Dr Dre - Detox Hip Hop's Music's best kept secret

Dre performs "Still D.R.E." At LIV In Miami, Florida

2012-01-31T18:59:00.001Z

The West Coast vet takes a trip down memory lane.

Dr. Dre recently performed his classic cut "Still D.R.E." while at LIV in Miami, Florida.

Dre, who had been spotted at Rick Ross' birthday party in Miami over the weekend, hopped on the mic at LIV in celebration of DJ Stevie J's birthday. He performed the cut while DJ Clue manned the turntables. Attendees at the event included Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa, Trey Songz, Ne-Yo and more.

Dj Stevie J Epic Birthday Party w Dr Dre, Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Trey Songz, Neyo, Wiz Khalifah, & more!! LIV on Sundays at The Fo from Headliner TV on Vimeo.

Chris “The Glove” Taylor talks Death Row, Aftermath & Dre (Part 2)

2012-01-30T22:15:00.000Z

Part 2 continues with AllHipHop.com’s exclusive interview with Chris “The Glove” Taylor, a former producer for Death Row and Aftermath Records, who worked with Dr. Dre on his some of his biggest hits. In the first part of our interview, The Glove details his beginnings and leads all of the way up to his work on Snoop Dogg’s debut album, “Doggystyle.” Be sure to read Part 1 here to get caught up, and then come back to here for the conclusion of this special interview:

AllHipHop.com: What other songs were you not credited for?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I played the keys on 2Pac and Dre’s “California Love” and I never received credit or recognition for that. I had to ask what was going on? Am I just an invisible studio guy? “California Love” was the last song that I worked on before I left Death Row. Then later on there was a song on The Chronic 2001 album for Aftermath called “Xxplosive” – that was my track!

AllHipHop.com: Did you ever ask Dr. Dre why you never received the proper credit on these tracks?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: Actually I did. I was really upset with what happened on the Snoop album. I didn’t even get my name in the “Thank You” section. My name was erased on that album. Like how some producers receive a co-production credit nowadays, that’s what I should have gotten. And I should have six or seven “mixed by” credits on that album too. It’s not Snoop’s fault. He even tried to put my name in his raps but Suge would be there like, “Change that.”
I was the second producer signed to Death Row Records, counting Dr. Dre when they first started. Suge used to tell me all of the time that I was going to be the next Dr. Dre. But how can I be the next Dr. Dre when you’re leaving my name off of everything? I took issue with all of that and those were times that I took breaks from working with Dre. I would just go focus on something else. As a matter of fact, I didn’t get back with Dre until he left and started Aftermath.

AllHipHop.com: Why did you go work with Aftermath after that bad experience with Death Row Records?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I had to be convinced, actually, but honestly I figured all of that happened because of Suge. It was just Dre running his own company now so everything seemed to be all good. I worked on The Firm’s album, and I co-produced the song, “Phone Tap.” I got credit for the song and I got paid. I came up with the concept of having a “phone voice” for the song and did the beat but Dr. Dre really did take that song to the next level – and that’s what he does.

AllHipHop.com: Since you bring up The Firm, what went wrong with that album in your opinion?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: “Phone Tap” wasn’t the first single. Do you know how many people would have ran out to buy that album if the first thing they heard was that song? They chose “Firm Biz” to be the first single and I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding! That’s not Mob music!” There were problems with that project from the beginning.
We had to replace Cormega with Nature and there was a bunch of label in-fighting. If you look at the back of that CD, you’ll see like 50 logos on there [laughter]. Every label and company involved wanted a piece of that project. Plus the album was rushed because it was done in Miami. Nobody wanted to come to L.A. because Biggie had been murdered and we didn’t want to go out East.

AllHipHop.com: You also worked on the Dr. Dre Presents Aftermath album, which was widely panned. Why did that album fail?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: People were upset because they wanted a “Dr. Dre” album. They weren’t looking for a compilation album. That’s what messed that up. Plus the single “Been There, Done That” was cool, but it was taking away from the gangster style that people wanted. As you saw with the next album Chronic 2001, he returned to the gangster style. People checked out “Been There, Done That” and when they went to see out what was next, they found that Dre wasn’t on another song.

