Fool's Gold: Aftermath Entertainment (good article)

[Elano]

It's almost like selling Fool's Gold. For those that don’t know the meaning, it means to offer something that appears to be very valuable but it's actually not real. Is that what is happening with Aftermath Entertainment? Dr. Dre, perhaps the most talented and credible producer in the hip-hop industry, is known for his super tight production as well as his vigorous work ethic and dedication to projects. So why does it seem like no one can even drop a successful album with him? Well with the exception of Eminem and Snoop Dogg, there haven't been many success stories coming out of that camp. I've thought about possible reasons for this happening and I really can't think of too many. Maybe there are too many powerhouses in one company?

Let's take a look at the tree. At the top we have Aftermath, Dr. Dre's company. Aftermath signs Eminem who in turns starts his own label under Aftermath, Shady Records. Shady Records then signs 50 Cent. Together Eminem/50 become possibly the most successful artists to ever grace hip-hop. 50, being no stranger to profitable business transactions, decides he wants in and starts G-Unit Records. His record company now, signs a slew of above average hip-hop artists including Mobb Deep and MOP. Oh and don't forget The Game. He was originally on Aftermath, but it seems that the powers that be thought he may do better joining forces with G-Unit as that would appear to be more marketable at the time. So, The Game goes from sitting on the dusty shelf at Aftermath (top of the tree), to shining and getting recognition at the end of the food chain (bottom of the tree). What a disaster that turned out to be.

50 and The Game bump heads, but boost sales for G-Unit in the process and The Game is eventually back on just Aftermath, where he has a decent amount of success but not as much as you would think being with Dr. Dre. Due to his disputes with 50 Cent, The Game left Aftermath Entertainment and signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit in the summer of 2006. Throw some Interscope ownerships in this mix and you have a confusing organization of millionaires with an enormous amount of power. So.....we see albums out now that have the "Aftermath/Interscope/Shady/G-Unit" logo. Seems like too many hands in one pot. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the paperwork involved in contractual issues.

Rakim was signed to Aftermath and there was so much talk about what a great collaboration that would be. Legendary MC with a legendary producer…..how COULDN’T it be ill? What about Busta Rhymes? He almost ALWAYS had a hit. How about Eve? The Firm? Bilal? Truth Hurts? Even Dawn from En Vogue…..And most recently, Joell Ortiz!! He was signed in ’06!! I thought there would be more Latinos shining in the game with that one, but, alas, he’s gone now too and has NOTHING to show for the past 2 years there. And I almost forgot about Raekwon……that match-up alone seems already classic. It’s been really quiet about that album though….hopefully this year we’ll hear something.

What exactly happens to these artists when they go over there? Another guess could be that since Dre has so many other projects to work on, it’s impossible for him to focus on so many . Even his OWN album! Detox? Unless your album has 10,000 tracks on it, it really shouldn’t take 8 years to drop. Unless you’re an unsigned artist without a label.

Either way it’s pretty sad. What appears to be a heaven for artists, only winds up to be a purgatory. Just a place to sit and wait. So happy to finally get there, but then you realize all that glitters ain’t gold…another case of Fool’s Gold being sold to the masses.

[Meho]

Lots of good points in the article but what I don't get is that some people think that Dre has actually been working on Detox for 8 years. How retarted can you be ? It's not like as soon as he dropped 2001 in 99, he started working on Detox and hasn't stopped ever since. As far as you can tell from his interview the first Detox sessions took place from 01 to 03, then he decided to scrap the project. He started the 2nd Detox sessions in around 05/06, meaning he's been working on it for 2 years, which is quite normal.

[Dre-Day]

the article didn't really contain a deep analysis. i think there was a great discussion topic about the business side of aftermath on dubcc a while ago which was better imo.

by the way, Meho, i guess those people didn't read the dr.dre interview with GQ magazine and/or the LA times interview ( not sure in which interview dre said that he has been working on detox for one year in total).

[wcsoldier]

This is a pretty poor article imo .. the main idea is here but thats just some random shit everybody knows and there is some confusion here and there (the mention to Snoop  ) ... the way Dre runs the Math is still very strange imo .. outside taxes write off, I dont see the point of signing and droppin tons of artists .. why make music if it never comes out anyways .. A/S/G unit is dead for 2 years now , at this point Dre should retire imo

[Davizz]

Not a great article, it's under everybody's eyes.. but I wanna see the "Fool's Gold" movie!

[peterstannard]

Unless your album has 10,000 tracks on it, it really shouldn’t take 8 years to drop. Unless you’re an unsigned artist without a label.

. Or called Crooked I 

[MediumL]

I don't think its too many hands in one pot. I think its more like Jimmy Iovine being in it for the money (while else do you think Joell and countless others got dropped), Dre's strive for perfection (gets great resultsbut takes far too long) and the inability to match release dates. Wheres Eve at? I wish Dre would just go indie, although this will probably never happen.

Anyway, i expect at least either Bishop or Dre to drop this year. I know Em will get his album out and we could see something from Shady, like Obie or D12. I think Raekwon has left and is now looking for a deal to release his album. I think he held back cause of the Wu album and will release it hopefully this year.

[Philip1123]

Many timeless classics were recorded in less than a month... I don't think they worked on the Chronic or Doggystyle more than a few months each (and they were both Dr. Dre projects).
All Eyez on Me was recorded in 2 weeks. Makaveli was completed in about 7 days. And there are many other examples...
 I don't know what the fuck Dr. Dre is doing with this album. Noone does. Just a waste of thousands of studio sessions, and recordings that'll never see the light of day. It just doesn't make sense that you need more than a year to get done with an album. Is it possible that he just sees that the songs he's been doing are not on the level of his previous works?...

[Z the laidback Virus]

Its a pity that this article turned from decent into a ramble that displayed the writer's frustration too much for its (or his) own good.

Aftermath has, in my opinion, turned into Dre's 'white elephant': too large, too expensive in the upkeep (in terms of time and work, in this case) and impossible to get rid of.

[MarshColin]

Thanks for the article.

[Bones01]

props. the article had some goos points bit it didn't really go into them well or enough. Someone needs to send articles like this to aftermath to see how public persection about them is changing

[BOX5 the best poster on this site yell]

very boring read, shit succ'd yell

[KURUPTION-81]

Many timeless classics were recorded in less than a month... I don't think they worked on the Chronic or Doggystyle more than a few months each (and they were both Dr. Dre projects).
All Eyez on Me was recorded in 2 weeks. Makaveli was completed in about 7 days. And there are many other examples...
 I don't know what the fuck Dr. Dre is doing with this album. Noone does. Just a waste of thousands of studio sessions, and recordings that'll never see the light of day. It just doesn't make sense that you need more than a year to get done with an album. Is it possible that he just sees that the songs he's been doing are not on the level of his previous works?...

possibly, i think dre is his own worse critic.

Everyone expects a classic and anything less than that wont be accepted. Does dre really want what is probably gonna be his last album considered to be his worst ?