Aftermath Entertainment: Friend or Foe to the West

[k-dogg]

When Dre left DR and started Aftermath, I was excited cause I figured Dre with his production skills and now his label experience on both Ruthless and DR would be able to do things his way for the first time and I thought Aftermath would become the hottest label in the rap industry..While Dre has made alot of money and he and Eminem and Jimmy have profited from Em and Dre sales along with G-unit and Game sales, Game remaines the only WC artist to really make it big and so many other rappers have been let go without even releasing any albums including WC vet King T.....I think Dre and Jimmy should be ashamed of all the artists signed and let go especially Dre since he knows what it is like to be rejected by the industry..So my point is, do westcoast hip hop fans think The math has been good for the WC or just good for Dre..I'm not hating on Dre and I know the industry has changed alot but it seems like Aftermath should have been so much more in representing the Westcoast and hip hop in general. How do you feel about that??   

[Dre-Day]

but that was the concept, to have a universal platform.

can't say that i'm proud of the label at all.
i rather see it collapse

[papa-smurf]

Man i remember at one point the west turned they back on dre.everybody from the west was dissing him and calling him gay and shit.now everybody want his help.But at the end of the day its all bussiness.eminem and 50 cent is the greatest thing that ever happened to aftermath.believe it or not.So dre makeing the right moves.imo.

[The "Untouchable" DJR]

Aftermath has got something in common with Death Row:

Coulda woulda shoulda.

[EFFeX]

Aftermath has got something in common with Death Row:

Coulda woulda shoulda.

I mean, in terms of sales and quality releases, Aftermath has released some good music, but they really been a sleeping giant for too long. They dropped the ball on so many potential classics its not even funny.

[Biggzy]

dre is over-rated n he aint dun shit 4 the west!
he just a closet-fag.. hahaha

[Jimmy H.]

I don't think Dre ever once claimed that Aftermath was gonna be a strictly West Coast label. I think he's been fairly straight forward about his direction over the years and his actions have pretty much matched that. Fans and artists have kind of volunteered him for a spot he never accepted. There aren't any other labels with the influence to do something on the West so people have pretty much appointed Dre to be the savior. It's not about a friend or a foe. A friend doesn't owe you. My understanding is Dre wants make music with good artists and not restrict himself to strictly California. 

[MediumL]

Exactly ^^^ Dres had the west coast on his back for soo many years. Since leaving DR he helped gain some attention for the west on 2001, helped Xzibit blow up, brought Snoop back into the limelight and brought The Game. Shit if anyone should be under fire it should be Game - if hes the so called king of cali atm he should be doin a hella lot more to put other west coast newcomers on. Instead of puttin fuckin Nas or Raekwon on his album feature BWS artists

[Jimmy H.]

There's also the whole pointing at Hittman and King T being dropped as Dre's "anti-West" agenda but Stat Quo, Raekwon, Rakim, and the rest all parted with the label too. In the case of Hittman and T, the material from their albums have surfaced. Dre might not have made them household names but you can purchase their material if you want to hear it. 

[dubsmith_nz]

Dre drops who he feels is hot, and all Aftermath projects have sold well. He hasn't dropped anything thats flopped, hes dropped alot of artists, but also alot of solid albums and classics. He made Xzibit and Game huge, and brought Snoop back to where he shoulda been, also don't forget Knoc...

[Lunatic]

no diss, Dre wants to make money: that's always been his agenda, and i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. West coast or not, I don't think he ever signed an artist unless he saw some serious potential profit.

[The King]

Dre is afraid of failure, he wants his legacy intact. His quality control has gotten to a point he won't release any albums which won't be huge successes, which is why so many artists get dropped. How hard would it of been to release Stat Quo's album? Or Hittmans? And as it seems now, Bishops? The albums are done, yet Dre/Jimmy won't release them because they won't sell millions. They've screwed themselves many times by pushing back albums.

I have a lot more respect for 50 Cent and what hes done for G-Unit records in many respects. You don't see bad sales stopping 50 from releasing more albums by his artists. Yayo didn't do well, and he still released Blood Money, which did worse. Then he released Banks and Buck's albums which did equally badly. And a second group album. You have to respect 50 for still working and releasing these albums, even though they seem like flops. You may not like G-Unit, but at least their still releasing material despite bad sales, something that can't be said for Dre. I'd rather have 10 more G-Unit albums then the hope of Dre releasing even one more album on Aftermath.  Both 50 and Dre are immensly rich, but it seems Dre won't spend a dime on a project unless it's profitable.

The other problem with Dre is theirs guys like Cube, Snoop Dogg, who have openly said they'll work with Dre, do a full album, or an NWA reunion album with Ren, yet their all waiting on Dre. All these artists, want to get these projects done, yet they have to wait on Dre. What the hell is Dre doing? Does he really sit in the studio for hours on end working on Detox for 9 years? How long does it take to produce 16 tracks for an album? I question his legacy for the simple fact that it shouldn't take a super producer years to produce an album. Quik produced Street Gospel in a matter of weeks, how the hell does it take 9 years for Detox? He can't be working full-time.

[OG Hack Wilson]

they fucked up rap by signing 50 cent

[k-dogg]

I must admit that I'm kind of conflicted...As I said in the initial post, I'm not hating on Dre...As a matter of fact, I'm a huge fan but damn...I think his inability to release other artists music and even his own is going to affect his legacy...As the King said, I think in a way that Dre is afraid of failure despite always talking like he is so confident in the rare interviews he gives.. Jimmy I'm sure has final say but I think Dre has more input than we realize and so many of the unreleased projects could have at least gone gold but that is not good enough for Aftermath.   In some ways, I feel Dre has cheated both the artists and the fans with his insecurities.

[Al Bundy]

aftermath presents: bitches getting dropped

3 disc album fully produced by dr dre. bonus disc: crooked i - boss music. coming this nevuary