AllHipHop.com: What did you work on after the Aftermath compilation?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I did some stuff for Xzibit, a rapper named Saafir and a group called The Militia. They (The Militia) took out a 4 page ad in a magazine and it mentioned the work we did together – and Dre got pissed about that. What happened was that I had just renegotiated my deal with Dre and I was going to make some cool money. Then he cut my salary in half after 6 weeks so I left to work elsewhere. That ad came out before I could talk to him and tell him that I wasn’t going to be around though – but he knows me. If I’m unhappy then I just disappear. I felt like I was missing a lot of money from the Snoop album and points from “Stranded on Death Row.” Between those 14 million albums sold, I should’ve had at least a million dollars from it. I always had that under my skin.

I had brain surgery in September of 1998 and when I recovered, we reconnected and did some work together again.

AllHipHop.com: And of course that leads to the “Xxplosive” song on Chronic 2001.

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I got burned again too. Let me tell you about that song. We went up to Reno, Nevada to work on King T’s album because that was going to be the next album on Aftermath. I did that “Xxplosive” track for King T. As a matter of fact, that track and the one used by the reunited N.W.A called “Hello,” were done at that same session. Those were both originally for King T. “Hello” was a track that me and Dre both worked on together. He did the drum beat and I put everything else on top of it. “Xxplosive” that was some sh*t that I did.
Mobb Deep had an Issac Hayes sample for a song and I wanted to flip that – and I turned that in to “Xxplosive.” We would generally take the sample off and play the instruments slightly different so that it’s not an interpolation or a sample at that point. I had to get my lawyer involved because I didn’t even get paid the bare minimum that I should have been paid for my initial work.

AllHipHop.com: You got your lawyer after him?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I had to! He tried to tell me that he was still recouping from The Firm or some kind of bullsh*t. He had all of that money and he didn’t want to pay the basic $1500 fee for the track. I had to fight just for that and I still didn’t get credit on the album.
One good thing that came out of that though, is that if I didn’t stand up like that, Mel-Man would have never received his co-production credits for the tracks that he worked on.

AllHipHop.com: I feel bad for you. I’ve interviewed other artists from that era and it seems like everybody got ripped off by someone.

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: We all got screwed. Nate Dogg, Jewel, Rage, RBX and The Dogg Pound signed their contracts on the same day. We were getting ready to go on The Chronic tour. Dre and I were putting the tour music together at Trax Studios and Suge had them all sign their contracts. They got $5,000 each. When I signed my deal I got way more than that. I was like, “Damn. Y’all got $5,000? That’s f***ed up.”

AllHipHop.com: What was your friendship with Dr. Dre like?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I used to be in the inner-circle and I went to Jimmy Iovine’s house several times with Dre. I went there for a birthday celebration one time and and he (Jimmy) had a tent set up that had a musician playing “The Godfather” theme song on his violin to welcome his guests. I was hanging out with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Eddie Murphy, and all kind of other celebrities.

There was this other time Dre was thinking about doing something with Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, and he asked my opinion. I told him we should consider it, so we went to the studio that Trent was working it and it turned out to be the house that Sharon Tate was murdered in! This guy rented that house and had a studio put in there – the place where the Charles Manson family committed all of those murders. That’s a memory that I’ll never forget.

AllHipHop.com: And you guys haven’t spoken since the “Xxplosive” situation?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: Not since 1998. I went on to work with a group called Chico & Coolwadda and we had some heat on that album. However, MCA was just stupid and they blew it on that project. I then became the DJ for Tha Pharcyde on one of their tours, and we did a show out in the East Coast.

As the group was being introduced, the host stopped and started talking about me to the crowd, and they all started cheering for me. I was just expecting them to just bring out the group. To me, that was the great big “Thank You” that I had been looking for. I had to get that from the East Coast! I never got that from the West, except for my neighborhood. This was at The Goodwill Games with 10,000 people in the crowd.

