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

[M Dogg™]

good to see that kurupt was actually involved. he wrote talking to my diary  

And it's good to see Kurupt write some hot music. He's been very hit or miss lately.

[Will_B]

1 Intro
n/a

2 Talk About It
6.5/10 - decent pop cut. Not Dre sound and nothing new. Nicely mixed

3 Genocide
7/10 - the sound transition is crazy from one track to the next. Like the drums. Head nodder. Vocals are all over the place. Kill the grove. Hard to actually get into as a song. Wow. But Dre’s verse is CRAZY. How he even spit like that? Halfway through this becomes really cool.

4 It’s All On Me
7.5/10 - Something soulful now. Sounds very Kendrick influenced. Dre shines again. Fuck. Hittin rewind on this one…Dre actually sounding great. Fuck wasn’t expecting to like this as much.

5 All In A Days Work
6/10 - Nice track transition again. Talky bit is is bull tho. 60’s influence on this one with a neo soul twist. It’s good but over produced. Not really feeling this musically. Not something I’d ever bump.

6 Darkside/Gone
6/10 - Starting to drag as an album. Very over produced. Not very melodic or lyrical. Silly accents on this. Nice to hear Eazy doe. This is one of those ‘throw multiple styles on one cut and see what happens’ tracks. More 60’s sounds. A bit of the old Eminem bass and haunting piano (which I like) but don’t dig the self indulgent feel of the production.

7 Loose Cannons
6.5/10 - Sounds like soundtrack music, Isaac Hayes and prog rock. Shame the vocal effects and off tempo shit ruin any decent flows here. Too much going on. Sounds like something K.Dot would do, but a decent attempt at something different from Dre.

8 Issues
6.5/10 - After the intro beats pretty generic. Cubes pretty nice here. Dre’s ok til the accents come out. Outros nice. Dre puts a lot of touches on the intro and outro then the meat of the track seems less important IMO. Definitely a production led album

9 Deep Water
7/10 - Now this is dope. The sound is pretty fucking awesome. Something thats a coherent song and not just a wall of sound. Could and should be a single. It’s the most ‘next’ sounding track so far.

10 One Shot Kill
7/10 - SNOOOOP!! He sounds awesome except the Kendrick influence on his voice. Beat instruments sound like GKMC era. Still the best Snoop sounded since Kush lol.

11 Just Another Day
5.5/10 - Boring lifeless repetitive beat and song. Generic vocal on the outro.

12 For The Love of Money
6.5/10 - Another GKMC sounding beat. Sounds like the keys from Swimming Pools. Seems everyone is using Kendricks flows these days. Like the background vocals. I like this one. Dre sounds cool here. Definitely like he’s got some life left as a rapper. Generic Top Dawg sounding outré. Shame its nice and melodic but a bit played out now.

13 Satisfiction
5/10 - Terrible tuneless beat. Horrible vocal. Dre rappin like he’s a freshman lol. King Mez is meh. Stick to ghostwriting. Snoops verse sounds cut and pasted from an older track. Fuck this is so off beat lol. Mess of a track. A new musical low for the album. Couldn’t wait for the last bit to end.

14 Animals
5.5/10 - Woa this guy thinks he’s Curtis Mayfield. WOW. Fuck this guy. Garbage. Thank god Dre’s back. Getting better but marginally. Feels like the albums run out of steam. Obviously only yes men round Dre still. WOW I HATE THIS ANDERSON GUY. Just horrible. WTF had no idea it was a Premo beat til the end which never ever happens. Poor effort guys.

15 Medicine Man
7/10 - This is just dope. Really what I wanted to hear. Eminem goes in!! But stays coherent.

16 Talking To My Diary
7.5/10 - Great track. High spot to end the album. And more what I wished the quality of the whole thing had been.




Verdict. This would’ve been incredible as an EP if it was 5 or 6 tracks. It’s a decent effort but comparable to the Aftermath compilation in quality rather than a Dre album. Surprisingly although Genocide wasn’t my favourite track that beat haunted me for a couple days. Let’s get an instro please Dre.

