Meebo

Friday 2 December 2011

Dre interview - SMALL break for Beats promotion, album fan-driven


Hip-hop legend Dr. Dre has just swung by Hong Kong to promote his Beats By Dr. Dre headphones line. Just before his much-hyped dragon-i gig with Snoop Dogg and Jazzy Jeff, Andrea Yu sits down with the rapper extraordinaire, as well as Jimmy Iovine (head of Interscope Records) and Luke Wood (president of Beats) to find out more about these illustrious headphones – and the rap star’s long-awaited new album. We certainly didn’t forget about Dre…

So, it’s your first time in Hong Kong… how come it took you guys so long to get here?
Luke: Well I’ve been here four times this year.
Jimmy: When you work as much as we do, you don’t get much time off. To come here, you need at least a week. And that’s hard to work out.

Dr. Dre, I must admit that your fans here in Hong Kong are really eager to hear when the new album is coming out.
Dr. Dre: [pause] Well, right now I’m just taking a small break to come out and do some promotion with Beats but actually I’m getting back on it when I get home.

Can you give us any word on when we might see it?
Jimmy: Well, you know, the thing is with Dre – we were talking about it today and [hesitates], he’s not gonna put it out until it’s right for the fans. It’s fan-driven. He’s a real perfectionist.
Dr. Dre: It has to feel good.

Do you think that it’s possible to achieve perfection in the studio?
Jimmy: We don’t want to live on the album for this interview. This is more for Beats.

Okay, I understand. But Dr. Dre, do you have any response to that before we move on? If, especially with the work that you’re doing now – do you think you can achieve perfection?
Dr. Dre: Occasionally [laughs].

So, moving on to Beats, because I know that’s why you’re all here right now. Do you think the Asian market has different needs for the way we listen to music?
Jimmy: It’s all about authentic feel. There’s a feel that happens in the studio, and a sound. The sound is a combination of capturing what actually was mixed in the studio. Most producers mix on similar curves. A lot of studios in the world are all to a similar curve and that produces a certain playback. So the producer mixes to that playback. And these headphones are made to service that – to get the authentic feel out of the music.

Okay.
Jimmy: Now, you can’t get that feel out of a $1 headphone. So when you buy a $400 mp3 player and $1 headphones, it gets clogged. So, I don’t care where you are. I don’t care if you’re on the moon. You want the feel of the record to be authentic. And we’ve lost it − almost two generations – to bad sounds. Because everyone thought the iPod must have had a good headphone when it didn’t. People said: “Oh I have to have the white headphone.” Well, that white headphone didn’t sound great. The mp3 player sounded great but the headphone is there to see if the thing works. Then you go and get a pair of decent headphones. Yes, everyone in the world, you want good-feeling headphones. Beats is good for anyone.

Did you have much of a chance to listen to the music coming out of the Asian market before you came here?
Jimmy: We haven’t before… there’re a lot of people that really care about music here. This is Hong Kong, not Seoul. I haven’t met the people in Hong Kong yet but the people in Singapore and Seoul are very, very passionate. And I’m sure they are here as well about growing and understanding… so anything is possible.

Have you had a chance to listen to Cantopop?
Jimmy: I haven’t. Luke?
Luke: No, I haven’t. But we spent a lot of time on K-Pop.

What are your opinions on K-pop, then?
Luke: I think it’s great, personally. Only because I think it’s authentic and it’s emotional. It’s exciting. It’s vibrant. It travels.
Jimmy: You could feel the dreams on the records. You can feel everybody’s hopes and dreams and the musicians’ hopes and dreams. You can feel it on the record. When you have that, anything is possible.
Dr. Dre: They pay real close attention to detail.

In K-pop?
Dr. Dre: Right. That’s the thing about them.

You’re pretty much in the home country of piracy and fake goods. You see a lot of people in the markets here selling fake Beats items here. Does it make you feel a bit chuffed or flattered that people are trying to reproduce your products?
Jimmy: It’s like buying a fake carrot.

Buying a fake… carrot?
Jimmy: Yes. The quality is so horrible on those headphones, the bootlegs. Why are you buying Beats? You’re buying Beats so you can have great feel and great sound. Those bootlegs sound terrible. So all you’re buying there is to wear a shiny thing around your neck.
Luke: We truly think it’s tragic. You’re not getting any of the sound experience that you deserve as a fan.
Jimmy: It’s unfair to the consumer. It’s really unfair – they think they’re getting the real thing and they’re getting something so inferior.