I don’t have any regrets. I think I’ve made some miss-steps but everybody makes those. After that, I moved on to television music and made a career out of that. At one point every Monday on the UPN Network, my music was played on every show that came on from the evening until the news came on. I’m talking “Girlfriends,” “One on One,” “The Parkers” – I scored “The Parkers” for over four years. A lot of that was ghost production too.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve got to be kidding me!

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: Let me ask you, who painted the Sistine Chapel?

AllHipHop.com: Michelangelo.

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: That’s who got the credit but it was a bunch of guys like myself. I found out that throughout history most of these great people didn’t even do the f*cking work. The Sistine Chapel was painted by a bunch of guys. Michelangelo taught them his strokes but they did the work and he would come in and just touch up a few things – the same with Dre. One dude could not have painted all of that! This has always been going on. It’s been like this forever. Michelangelo was the person connected to the Vatican that could get the money. Dre was that guy connected to Jimmy Iovine that could get us all paid.

AllHipHop.com: After all of this, would you be up for reuniting with the Doctor and making some music again? And if so, what’s stopping it?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: The only thing stopping it is a phone call. If he needs me to come in to the studio and help get it in, then I’m there. This is about the West Coast. I’m sure this time it would all be done the correct way. The past is the past. It’s all about now.

AllHipHop.com: What do you think about some of the recent tracks that he’s put out?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I think he needs to call me. He needs to call The D.O.C and everybody else who worked on those first two albums – and let’s get it in on this last one – the last ride.

AllHipHop.com: Are there any special projects that you’re working on right now?

Chris “The Glove” Taylor: I’m doing music licensing right now, but I’m also working with Asphalt Entertainment on this project called “Independent Grind” that helps independent artists on what they need to do to get on. It’s about showing how hard you have to work in order to make that dream come true.

source - http://allhiphop.com/2012/01/30/exclusive-chris-the-glove-taylor-talks-death-row-aftermath-and-dr-dre-part-2/

Pharrell makes Music with Dre

2012-01-30T16:57:00.001Z

What would a Dr. Dre and Pharrell collaboration sound like? We may soon find out. The music masterminds were in the lab together over the weekend, crafting some sonic goodies with Snoop Dogg. During his trip to Miami, the Doc also logged studio time with Rick Ross. Now if only he would stop teasing us and release some new music.

Source- http://www.rap-up.com/2012/01/30/pharrell-makes-music-with-dr-dre/

the real Mel Man joins twitter

2012-01-28T04:10:00.000Z

The REAL Mel Man has joined twitter @TheMelMan9.

Tito Lopez in the studio with Dre

2012-01-27T00:02:00.002Z

Mel Man twitter account is fake

2012-01-25T10:03:00.001Z

As you all might know, it was questionable weather producer Mel Mans twitter account (@Mel_Man_Melvin) was fake. The tweet below from Dewaun Parker proves that this is a fake/cloned account, not by Mel Man himself.

I myself had also question him directly on twitter but no response haha. But did get a reply from Dawaun Parker.

Glad this came out, now you fans can calm down a little : )

Peace

D.O.C: "...Dre is finally getting what he's been looking for..."

2012-01-16T23:23:00.001Z

Today the D.O.C. (@WESTCOASTDOC) stated the following:

"I keep hearing Dre is finally getting what he's been looking for so maybe we can all celebrate soon"

source:
https://twitter.com/#!/WESTCOASTDOC/status/158961298611245056

Dr Dre & Snoop line up for Coachella

2012-01-10T09:16:00.008Z

Goldenvoice has announced the lineup for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, taking place in Indio, California on April 13-15 and 20-21.

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg are scheduled to headline on either April 15th or 22nd.

Mannie Fresh talks workin with Dr Dre

2012-01-07T16:37:00.000Z

In addition to contributing to Juvenile's upcoming album, "Rejuvenation," you've been working with Dr. Dre and Kanye West. What's that been like?

