“And don’t worry ‘bout that Detox album — it’s coming, we gon’ make Dre do it.”
As the beat started to wind down on the hit song “Encore” from Eminem’s similarly titled album in 2006, Eminem re-promised the hip-hop community that Dr. Dre’s long-awaited “Detox” album would be out soon.
It’s now 2015, and that entire idea has been scrapped. It was replaced by Dre’s third and supposedly final solo album, “Compton.” Inspired by the new film, “Straight Outta Compton,” about the trials and tribulations of Dre’s original hip-hop group, N.W.A., Dr. Dre’s “Compton” is a self-described soundtrack to the movie.
What is most captivating about the album is it’s a true group effort. Artists under Dre’s label, Aftermath Entertainment, and friends each had their own turn to make a mark on “Compton.”
Hip-hop royalty from Snoop Dogg to Eminem to Ice Cube to Kendrick Lamar join up-and-comers such as King Mez, Marsha Ambrosius and Anderson Paak. One of the best verses on the album belongs to lesser-known Jon Connor on the song “One Shot, One Kill”.
This album is eclectic in beats, and every song has a distinct sound. Sometimes, like in the case of “Darkside/Gone,” the song just changes midway through. The description of “soundtrack” is seemingly perfect for “Compton” because there’s not a thread uniting it. Every song is a chance for Dre and his cohorts to have fun and reach into their bag of tricks one final time.
A little more than two weeks after its release, “Compton” has been streamed 25 million times with half a million downloads through iTunes. Since his last studio album, “2001,” 16 years ago, Dre finally has new music, and it would behoove you to listen to it immediately.
Greg Gottfried
