Showing posts with label Dr. Dre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. Dre. Show all posts

Sunday 16 August 2015

Dr. Dre "Compton" (2015)


Its been a long time since we last had a Dre album and over those sixteen years there's been the constant tease of Detox lingering in the mind and "Compton" AKA "Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre" arrives as a pleasant surprise that's not to be confused with Detox which has officially been scrapped and may never see the light of day considering Dre has stated this will be his final album. Inspired by the upcoming N.W.A. biopic, Dre had been reminded of his youth and jumped into the studio to record this record in a relatively short window of time. My initial impression was positive, its sounds like he never left the studio. This is of course true as Dre has been busy over the years nurturing the talents of others.

The gap in time will give fans an obvious point of contention surrounding the "modern production" but as familiarity sets in a lot of Dre's song production come past the aesthetics with many of the tracks not feeling not to dissimilar to Hip Hop from the late 90s and early 00s. Its the array of guests who give the record a modern flavor with new vocal styles from Kendricks unique tone, to the sing rap antics of King Mez and a severing of auto-tune that even Dre gets in on during his raps. There's also a fair few drawn out sub kicks, trap hi hats and shuffling snare rolls but behind the shiny aesthetics the group at work on this record put together a collection of solid tracks.

Obviously the overall theme is about the city and the inspiration the artists have for it. In between Dre throws in a couple of numbers about the pressures on him in his business adventures and a solo track "Talking To My Diary". When using auto tune he is somewhat unrecognizable, but otherwise sounding solid, not to dissimilar to "2001", his tone aged slightly but still showing the finesse to deliver tight raps, however lyrically their aren't as many hard hitting lines and verses, but its still decent. His array of guests sparkle and light up the record, surprisingly so Snoop Doggy Dogg pulling out some of his best lines in years, sounding mean and angry with some real attitude in his delivery. Xzibit and Ice Cube where two names on the bill I was excited for but didn't feel either of them had the impact their raps once did. Eminem also delivers a fast hitting rap delivered with that relentless monotone force that can be a little unbearable at times. Kendrick and King Mez really lit the songs up with their frequent presence inflicting melodic hooks which gave a lot of flavor to the record.

According to the details Dre didn't directly produce every track on the record. To what extent this impacts the music may not be known, but the variety from track to track keeps this record fresh and vibrant. "Animals" by DJ Premier has his classic vibe and fits well in the record despite throwing it back to that early 90s feel. There's a couple of rigid transitions like a sudden mood and tempo shift on "Loose Cannons" and "Darkside Gone" executing a similar idea with a lot more style thanks to a sample of Easy-E. There's no skit tracks but some great audio scenes created around "Deep Water" which really add a layer of graphic to the song. There's a lot of quality on display, a large selection of tracks to digest and right now I can't get enough of this record which sounds fantastic now and I hope the excitement this one offers wont fade with time. His last two certainly haven't.

Favorite Songs: Talk About It, Genocide, Deep Water, One Shot One Kill, Satisfaction, Animals, Medicine Man, Talking To My Diary
Rating: 7/10

Saturday 15 August 2015

Dr. Dre "2001" (1999)


Wising up to the dangers of working with Suge Knight, Dr. Dre left Death Row Records to set up his own label, Aftermath. It took seven years for Dre's anticipated second release to come to light and the timing couldn't of been better. With Eminem's mainstream debut dropping earlier in the year its success put Dre's name in the limelight for "finding" Eminem and gave the record a massive momentum with blinding singles like "Still D.R.E." & "Forgot About Dre", an unforgettable collaboration with Eminem that the two spitting some of their slickest verses with Dre explaining where he'd been while blasting his doubters who thought he couldn't make a "comeback". When Eminem steps up to the mic he gives one of his most vivid raps that continual grew with intensity as he violently describes the two causing havoc and dropping the "Hoping out with two broken legs, trying to walk it off" line. The timing of the record couldn't of been much better and it delivered some of Hip Hops most successful music, but beyond the shiny surface of the singles, this album has a touch of quality on its own level, inspired by a drive to prove wrong to his doubters Dre gave us his best record.

Staying ahead of the game, Dre and co-producer Mel-Man took the clean, instrument oriented direction of the bling era to a new plateau, mixing the slickest, cleanest and tightly polished sound of the time with timeless hooks and flawless songwriting that gave every song a hook and catchy instruments that would stick in the mind for years. Track after track Dre carefully orchestrates a genius balance of instruments that play of each others space, dropping in subtleties behind the leads and narrating themes through short distinctive melodies and grooving beats. Looking into the source materials you can see a large portion of this record comes from the production team alone, and where there source material is used it sometimes barely resembles the original with the tunes and melodies being reinvented on lush, charismatic instruments.