Do you think it’s a sign that the Beats products have become a status symbol?
[Laughs]
Jimmy: Yes
Luke: It’s a great club to be a member of.

I see.
Jimmy: I want to make something clear. When Dre said ‘I’m taking a break’, he meant one week. He’s here one week. That’s the break. He goes back to the studio on Monday.

Well, that’s very good to know. Thanks so much for your time.
All: Thank you

http://www.timeout.com.hk/clubs/features/47158/interview-dr-dre-and-the-beats-team.html

45 comments:

  1. lol, if jimmy is telling the truth about dre's 'break' then is fucking hilarious that everyone was freaking out over that news.

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  2. This album is a looooong ways from being released......if its not out by first quarter, count me among the fans Dre has list.....


    T

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  3. i was really thinking the detox delay
    imagine this

    The Chornic + Doggstyle= Super Album
    if dr dre took years to complete an album

    2001+ Marshall Mathers LP= Super Album
    if dr dre took years to complete an album

    what im saying is imagine if detox was in the same positions of those album and dre delayed those projects and combined those materials

    respectively
    the chronic,doggstyle,2001,marshall mathers lp
    are classics by far each

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  4. ^ what are you trying to say?

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  5. if dre took more time than he did on previous albums he released...
    im sure beats from the doggsytle mixed with the beats from the chronic could have been a super album

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  6. man you make no sense... those are classic albums that dont need any mixing

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  7. dont assume dates,but if i had to assume MYSELF it would be 4/20/12 cuz dre and his delays would happen again and i doubt a single would come out anytime soon but thats just me

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  8. At least he actually said he's working on it. He didn't have to. And yes, see how people twist things and freak out over nothing? I always say misery loves company and some people just want to spread their frustration on others by spreading bullshit. If Dre is saying he's going back to the studio on Monday and Jimmy goes out of his way to say Dre's break was his time hopping around Asia, then some people need to learn a lesson before exclaiming "Detox is a myth!" and shit. Come on...

    I think it's good news since it's the best thing he could've said out of the million responses that could've blown it off completely. The fact Dre actually mentions the fans shows his goal is to live up to the hype he created before he did the album + Slim's words about how Detox was a thing when 50, Em, and Game were all hot, it really shows how the evolution has come along. Dre's heart is in the right place but it's another matter if he'll actually put it out. I get worried that INAD is up for Grammys because it'll give Jimmy more ammo to fill Dre's head with ideas to make the album more pop-friendly.

    If Dre hasn't blown it off by now, why would he later really? There's too much money, time, and work already gone into it way past the point of no return which would've been 2004 or even by 2006 after he promised a sorta date a second time. Keep your head up, Detox isn't dead until it's dead, and Dre isn't going to spend his valuable ass time on a project he doesn't want to put out with the hundreds of lucrative requests he gets to make beats for others.

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  9. Agree man too much time and money. Dre has been working on this since 2002, imagine the amount of money spent in the past nine years on producers, artists etc. Theres no doubt about it being released. We all know that dre has got the beats its just about structuring the album and making it "feel right." 2012 is the year of detox and all the haters can finally shut the fuck up and listen to the album that solidifies Dre as the king of hip hop. I believe that in order for slim and kendrick to become known, detox needs to be released.
    2012!

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  10. Dre said the longest break he'd ever taken from music was 2 weeks. That he wanted a longer break. Now Jimmy says he's only taking one week? Is Dre Jimmy Iovine's bitch?

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  11. Another worthless interview.

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  12. I agree with Charlie, it seems odd, i watched the interview with Dre and when he mentioned 'break' it was in the context of spending more time with family, and that slim and kendrick were the last artists he'l work with, and that due to him not leaving the studio for an extended period over his nearly 3 decade career, the 'break' appeared more like lengthy hiatus. Now Jimmy is stating that the break was for only a week to promote Beats in Asia? have they woken up to the fact that stringing fans along for so long would depreciates the desire for and profitability of the album so as to send dre back to the studio? despite what others say about miscontruing the 'break' statements, Im still not reassured by this interview. Numerous interviews Ive seen involve all these players censoring questions about the taboo subject of Detox, its not to be spoken of because they will struggle to justify to the public the wait!

    Like Plugin, I also fear the repercussions of INAD being grammy-nominated, one the one hand it may signal to them that Detox is still a venture worth materilising, but on the other hand, I dont want Detox: exec prod. Alex da Kid, Dr.Luke and Lady Gaga.