Someone needs to interview Kurupt about 'Talking To My Diary'. Could've been penned years ago. Funny tho, Eminem seems to write his best stuff when he's 'talking' to Dre. Kurupt ghostwrote that track to perfection, and Snoop still sounds the best ever on Dre's stuff. What does that tell you Dre? Get busy with a real solo, coz you've proven you'd still got it on the mic. Dre sounds his best in years now.

[jaytee]

Another for you

http://pitchfork.com/features/overtones/9703-the-compton-sessions-how-dr-dre-created-his-comeback/

Props!

The Compton Sessions: How Dr. Dre Created His Comeback

Last week, we learned that Dr. Dre's Detox, the most labored and rumor-dogged album in commercial rap history, had been given a mercy killing. “I didn’t like it,” Dre declared. “The record, it just wasn’t good.” It was a bracing death for material that had been accumulating in secret for over a decade, but Dre delivered the news calmly, while in the same breath confirming far more surprising information: He had managed to record a new album of original material, and it was called Compton. Not only was Compton not Detox, it was in many ways unlike anything Dre had released in his career: ragged at the edges, steely, and grim.

Talking to the inner circle of musicians who worked most closely with Dre during the heady months in which Compton was made, a common thread emerges: This is definitely not the album Dre had been promising to deliver to the industry for the last 16 years. Instead, it is the late dawning of an idea that seemed to draw direction from everything the leaked Detox tracks were not: It is not relaxed, not clean, not safe. It came together in a blur. Dre’s signature crisp funk is gone, and there is nothing on the album that aims to complement a weed high. Instead, Compton is hulking, sinewy, and defiantly odd. It’s the result of various collaborators—old and young, legendary and unknown—pitching in their talents, all guided by a singular force.

Raleigh rapper King Mez has the most writing credits on Compton besides Dre. He also served as the reference voice for every Dre verse on the album and recorded backing vocals on every track save for one. Mez has as much to do with the industrial-grey tone of Compton anyone (at one point, our interview is interrupted when he gets an impromptu call from Dre himself).

To hear Mez tell it, he was brought in late last year, between the death of Detox and Dre’s decision to press on with his new project. "When I got the opportunity to write for Dre I knew it was a dream come true, but a lot of people were worried for me,” he laughs. “Like, ‘Oh man, you’re going over there to write for that album? So many people have tried and have been unsuccessful.’ But I wasn’t around for the times that he’s been uninspired or whatever—the second I met him, we had chemistry. I knew the album was gonna come out.

“We originally built on older music he had, stuff that sounded like an updated 2001,” Mez adds, referencing Dre’s slick 1999 opus. He’s diplomatic, but there is a distinctive lack of enthusiasm in his voice describing those early tracks, all of which quickly fell by the wayside once Dre enlisted a fresh batch of younger MCs and producers. "The people that came in really changed the sound of the album,” Mez says.

According to the rapper, the turning point came when DJ Dahi, the Inglewood producer responsible for Drake’s “Worst Behavior” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Money Trees”, submitted the clattering beat for what would become the album’s fanfare, “Talk About It”. “That’s one of the more right now-sounding records on the album,” Mez observes. "I think it really changed Dre’s perspective. Before that, we had a different intro that was really big, and it sounded good, but we all decided it wasn’t right for the album."

When DJ Dahi first sent over the beat that became “Talk About It”, it was without much hope: Dre’s camp had been collecting music for years, all of it eventually dying on the broken-dreams heap of Detox. “I didn’t think anything of it,” says Dahi. “He hadn’t done anything in 16 years, and a lot of people had been working with him, so I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t meet Dre until much later, and then I asked him what the project was, and he just said, ‘It’s not The Chronic and it’s not 2001.’”

The final version of “Talk About It” begins with Mez bleating “I don’t give one fuck” in a strangled voice that sets the record’s hectic pace. Mez co-wrote most of Dre’s verses with the producer’s 25-year-old protégé Justus, including Dre’s own “Talk About It” salvo. “Justus was like, 'Man, we gotta come in and say something outrageous. It’s gotta be like buying the state of California or something,'” Mez remembers. “He was joking, but I was like, 'That actually should be it.’ So I went in, rapped the cadence, and we came up with the next eight to 10 bars before we presented it to Dre. It ended up being the first verse he rapped on a solo record since 2001."

