crapping your pants when N.W.A came out, let alone all the music that came before them.

[wcsoldier]

DubCC - "Dre is not rapping like he used to 20 years ago..."  "This album doesn't sound like The Chronic or 2001..."   " DJ Quik is better, makes better albums..."

The rest of the general public and industry - "Compton is incredible, probably going to be a classic"

Basically.

The same general public and industry who think Drake and Young Thug are the shit ...

Most of the listeners are just adapting their standards to the current state of hip hop ...

I couldn't care less that Compton is a great album when you compare to the usual garbage which comes out in 2015 ...