Kanye inspires me through his work ethic and his approach. He'll tell you his whole warm-up speech: "When we're doing a song, we're not doing a song just to be doing a song. We're striving for a No. 1 song." With Dr. Dre, he's a perfectionist. A lot of people ask why "Detox" is taking so long. It's because Dre is somebody that is trying to top what he's done. Will he do it? I don't know if he ever will, but I respect that he's trying to do so. You have to wait for a masterpiece.

We're all fans of Dre down South. He can park it in Atlanta and I promise you Detox would come out tomorrow.

full interview/source - http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/mannie-fresh-talks-cash-money-dr-dre-kanye-1005814752.story#/column/the-juice/mannie-fresh-talks-cash-money-dr-dre-kanye-1005814752.story

D.O.C: "all in Dre's hand now"

2012-01-06T21:32:00.001Z

D.O.C was asked by a fan about Detox:

@luklolx : @WESTCOASTDOC You said that promo would start in November: nothing. Can you at least tell your fans anything about Detox ?

@WESTCOASTDOC: @luklolx All in Dre's hands now.

source - https://twitter.com/#!/WESTCOASTDOC/status/155018297186861057

Dre: We might put ur kids in new N.W.A. movie

2012-01-03T22:46:00.001Z

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Don't worry about Dr. Dre's kids ... or Ice Cube's ... or Eazy E's ... 'cause they might have a future in film -- playing their fathers in an upcoming N.W.A. flick.

The rap icon and his wife were outside Red O restaurant in L.A. this weekend when we asked about the rumor that they were all planning to put their kids in the movie.

Dre responded, "We're talking about it ... we'll see what happens."

FYI -- Cube has been talking about making the movie for years ... and now that he's putting another "Friday" movie on the fast track ... it seems it could be a while before the N.W.A. offspring get their shot at the silver screen.

T.I. feat Dr Dre - Popped Off

2012-01-01T13:59:00.002Z

Tip, who had never worked with the good doctor before, said he hopes the experience was just the beginning.

"Workin with Dre was a check off my bucket list," he said. "I plan and I hope to continue workin' with him a great deal... You're just not gonna get a better producer than that. He hears things a certain way. His ears aint wired the same as ours, his mind don't think like ours do. To be able to put your best work in the hands of the man that can put you where you need to be musically is phenomenal... I'm floored by [the opportunity.]"

http://www.bet.com/news/music/2012/01/05/t-i-talks-working-with-dr-dre-album-with-young-jeezy.html

T.I. gets studio time with Dre (Mixtape Trailer)

2011-12-28T00:57:00.005Z

Before T.I. finally unveils his eighth studio album Trouble Man, the Atlanta rapper will drop the new mixtape F-- Da City Up on New Year’s Day. To tease the upcoming release Tip put out a mixtape trailer on December 20 and this week he followed up with a new clip, which finds him hobnobbing in the studio with Dr. Dre.

In the 50 second black-and-white clip T.I. is filmed as he records, while Dr. Dre hangs out, listening to the new music.

Tip says he's working on "developing that chemistry" with the West Coast veteran.

Speaking with MTV News, Tip said that the two were “creating chemistry” for the tape and that he wants to work closer with the West Coast veteran.

“Dre was here. He sent for me over to the spot. We really just turned up more than anything else. It was about creating chemistry," he said.

T.I. previously worked with Dre on the song “Topless,” leaked several years ago and supposedly intended for Detox. For now, he’s intent on developing their working relationship.

"Of course we can get together, he got hot beats and I got dope rhymes, so we can always get together and make music," he continued. "But for people to feel what we're sayin' and for it to sound like a party comin' through your speakers, you gonna have to create some chemistry. So that's what we spent more time doin' than anything else; developing that chemistry."

source - http://rapfix.mtv.com/2011/12/27/ti-gets-studio-time-with-dr-dre-mixtape-trailer/

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.18113/title.ti-speaks-on-working-with-dr-dre-for-new-mixtape

Dr Dre & U2 singer Bono to honor producer Jimmy Iovine

2011-12-22T20:34:00.003Z

The Producers & Engineers Wing® of The Recording Academy® will celebrate its fifth annual GRAMMY® Week event honoring legendary music producer and entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine for his commitment to excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music.