Dahi says that watching Dre was an education in surgical adjustments. “When I think about Dre’s music, I think of these really vivid colors—his tracks always feel like a movie, you know?” he says. "I feel like so much of his music happens in mixing. It’s almost not fair. He has his own way of tweaking a beat. You give him anything, and he finds a way to make it hit differently, and you say, ‘Oh, that’s some dope shit.' It’s his ear."

For “Talk About It”, Dahi paid close attention to those tweaks and says the changes were subtle but profound: “The kick and snare were so much further up than I would have put them; the snare and kick are the motor of hip-hop records, and Dre’s really good at finding that motor so that everything else falls into place behind it."

Another new recruit who became integral to the album was producer Dem Jointz; though he has worked with R&B acts like Boyz II Men and longtime Dre collaborator Marsha Ambrosius, in hip-hop, he is an unknown quantity. He ended up producing “Genocide” and “Medicine Man”, co-producing “Deep Water" and “Satisfaction”, and contributing additional background vocals to seven other tracks.

Jointz says Dre never offered an overarching perspective for the album. “It’s crazy how it all comes together like he’s telling a specific story, but it wasn’t like it was planned,” he says. “He didn’t get into detail as to what kind of record he was looking for.” Dem was in the studio for the bulk of the album’s creation, and he has his own impressions of the project: “We’ve heard Dre go outside of the box before Compton, but it was usually only for a song or two. What I like about this album is that he stepped all the way outside of the box. And he stayed out."

Jointz brought the basic track for “Genocide", and Dre suggested adding a sample of the deep synth that opens the Gap Band’s “Burn Rubber on Me”—but not that song’s actual groove. The off-kilter addition galvanizes the beat, turning all of its clanking parts into one loud, fearsome roar. And then there is the song’s disorienting scat breakdown, which Jointz says was all Dre.

"We were trying to figure out a point where ‘Genocide’ was switching off into some other shit—and this was even before Kendrick got on the album—but [Dre] wanted to go into some jazzy, a capella shit,” Jointz remembers. “He had me go in and do a little beat-box swing and then arranged all the voices and told everyone what to do. After we were finished, no one could make that shit fit with the song. But he kept at it, because he saw it. It’s the moment where that song becomes a movie.”

It’s this approach—gather together an exploding roomful of talent, coax them into performing to your exacting standards, and then corral them into a neat frame with your name on top—that has become the working method of choice for anyone hoping to claim Dre’s spot. The rap-album-as-talent-showcase is Dre’s model, and on Compton, he demonstrates that he still has the ability to hear unheard brilliance in the work of others.

“What Phil Jackson is to basketball, that’s what he is to talent and music,” says Mez. “The way he utilized us, it almost felt like, ‘Oh, so this guy can do this.’ It made me change my perspective on what I can create.” Talking about recording reference tracks for Dre to rap over, Mez marvels, “He coached my voice into sounding like what he wanted his voice to sound like on every song. It was like method acting, in a way: You put yourself in the perspective of someone else for an elongated period of time. So much so that when it was time to start working on my own music again, it was weird for a little while. I had to get out of that mindset.”

The complicated symbiotic relationship between Mez’s words and Dre’s words—and how those words sound on record—illuminates what a fascinating, non-binary dance so-called ghostwriting can be. In most accounts of Dre’s history as a rapper, he is a vehicle, willingly steered by others. But Mez says they were both driving forces pursuing some larger idea or concept. “Every time I’d record, he’d say, ‘Say it more like this,’ or ‘Say it more like that,’” he remembers. “In his mind, he’s imagining what he’s going to sound like, but he’s getting me to do it  first. I’m telling you, I did thousands of takes for that record. We went over nearly every word. The line on 'Deep Water' that goes 'These niggas won’t let up until they all wet up' is like a just-offbeat, stutter-type rap. We must have went over that 100 times at his beach house.”