The overall mood and tone of the record is sleek, dark, smooth and grooving. Proving himself time and time again, the main theme follows Dre through the recent years as he reminds wheres hes been and stating that hes still got it through dynamite tracks and raps. As a lyricist he finds his best form here, taking a stronger presence than on "The Chronic" while showering us in classic lines and solid verses that hold up so well over time. Once again there's an array of guests supporting Dre including Snoop Doggy Dogg who appears on two of the albums best tracks, but doesn't have quite the same charm as he did last time, Eminem, Xzibit, Kurupt and Nate Dogg all bringing their best to the record.

Despite having similar blueprints to other Hip Hop records of the era, 2001 is loaded with a substance and style that's executed to perfection. Its a stronger and congruent record that knows itself s better than The Chronic did. There is even an instrumentals version available that sounds great when you're in the mood for just the beats and they hold up on their own. The record wraps up with "The Message", a moving number produced by Lord Finesse, the only one not by Dre and Mel-Man and has the classic Finesse bell ringing quietly in the background. Its a humbling tribute song to end the record on and takes it over the hour mark without a moment of filler. A genius record that solidified Dre's status in Hip Hop forever.

Favorite Tracks: The Watcher, Still D.R.E., Xxplosive, Whats The Difference, Light Speed, Forgot About Dre, Lets Get High, Muder Ink, Ed-Ucation, Ackrite, Bang Bang
Rating: 9/10

Friday 14 August 2015

Dr. Dre "The Chronic" (1992)


 Departing from Ruthless Records in 92 for similar reasons to former band mate Ice Cube, Dr. Dre set out to establish his name as an individual and teamed up with notorious thug Suge Knight to form Death Row Records. Using muscle and intimidation Suge got Dre released from Ruthless, which would only be one of many "incidents", the two formed their new label and Dre got to work making what can only be described as an absolute classic record that drove Westcoast Hip Hop into the mainstream, launched the career of Snoop Doggy Dogg and marked the beginning of his ever important role in Hip Hop. The memory of N.W.A. was gone in a blink of an eye as Dre took things to the next level.

As a producer Dre is about so much more than just the instrumentals, he molds and crafts the talents of his friends he brings onto his record, guiding their potential to flourish. On every track Dre has several other rappers to support him and even on "Lyrical Gangbang", "Stranded On Death Row" and "The Roach" he gives them all the limelight without dropping a single line. It gives The Chronic a robust and versatile arsenal, keeping things fresh and varied as beat after beat explore different themes with an array of voices to decorate the track. Its a smart move for Dre who's a competent rapper but not the best and in retrospect we here more of his lyrical talents on "2001", however there's some fantastic murderous verses in the cut and Dre's flow is steady, audible with an angry force flowing through the words, coming across with real intention.

With the instrumentals Dre both created and mastered the definitive G-Funk sound with an attentive ear for the melodies and hooks that brought tracks like "Nuthin' But A G Thang" to a new level, reinventing the source samples into stylish laid back gangster tracks with strong spacious instruments and hard hitting drum grooves, the ghetto whistle delivering a remarkable melodic hook and making its presence known on the chronic after its inception on the second N.W.A. record. The bass guitar is bold, rounded and brings a lot of that Funk groove to the fold and with these elements the chemistry is ripe for a record of bombastic, thumping gangster tracks with an infectious dose of melody in places. Its Dre's attention to detail that glosses the beats to perfection with subtle and intricate details hidden between the main instruments, giving them depth without becoming overwhelming.

The Chronic has style and substance, its an attitude and a lot of it can be felt in the source material, but the charm is with Dre and how he reshapes them into a distinctive style that him and Snoop define with their hooks, violent lyrical themes and tight rhyming that has a fair few classic lines scattered throughout. "The Day The Niggaz Took Over" plays out a social commentary over the LA race riots that broke out in response to the Rodney King incident, the song bringing a ferocious energy to a dark shady instrumental. Its moment like these where Dre gets so much right however I do feel the record suffers from burnout towards the end with a few tamer tracks lowering the intensity of the first half. Dre also cuts the beats hard, flipping the momentum into a new track, not a transition I particularly like, but it hardly makes a difference. The Chronic is a classic, but not my favorite Dre record and I always loved the album cover on this one, it remind's me of the kinda of record cover that would be remembered for just that and lost in a bargain bin. Luckily, or not, there's a bomb under the hood and a classic record that wont be forgotten anytime soon.

Favorite Songs: Fuck Wit Dre Day, The Day The Niggaz Took Over, Nuthin But A G Thang, A Nigga Witta Gun, Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat, Lyrical Gangbang
Rating: 8/10