The event will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, at The Village Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and Bono and Dr. Dre will serve as honorary event co-chairs. GRAMMY Week culminates with the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards® on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, airing live on the CBS Television Network, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (www.grammy.com)

"The work of the Producers & Engineers Wing is essential to ensure that the importance of sound quality and the integrity of recorded music continue to be acknowledged and preserved in our evolving landscape," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "This year we pay tribute to an industry leader, Jimmy Iovine, who has made an indelible impact as a recording engineer, producer, founder of Interscope Records, and now entrepreneur focused on audio quality. As we continue to highlight those who work 'behind the glass,' we are very pleased this year to celebrate someone of Jimmy's stature who is so dedicated to this important cause."

Jimmy Iovine began his career in the '70s as a recording engineer for artists including John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. He then made the transition to producer, working on classic albums with artists including Dire Straits, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Patti Smith and U2. In 1990, Iovine co-founded Interscope Records with partner Ted Field. He is now chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, a unit of Universal Music Group, and recently celebrated 20 years commitment as a label head to diverse and gifted artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Nelly Furtado, Lady Gaga, No Doubt, and U2. Furthering his interest in and commitment to sound quality, in 2008 Iovine co-founded the high-performance headphone and sound transmission company Beats Electronics with GRAMMY-winning artist Dr. Dre, and he continues to passionately advocate for reversal of the degradation of sound quality in music that has resulted from the recording industry's transition to digital distribution.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @TheGRAMMYs on Twitter, like "The GRAMMYs" on Facebook, and join The GRAMMYs' social communities on YouTube, Tumblr, Foursquare, GetGlue, and Instagram.

Currently more than 6,000 professionals comprise The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, which was established for producers, engineers, remixers, manufacturers, technologists, and other related creative and technical professionals in the recording field. This organized voice for the recording community addresses issues that affect the craft of recorded music, including the development and implementation of new technologies, technical guidelines and recommendations, and archiving and preservation initiatives. For more information, please visit www.producersandengineers.com.

source - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-recording-academy-producers--engineers-wing-presents-fifth-annual-grammy-week-event-honoring-music-producer-and-executive-jimmy-iovine-136058138.html

Snoop and Dre footage of their travels in Doggisode (Video)

2011-12-21T09:02:00.000Z

Snoop Dogg and Dre brought the West Coast to the Eastern hemisphere. In the latest episode of his “Doggisode” web series, Snoop invites cameras along as he and Dre trek through Singapore. The global superstars joke around with their chauffeur and hit the stage to perform at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. Check out some candid footage from their travels.

Nas relfects on hounding Dr Dre for beats

2011-12-15T17:12:00.002Z

With Stillmatic and Hip Hop Is Dead celebrating 10 and 5-year anniversaries next week, Nas speaks on having to hound Dr. Dre for beats and more…

With Hip Hop Is Dead, do you feel like that album marks you becoming an elder statesman in the game?

I didn’t go for that. That’s not what I was looking for, but for an MC point of view and a competitor point of view as an MC, yea, I was with that.

Did you have any reservations about sampling “Iron Butterfly” for the second time because you did it on “Thief’s Theme” before?

No, that was the joke. Hip-hop is dead. I’m gonna do the same beat again from my last album that was my last single. This is gonna be the shit again. And will didn’t even know it at the time, will.i.am when he played it for me and I told him that’s why I have to do this record. For me it was perfect. I know people didn’t get it, but it was my little joke.

The album also marks you working with Dre for the first time in 10 years. How did you guys reconnect?

You know, just hounding Dre ’til you get him. I just had to hound my man, you know what I mean? Once he opened up, he had a moment. I jumped right in there. I flew right in, got in the studio. [I'm] always excited to see him in the studio.

Game was on the track, but that was after he got kicked off Aftermath. How did that happen?