“I watched him work the boards old-school style,” says New York hip-hop vet DJ Premier, who collaborated with Dre on the pained “Animals”. “He’s got ProTools hooked up, but he’s still on the Control 24 board, turning the knobs, working each fader by hand. A lot of kids now don’t do that; everything is just a mouse and a computer screen. I’m like, ‘You still plugged into that? I haven’t used this since ‘98!’”

Earlier this year, Premier flew out to L.A. to work with Christina Aguilera and stopped by Dre’s studio, bringing with him a sample of a record he’d found on a recent crate-digging trip to Moscow: “He heard it and was like, 'Yo, I need that.'” Premier and Dre were acquaintances, but they hadn’t spoken in over a decade and had never worked together. The track Premier brought had originally been recorded for a different project, and had his crisp, minimalist signature, which Dre began to populate with details.

“He added some singers in the background and brought in his man Bluetooth, who’s a piano player, bass player, singer, drummer, all kinds of shit,” says Premier. “There were certain chords I didn’t want, and Dre was cool with it if I said, ‘Hey, that’s a little too much on that part.’ He respects honesty. I like that it wasn’t overdone. He didn’t smother it.

“Dre recently asked me about the difference between a producer and a beat maker,” Premier adds. “For me, it’s like film: You can shoot all the footage you want, but it’s all about the edit, the final outcome, when the world gets it. That’s what makes you a producer. That’s what Dre does."

Jayson Greene, Pitchfork

[UCC]

Now that I've listened to this for quite some time, here's what I would "fix" to improve the album:


1. I think the album could be vastly improved by replacing all the choruses

Some of them are so forgettable that I don't even realize a chorus has started, and others are just kinda annoying/generic/radio pop/EDM/R&B.


2. Have less singers and more rappers

Eg. "Animals" is cool, but it would have been great to hear people like Lady of Rage and Royce go in and kill that beat instead of turning a Primo banger into an R&B song.


3. More variety of rap voices/styles

It seems everyone rapping is putting on the same voice and the same style and it's not a particular interesting style - it's like, "angry frenetic rapper" style/voice.
What was so great on Dre's previous stuff was how many different voices and rapping styles he got on it for variety.


4. Either have complex raps on simpler beats ...OR... simpler raps on complex beats

There are lots of frenetic raps on frenetic beats at the moment - sometimes it sounds like a big jumble and makes it hard to concentrate on the rapping.
Could either simplify some of the beats or simplify some of the raps.


5. Some of the best beats are really short - make them into full tracks to replace weaker beats

Eg. the middle part of "Loose Cannons" could be its own song and "Just Another Day" should be a full track with other rappers included on it, a better chorus, etc.
Then remove tracks like "For The Love of Money", "Satisfaction", etc.


I think once you've fixed all the choruses (is there even one really good chorus on the whole album?) and parts of the rapping, then some of the tracks that weren't so good could be really good. Some of the beats should be removed entirely, but there are at least 6-7 very good beats here.

Eg. "Talk About It" could actually be a very dope track with a better chorus and rapping, the beat itself is reasonably dope (maybe remove the trap hi-hats though)
Imagine if RBX was doing the chorus and Dre and Cube were doing back-and-forth lines on it...

[donfathaimmortal]

No Tracy Lynn Curry?

Dr Dre - "Talking To My Diary" >

slim the mobster wrote this song and does the hook!

Fav track off Compton...and I also see that Mario "Chocolate" Johnson is there and Ricardo 'Kurupt' Brown seems to be also credited.

song is 

Talking To My Diary perhaps, one of my favorite Dr Dre songs, really. What a song for closing to a career... "Damn, I miss that... Shit, a nigga having flashbacks"

Actually, that's the song, the sound I was waitin for since 2001. It's not a bad album, yeah Compton rather sounds "polished" as a Dr Dre album and there's some interesting things but this song is fire. Damn, this is a Dr Dre solo song. And I'm glad he didn't release his Detox project.

Oh and yes, this Dre/Primo Animals is dope, really. And when i hear Anderson .Paak here, he sounds great, without any fuckin modern vocals effect, one of the reasons I didn't listen to "rap" anymore now.

