What this gallery of talents go to work on is an album shaded by the nostalgic shadow of Compton of old (which will also get a shine in the forthcoming Straight Outta Compton bio-pic of N.W.A.), but also an album powered by a producer well capable of slinging top-drawer beats. Paak (his album “Venice” is one of the unsung gems of the year), Dallas rapper Justus, Jon Connor, Baltimore jazzer Dontae Winslow, Candice Pillay and Asia Bryant – as well as the excellent though probably slightly unknown Marsha Ambrosius – indicate that Dre is keen to show his ears for new talent are still in full effect. But the presence of relative newcomers like King Mez, Anderson. You might have turns here from such established Dre-friendly names as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Ice Cube and Xzibit to establish the bona fides of the Dre brand and the fact that these dudes will duke it out with him still. The other thing which matters, as his CV and Aftermath track record shows, is his suss when it comes to new talent. Dre may get more ink for his business acumen, but it’s clear that the real beats by Dre are the ones which matter most to him. The boxes may be ticked, but there’s always shit to prove.
Yet as you listen to “Compton”, the first album from Dre since “2001” was released in 1999, his third solo release in all and the one which takes the place of the on-off-on-off-on-really-off “Detox” in the catalogue, you get a sense that the hunger and the hustle and the desire to make a point is still there. You look down on the streets from where you came. You can kick back or you can touch the sky. When you get to the top of the mountain, though, there’s a much different view. and dealing with all that came with being on the way up. In so many ways, it’s a long, long, long way from the Dre of the early days, the young DJ and producer hustling for his break and working his way up the ranks with N.W.A. You can also add in the occasional acting gig, Apple commitments, Grammy awards and a general cash-rules-everything-around-me buzz that gets him to the top of the Forbes’ rich dude list.
Just who exactly is Dr Dre in 2015? We know him as the astute businessman who made millions out of headphones ( and used Clonakilty in west Cork to take of some of that business), the canny producer who marshalled original wet-behind-the-ears talent like Eminem and Kendrick Lamar to the superstar perch via Aftermath Records and the man who had a huge hand in inventing gangsta rap and G-funk back in the day.
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