    If they pay any attention to any of these blogs, which I suspect they do in order to tap what the fans are after and to guage, a Fan-driven Detox would appear to a reasonable person to be one not involving pop-oriented beats, but one which has a balance of west coast oriented beats in the vein of what Dre has previously produced in his hey-day, the g-funk/orchestral bass-heavy beats but with a modern spin so as to not rehash the early 00's.

    Feature-wise, big names like Em, Jay would help sales and are probably requisite, but I think fans also expect it to involve predominantly west coast cats, old and new, like Snoop, Kurupt, DOC behind the scenes, as well as the nu-west, like Xzibit, Game, Bishop, Kendrick, and regrettably, Slim the Mobster.

    Lyric/Content wise, i think the consensus amongst fans would want post-gangsta rap themes, talking from the perspective of a veteran, the statesman of the gangsta rap scene rather than hearing him pullin hoes, killin people, crying poor or constant talk of his milllions and endless weed talk, obviously some of this is necessary for a gangsta rap pioneer, but rapping about the industry and wider politics would be more aligned with the way rap is headin, back to conscious rap and lyrical dexterity.

    Promotion wise, I think the fans would like to see Dre exit the album game and go out with a bang by an Up in Smoke 2 World Tour, with older and newer artists. But thats my own desire for how this situation should turn out

    J-Mil

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  13. dre is jimmy's bitch!!

    the only reason they are saying they're working on it is to keep the hype alive cuz it was dying after dre came out and said he's taking a break.

    same old shit, different day...

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  14. its funny how iovine relys on dre cuz i watched a documentary called welcome to death row and it basically said that interscope and a&m records were gonna b sold off by iovine but then he heard the chronic album and ran with it so basically death row saved interscope a while back and later allowed him to form aftermath which is some crazy shit my question is why isn't Dr. Dre higher up than Iovine? He should b since he basically saved interscope and come with that Detox at least leak out your shit u got man when u get back 2 the studio

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  15. Couldn't of put it better myself J-Mil, Dre needs to realise that he still has a large fanbase. Personally I would still like to see some old school g-funk in the album and for him to leave out all the 'pop' artists. Plus, for him to end the album off with an 'Up in smoke 2' tour with the likes of artists from the previous tour like Eminem, Snoop etc. would be more than any fan could have hoped.

    Still not getting my hopes up from this interview, but nonetheless- still waiting in anticipation.

    Mike.D

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  16. I really believe Detox is coming soon and am really glad to hear words from Dre about it's existence It's about time If this is the closest thing to Detox thatb we will get for now then I'll take it. I Need A Doctor deserves it's nomination I know alot of people hate on it but it's better than alot of the crap that's out today. I also hope the video get's nominated too. I think that for now the Beats headphone thing is Dre s Detox for now because that's what's hot and and with the holiday's coming up and everything he's getting out there and promoting. It's great to hear he's getting back in the studio again soon. I really think another an Up in Smoke Tour would be a great idea and it would also give him a chance to promote new talent. As for Dre releasing an album full of tracks produced by other artist's you need not to worry. He produced 98% of relapse and think it would be safe to say he wouldn't do different for his own album. The one track on 2001 Im drawing blanks dedicated to his brother was produced with the help of lord finesse so I think it would be OK to hear a few non Dre tracks. That track was done well. Anyway peace out guys

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  17. "OG's Theme" was reminiscent of The Chronic's sound so Dre has been trying all sorts of different things you can put together from the leaks, commercials, and probable beats given away to others on the Aftermath roster at the time.

    It doesn't seem like Dre is really centric about making sure everything is solely produced by him for the sake of it, he goes with what he feels achieves the detail and sound he needs. Whether it takes other producers, him, or him tweaking others' beats so his mix is way different (and better), it's less about who's name is on what and much more about if the joints create a cohesively perfect album up to the standard. Getting hung-up on whether he produces all of it himself is beside the point because when you have 100% full perfectionist control over the entire content and every asinine detail like he does, it's still his own album even if others are credited for the beats right?