I have to admit Compton sounds good, not the best West Coast album of all the time but Dr Dre & Co. did good job and it seems that the doctor was "inspired" by his film, perhpas, but also by (his/make) music. But, there's tons of things which are just kinda annoying but it's like modern Rap/RnB ish we can (or kids want to) hear now, but it's not Dre's. Honorable mention for One Shot One Kill and this brand new version of For The Love Of Money (how many times I could listen to the Yomo/Maulkie/Jewell one ? ahah).

[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

I suppose now is an ok time to finally reveal this:

When Dre was still working on DETOX (when KUSH was released, and Bishop was still signed to Aftermath and planned to be Dre's next big/main protoge), Dre had planned to release a DVD with the album that contained a mini-movie...the theme or story involved Dre in a rehab facility working on the 12-step program...Snoop, Eminem, and Bishop would play main supporting roles, and many other artists would have cameo roles). I was told the film/story would be a little comical, but epic in a way.

[Sccit]

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

I suppose now is an ok time to finally reveal this:

When Dre was still working on DETOX (when KUSH was released, and Bishop was still signed to Aftermath and planned to be Dre's next big/main protoge), Dre had planned to release a DVD with the album that contained a mini-movie...the theme or story involved Dre in a rehab facility working on the 12-step program...Snoop, Eminem, and Bishop would play main supporting roles, and many other artists would have cameo roles). I was told the film/story would be a little comical, but epic in a way.

WHERED U GET THIS FROM?

[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

I suppose now is an ok time to finally reveal this:

When Dre was still working on DETOX (when KUSH was released, and Bishop was still signed to Aftermath and planned to be Dre's next big/main protoge), Dre had planned to release a DVD with the album that contained a mini-movie...the theme or story involved Dre in a rehab facility working on the 12-step program...Snoop, Eminem, and Bishop would play main supporting roles, and many other artists would have cameo roles). I was told the film/story would be a little comical, but epic in a way.

WHERED U GET THIS FROM?

I have connects with Aftermath/Interscope and Bishop...

[Fresh Bone]

It's not Ricardo Brown (Kurupt) who co-wrote "Talking To My Diary", but Russell Brown.

[sccit is gay]

album is dope, i like it a lot

[Matty]

a 24-bit FLAC copy direct from the label is out there...if peeps wanna get their high resolution listen on

[jman91331]

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

I suppose now is an ok time to finally reveal this:

When Dre was still working on DETOX (when KUSH was released, and Bishop was still signed to Aftermath and planned to be Dre's next big/main protoge), Dre had planned to release a DVD with the album that contained a mini-movie...the theme or story involved Dre in a rehab facility working on the 12-step program...Snoop, Eminem, and Bishop would play main supporting roles, and many other artists would have cameo roles). I was told the film/story would be a little comical, but epic in a way.

WHERED U GET THIS FROM?

I have connects with Aftermath/Interscope and Bishop...

Wasn't Denzell Washington supposed to be the main character on the skits?

[jaytee]

Wasn't Denzell Washington supposed to be the main character on the skits?

One of the original plans for Detox was for him to narrate.

[doggfather]

too much ghostwritin?

ni99a please. we talkin but a dre album. there can NOT be enough ghostwritin.

[clydebankblitz]

The thing I don't like about Kendrick is he either sounds like an alien or an angry dweeb yapping over the track.  I am seeing a lot of t of posts aibout aggressive flows etc.   am I going to hear a bunch of Kendrick sounding tracks or something you can chill and ride to?   Ps I haven't listened to anything yet, waiting for Friday.

ABSOLUTELY the Kendrick sounding tracks. The only song which is chilled that you can ride to, or at least the only song you'd expect from old school Dr Dre, is It's All on Me. That's a really good song, but everything else has that "aggressive rapping" on "digital" beats.

u dont like it then ride around to some old ass dre shit so people can laugh at your irrelevant ass

I find it absolutely bizarre that we are on a westcoast rap forum and you'd suggest that someone should be laughed at for listening to some old Dr Dre tracks.

There's probably more Drake fans than DJ Quik fans on this site. A shame.