That almost didn’t happen, but again, hounding Dre. Staying on him, staying on him, staying on him. “Come on, I need this.” You know, [I] stayed on him.

Was he initially like, “I don’t want to put Game on the track or something like that?

Nah, he never said that. It was just, we wasn’t gettin’ any response. We needed a mix and master the song, so we wasn’t gettin’ any response on anything. We had to stay on him. He’s a busy man.

full interview - http://www.xxlmag.com/features/2011/12/nas-remembers-the-making-of-stillmatic-hip-hop-is-dead/2/

Crooked I expresses desire to collaborate more with Dre

2011-12-13T20:46:00.002Z

The leader of the C.O.B. movement has a lot on his plate. With a new EP, In None We Trust, out this week and an upcoming Slaughterhouse album out early next year, Crooked I’s ride may not be as shaky now, but it’s certainly moving with some velocity, bringing new challenges to face and to conquer.

DX: Now, another thing you had mentioned was that if you had it your way, Dr. Dre would produce tracks on this album. You also said that you had Dr. Dre beats lying around with Slaughterhouse’s name on it. Today, I’m wondering how that has progressed.

Crooked I: We did record something. You know? We did record something. [Pauses] Eh, I’m never going to be satisfied until I hear like five or six Slaughterhouse/Dr. Dre collabs. That’s just me, though. That’s me being a fan of Dr. Dre since I was a fuckin’ kid. That’s also me understanding that a Slaughterhouse and Dre collab could be potentially 2012-N.W.A. type shit. In my mind, if I was in control of this shit, I don’t want nothing laid back. I don’t want nothing that’s going to be mistaken for a club banger. I want some shit that sounds like straight mothafuckin’ chaos, rebellious lyrics, some I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude, and some 2012 Dr. Dre/N.W.A. type shit going on in that fuckin’ beat. If you give me that, I guarantee you we’ll shut the fuckin’ game down with them songs. Guaranteed because that’s what’s missing right now: high quality production and I-don’t-give-a-fuck mentality on the mic. Since the recession in Hip Hop, those budgets are smaller now. The budgets are so small right now. It’s funny because I’ve been in the game for so long. Some people are recording whole albums with what we used to call an advance, just for our pockets. So, when they do get that high profile producer, they gotta do something that’s gonna hit iTunes and Billboard heavy, and the radio. So, they gotta get more bang for their buck. That’s why you might hear a high profile producer and an artist making the same kind of songs all the fuckin’ time because the record companies try to get as much bang for their buck for a producer that’s charging them an arm and a leg. But, when you say, “Fuck all of that. Fuck what the radio talkin’ about. Fuck what iTunes’ or Billboard’s talkin’ about. Let’s go in this mothafucka and make some shit, some we-don’t-give-a-fuck shit.” That’s what kind of shit I want to do with Dr. Dre.

DX: And that hasn’t all the way happened yet?

Crooked I: Nah, it ain’t happen yet. If it did, I’d be like, “We got a surprise for you.” [Laughs] Nah, that ain’t happen but that’s not saying that it won’t happen. I’m definitely a persistent dude and I’m glad you asked me this question because every time this pops up, we get a step closer to that shit happening. It gets on everybody’s radar and they say, “Yeah, Crook really wants to do this.” [Laughs] It’s gon’ happen. It will happen. When it do, it’s gonna change Hip Hop for that moment in time.

DX: What do you think is holding it back?

Crooked I: You know what? I think it’s just scheduling. Dr. Dre is probably the greatest of all time in production in Hip Hop so obviously his schedule is bananas. He’s killing the game with [Beats By Dre], traveling around. Then, with Slaughterhouse, we all doing our thing separately, individually. I think it’s a scheduling thing but we gon’ conquer that. We will conquer that because I’m not going to stop until it happens. Period.

full interview/source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17950/title.crooked-i-updates-on-slaughterhouses-work-with-dr-dre-recalls-surviving-shootouts-and-career-delays/

Dre & Snoop Dogg to executive produce Tha Dogg Pound's next album

2011-12-08T11:16:00.002Z

It's a flashback to the Death Row days, as Daz and Kurupt reunite with Snoop and Dre in the studio.
“It’s Daz and Kurupt getting that DPGC together. Big Snoop is overseeing it, Dre’s overseeing,” Kurupt told AllHipHop.com at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. “We just got off a road trip for beats with Dr. Dre, who is still working on Detox.”