    I co-sign J-Mil's post as well. I feel good about it if they're saying shit like "fan-driven" because they have to be paying attention. Even they know Detox has become much more about living up to fan expectations than anything else and haven't become so deluded in trying to please something else. If the fans don't like it, Dre is way too vulnerable in getting a bad rep forever because he has an uphill battle to climb with Detox. Even if no one likes it but the fans and it got no radio (which is impossible anyway), nobody can take away from Dre he didn't live up to expectations. Too much to lose when you don't listen to what the fans want, and much more to gain when you do. I'd like to see all the WC legends and names on Detox to personify WC hip-hop forever in Dre's last album and if Slim is on it then my wish is to see some Bishop on there too. I don't know if they'll all fit but people who were loyal and deserving should get their name on it somewhere.

    BTW Iovine has Dre on a leash because he's the big money and the big boss. He's been investing in Detox, he's the co-executive producer, and he has investors to please. He's also the big money behind Beats. It would be nice if Dre didn't have to listen to him but whenever someone else is putting their money into your shit, you always lose a degree of control even if you're Dre. Jimmy seems to hand off the actual content and details to Dre since he is a legend, veteran, and ATM in making guys like Em and 50 big-selling names, but I'm sure he's still dictating the big picture. Detox has to go through him before he runs with spending more money on marketing and distribution in an age nobody is buying CD's anymore. I just hope he recognizes than making an album for his investors to make money on, it needs to be made for the fans first... look at the INAD video. Expensive but it's a giant shameless commercial - look at all the product placements and selling out. Even more a horrible song because it's the exact direction the fans are afraid Dre will go because it gets the mainstream radio play and recognition so Dre can lose his cred and Jimmy swallows up even more money he doesn't need.

    You would think guys like this would stop GIVING A SHIT about the money when you're already on top in every way and use that position and your time to push music to be better and less commercialized, but when things are run by corporations, it's your goal on top to make the most money for your investors since they don't give two shits about anything else you do. Detox done right, for the fans and with their endorsement, is a much better investment because it sets the stage for Kendrick and Slim to take over the throne left by Em and 50. If it flops for the fans but gets the radio play, sure it'll make money for the short-term, but it sabotages the credibility of Kendrick and Slim before they even get started.

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  18. Plugin i like your posts but sometimes they are too damn long....unless its about a tracklist or an album release, would asking you to shorten it up be rude. Thanks, not trying to be a dick.

    Tom

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  19. Seige monstrosity said on twitter he has a song on detox

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  20. my grandad is on detox too,thats what he said

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  21. It's not a dick request, I ramble on and on, but I don't know why I need to go out of my way to cut myself off. Nobody has to read anything or everything of each post so you can stop reading or skip it entirely... I won't hold it against you. I prefer expressing my shit elaborately for better or worse and they're long because I like writing and stirring conversation or thought. You can shorten it up exactly where you want by ceasing to read it.

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  22. Don't know bout fan driven doe. I heard/read a lot of Dre fans wanting different styles for Detox. Some fans want Detox to be G-Funk, lol. It's almost 2012 and they still want more G-Funk, lol. Some fans want more of the "2001"
    sound. And you have fans like myself who want Dre to come with a sick new sound. It's got to be a sick new sound, but at the same time it's still got to be the Dre-sound

    Drefan since 91

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  23. dre better hurry up your fans are getting old

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  24. I appreciate what you have to say plugin and you need to be like dre and not listen to the haters . I'm so sick of people saying how dre needs to make a g-funk record , or a 2001 banger . he needs to think progressively and do what's inside of him . he's an artist not a pawn for you losers

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  25. lol and I post one comment this month and some dude beats (no pun intended ) to it .

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  26. 2012 is going to be a big year, look at it like this when people look back from 2001 to the chronic you see 2 different masterpieces. Now in the future when people compare detox to 2001, they would like to see the 13 year difference. I love both the chronic and 2001 but I would be disappointed if dre just recycled shit.

    "I'm a trend a set one every time i'm in" Dr Dre

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  27. I think "fan-driven" just means making an album that actual fans can appreciate without getting into "I want this kind of album only in this style" because Dre is going to do what he wants. The good news is that doing it for the fans means his actual goal is to record and mix a Detox that restores his credibility forever among us and likely turns out to be a very listenable classic. Dre isn't going to take direction on how the album, why would he, but he's at least thinking about us rather than thinking about money, radio play, or something else.

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  28. ^ now thats fucking hilarious

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  29. "I love both the chronic and 2001 but I would be disappointed if dre just recycled shit."

