Some call it the greatest Super Bowl halftime performance (although Prince and Michael Jackson would like to have a word) but it’s undeniable that this was the moment Hip Hop proved that it still rules the world. If you missed it, or just want to watch it again, here it is for your viewing pleasure.
Rockstar Games just released their latest Grand Theft Auto 5 expansion, GTA Online: The Contract. The game not only features a story centered around Dr. Dre, but it also has new music from the legendary producer. “Gospel” finds Dre and his longtime partner Eminem trading verses. Check it out.
Kanye West has announced that he’ll drop his 10th solo studio album this year titled God’s Country. Judging by the lead single “Wash Us In The Blood” that features Travis Scott, it’s a mixture of Yeezus and JESUS IS KING. The video splices together footage from the protests across the country, videos of police brutality and artful visuals. The song was also mixed down by Dr. Dre.
With a little assistance from Dr. Dre, Anderson .Paak drops off another joint from Oxnard in the form of “Who R U.”
In the same manner that he put together the Chance The Rapper and Kanye West mixtape, DJ Critical Hype blends Kendrick Lamar vocals over classic Dr. Dre production on “The DAMN Chronic” mixtape.
Jon Connor has been relatively silent for a good minute but returns with the aptly titled “I’m Back” complete with a Dr. Dre intro that announces that Connor’s full length album is titled Vehicle City and coming this year. As for the rhymes, Connor goes bananas over the instrumental to Remy Ma’s “Wake Me Up.”
Here’s a clip from “The Defiant Ones” where Dr. Dre and Eminem reflect on the first time they were in the studio together and how they ended up creating “My Name Is.”
Fresh from “The Defiant Ones” documentary on HBO, Dr. Dre cuts loose a new song titled “Gunfiyah.”
Anderson .Paak has been on fire lately and his latest album Malibu is easily one of the better albums out right now. But in this conversation with Cuepoint, Paak goes back a bit to tell the story of how he ended up working with both Dr. Dre and DJ Premier on “Animals” off of Dre’s Compton. Here’s a taste and you can read the rest here.
“Animals” was one of the tracks that I brought to Dre when I was working with him. I got the beat from DJ Premier and BMB Spacekid after a show we did in Russia with my group NxWorries. It was a Boiler Room show with DJ Premier and Spacekid on the track where I would be the vocalist. We did one track there and recorded it and it came out. They sent the other beat that they did and that was the beat for “Animals.” I told Premier when I got home I was going to write something to it. I had the line “These old sneakers / faded blue jeans” for some years now. When I heard that beat, I thought it was perfect for it. And this was before I had any intention of making it about the riots or anything that was going on. But all of these things were happening. I was laying that part that I had, and I remember seeing little shots of the riots and stuff. I was trying to write the verse and it just hit me that this is what it would be.
I cut it and went to the studio that night with Dre and my manager said “You should play him that Premier track.” I was kind of apprehensive at first, but I played it and he loved it. Right when I heard it, he was like “I gotta put a verse on this.” He threw a verse on there and called me the next day and said “I know this is your tune, but I want to know if I can use this for the album.” I got to see him develop the track. Premier flew out and they worked on the record together. I watched Premier pick out records to scratch for the hook. That whole moment was crazy, because I know they are big fans of each other. It was a special moment to be a part of something that these two longtime friends put out together.
After I brought him the Premier joint, Dre pulled me in the room and said “Yo, I fuck with you. I think you’re going to be great and I really appreciate your work on this.” He kind of broke it down that he was adamant about working with me and wanted me to be around and help with the process of the album. I was all for it. They would be working on tracks and would be like “Yo, can you write a hook for this?” I would just come in on sessions and would just jump in and help where I could. Some of the stuff I laid down just ended up staying. I had no clue what I was going to be on. It was definitely a decision that Dre saw through. I was just hoping to get one joint on the album. It was not until the pre-order was out that I knew all of these records were making it on the album. It was dope.
For the first time ever — the musicians, writers and producers behind Dr. Dre’s “Compton” album speak to DJ Skee about the process of recording each song, how Dre selected them to be a part of the project, what Compton means to them and much more.
At the 1:15:00 mark, you can hear all about DJ Premier’s involvement and how “Animals” with Anderson .Paak came about.