While most of Tha Dogg Pound’s albums were independently released, Daz said Alumni will be a major release backed by both Dr. Dre and SNOOP’S respective machines.
According to Daz, Alumni will feature a combination of production between himself and Dr. Dre.

“We put the beats together, submit it to him [Dr. Dre] to let him know what we are working with and he comes and adds his flavor to it.

It’s natural.”

The last time Dr. Dre had an executive production credit on a Dogg Pound album, he, Daz Dilinger, and Kurupt were all on Death Row Records.

Now, along with Snoop Dogg, the crew is back together in the studio for Alumni, DPG's next release.

“It’s Daz and Kurupt getting that DPGC together. Big Snoop is overseeing it, Dre’s overseeing,” said Kurupt in an interview with AllHipHop.com.

“We just got off a road trip for beats with Dr. Dre, who is still working on Detox.”

Kurupt added that Alumni would be a major label release.

Said Daz of the project: “We put the beats together, submit it to him [Dr. Dre] to let him know what we are working with and he comes and adds his flavor to it. It’s natural.”

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17885/title.tha-dogg-pounds-next-album-to-be-executive-produced-by-dr-dre-snoop-dogg/

Dre interview - Beats and Asian tour

2011-12-07T10:33:00.002Z

He's been in the game making rap tunes ever since honeys was wearing Sassoon. And that was back in 1995, when Dr. Dre produced and dueted on "California Love" with Tupac Shakur.

Which is why we listen when one of the greatest producers and impresarios in the history of pop music comes to Hong Kong to talk headphones.

Dr. Dre was in Hong Kong last week for the first time with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine who is credited with bringing us Eminem and Lady Gaga and whom you may recognize as one of the judges from American Idol season 10.

The pair were promoting the new wireless Beats by Dr. Dre headphones in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. Powered by rechargeable batteries, the cordless Bluetooth headset may become one of the most coveted travelers' accessories.

Find out more about Beats by Dr. Dre at www.beatsbydre.com.

CNNGo: Why should travelers choose Beats over other brands of headphones, like Bose?

Jimmy Iovine: These headphones were tested by producers around the world and they are made from "feel."

When people travel, they want emotion. You're going to feel a lot of emotions from the music you're listening to through these headphones.

The best way to get emotion is to have the headphones have the right "feel" and tuned by people who know what emotions sound like, who knows what the studio sounds like. Because that's where the ultimate feel is -- in the hatching of a record.

CNNGo: Which songs produced by the two of you are best for showcasing what Beats can do?

Dr. Dre: "In Da Club" by 50 Cent and "Here Comes My Girl" by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

Iovine: We know the way these songs feel. Dre knows "In Da Club" very well. He knows how that record feels and how it sounds at any point.

"Here Comes My Girl" is a record I produced a very long time ago and I know how that records sounds like in its guts.

CNNGo: Other than your headphones, what is an indispensable item when you're travelling.

Dr. Dre: A great hotel.

CNNGo: What's on your travel playlist, Dr. Dre?

Dr. Dre: I have an assortment of things. I have songs that range from Jay-Z to Sade. Just depends on the mood.

CNNGo: What expectations do you have for your first Asia tour?

Dr. Dre: I'm not sure, I'm just going with the flow. I'm just going to check it out.

CNNGo: You were recently in Singapore, how was it?

Dr. Dre: It was great. It was a beautiful experience. I love the people and the vibe.

Iovine: The spirit is all about tomorrow, it's very progressive, very cool. I really enjoyed it.

CNNGo: What do you think of the music industry in Asia?