    Same here. 2001 is a classic not because it followed The Chronic but because it had a focused, cohesive evolutionary concept executed like a diamond. If Dre churned out his last album to sound like the same shit, then it would've been a classic, and neither would Detox if it followed the same formula. 13 years is a long ass time - things change, music changes, collaborators change, and standards to innovate and perfect get much higher. Music is way more saturated than it was and it's a lot harder to get attention for anything, much less step above what's out there and redefine the game again which is Dre's entire MO.

    Who really wants recycled shit to relive the old albums from a decade to two decades ago rather than something innovative, new, and better? You can't relive the same goddamn thing otherwise you would just end up complaining that Dre took this much time just to make a sequel to his last album and it would end up being the biggest letdown in music. Dre is aiming high with Detox and that means making everything exact like a surgeon while offering something new. You can't set trends and redefine hip-hop doing the same thing you did last time. Dre is in the business to make a perfected classic and you can't make classics rehashing the same thing otherwise he wouldn't waste his time and neither would anyone want to waste theirs holding out for Detox. If you want to relive 2001 or The Chronic, listen to those albums, the fans want to hear Detox because it's Dre's last record at his finest to make the most advanced album of its day. Who really wants it to sound the same as The Chronic or 2001?

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  30. 'fans-driven' simply means that it sounds right for the fans.

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  31. fans driven means its not priority at the moment beats headphones are ,but what else could they say ,the fact is its not priority it never will for the next 2 or 3 years i doubt we will ever see detox in 2015

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  32. Heres an idea, Uzee why dont you save yourself some trouble and reset this blog from 3 years ago...just post the same stories in sequence everyday each day for the past 3 years......

    It will save you time and nobody will know the difference......same artists coming out saying its almost done or that they have a piece on the album. Same people still in love with Detox and will never bail on it NO MATTER WHAT. Same people complaining, same comments, same everything.

    I think that thos would be a great idea! It would save you alot of work on managing the everyday blog and will keep Dres fans on the edge of their seat waiting for an album continuously....

    You pick the date from 3 years ago and lets begin.

    Thanks bud.


    JMac

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  33. Shut up jMac uzze works his ass off to find the best detox related information and you just show no respect what so ever. When Detox is relesed you will be the first one to buy it. Anyway i belive that Dre will have to release it in 2012. Slim the Mobster and Kndrick Lemar need detox. Dre will have to put them on the map before he works on their albums. I believe that he has the tracks and it is all about structuring the album now.

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  34. Works his ass off??? all you have to do is google...

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  35. I see dr dre loving that wonton soup!!! :0
    That shit gone make him better for detox
    YA DIGG!
    Sick AF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  36. Just come across this blog and been reading it and never have i come across such a desperate bunch of people. Firstly he wont be reading what ur saying and making his album on ur suggestions. Secondly,if u havent finished an album in 11years then it isnt ever gonna be down. This album wont be released next year, this dtox nonsense is probably just to sell more records for eminim and the other rappers mentioned. 11years to do an album,really?? Time to wake up people,it aint happened, except it and get on with your lives.

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  37. all i gotta say is look @ the leaked detox songs, they are average at best, dr dre hasnt produced a good beat since "how we do" on Games 1st album

    -kizman-

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  38. Kizman :)) Pls..Shut Up Bishop Lamont - Hallelujah , Raekown - Catalina , Raekown - About Me , Eminem - Ridaz , Eminem - Underground , 50 Cent Ft. Eminem - Psycho..Etc Pls Shut Up =))

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  39. dr dre is going to be on SNL

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  40. ^performing of course.. my bad nvm

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  41. Comrades,
    just come across this site and whoever does it deserves a big pat on the back,obviously a lot of time and dedication goes into it and it is very good. Although im not a massive dre fan i do have chronic and 2001 and think both are excellant,however i have to agree with other posters,for an album to take 11years does seem to be pushing the realms of fact, especially after others have said its ready on numerous occasions. And reading some past posts dre does seem very cagey in discussing when will be ready. Maybe he knows its been blown out of all proportion and anything he now releases will inevitably fall below expectation and so these constant delays or 'breaks'. It seems a bit odd that he hasn't "felt it"enough times over 11years to be satisfied with completing the album and getting it right. For all the fans who care enough to post on this site i hope i am wrong and i would also like to hear new material but i have to say i fear the worse.

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  42. thanks Comrades ^^ appreciate it

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  43. sounds bad but I'd like to see Dre die in the next few months; by far be a fastest way to hear Detox

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