Iovine: As a record company I think that it's great. The domestic market here is so powerful and from that anything can grow.

We met some kids last night that were into hip-hop and boy, do they believe. It's the truth for them. And anyone that believes -- it can happen for them.

CNNGo: Any Asian producers you would like to work with?

Dr. Dre: We don't meet a lot of producers but we saw a lot of groups. We saw 2NE1 [at the mNet Asian Music Awards in Singapore] and they were good.

CNNGo: You think people here are going to party like they do in America?

Dr. Dre: I dunno, I hope so. I'm just going to go with it. I can't wait to party.

Source - http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/shop/how-dr-dres-beats-headphones-give-you-emotion-when-you-travel-761610#ixzz1fqNOtcrl

Snoop, Dre & Tha Dogg Pound perform @ Luxy-Taipei

2011-12-06T21:37:00.001Z

Producer Rick Rock talks experiences with Dr Dre

2011-12-05T23:50:00.003Z

With an first solo project, titled Rocket, on the way, BallerStatus sat down with Rick Rock to talk about a few of his hits over the years and working with the genre's legends, his experience working with Dr. Dre, and coming in the game with production mentor Mike Mosley, as well as his opinion on Barack Obama, Mariah Carey, and much more.

BallerStatus.com: Tell me about putting together the track "Symphony in X Major" for Xzibit's Man vs. Machine album. How did you get Dr. Dre to hop on there?

Rick Rock: I was looking for records and ran across a record called "Swithched on Bach". I sampled a couple pieces, and added some claps, kicks, and all the bells and whistles to it, and sent it to Xzibit. X said he was f***ing with it, but I never thought Dr. Dre would get on it. That was just getting my cake and eating it too (laughs). So when X called me at my Aunt Doris' house in the Gump (Montgomery, Alabama) and put me on the phone with the good Doc, I knew sh** was finna unfold nice. They added the whole negro opera sh** to it, but the dopest thing to me was getting to mix the song with Dre and get some good game from the Doc.

BallerStatus.com: All Eyez on Me, Restless, Man vs. Machine, Blue Carpet Treatment, are a few of the projects you've worked on that Dr. Dre was also involved in. Have you crossed paths with the good Doctor? And if so, has there been any talk of you guys collaborating on something?

Rick Rock: Yeah, we've crossed paths a few times over the years and he gave me mixing tips while we were mixing "Symphony In X Major" for Xzibit, but no, he has never talked to me and said he wanted me to collab on anything. I think it would be dope though.

FULL interview -http://www.ballerstatus.com/2011/12/05/qa-with-producer-rick-rock-talks-experiences-with-dr-dre-tupac-who-he-wants-to-produce-for/

50 Cent speaks on advice he gave for Detox

2011-12-05T19:06:00.000Z

50 Cent has been working on his oft-delayed fifth album, tentatively set to release in 2012, but he also took some time to share some advice for Dr. Dre. During an interview with XXL magazine, Fif recalled speaking with Dre about how he should approach recording songs for his near mythical third LP Detox.

"Dre helped me a lot on this record. I went to Los Angeles, was working out there for a little bit. I was working on the Detox records, right. I keep saying to Dre, I’m like, 'Yo, you don’t have to invent nothing. All they want is a strong version of what you gave last time,'" he said. "They need a new version of that. It’s like Sade. She goes away for six years, and then she comes back with a new disc. You go, I love this shit! It reminds you of the fuckin’ shit that she gave you before she left. There’s certain artists that have that luxury. You could go away and still be interesting enough to come for people to want to hear that effort. Dre is like that. As I’m busy telling him that, I go, 'Wait, maybe I’m bugging for some of the shit that I’ve been doing.' You know what I mean?"

Looking at his own career, the G-Unit recognizes how to express himself creatively without turning his back on his fans. "For me, the music is an artistic choice," he continued. "I’ll say, from the very beginning, that I can care less about a critic or how someone judges me for the actual music. You see, people understand within hip-hop culture that I’m passionate about actually trying to do something different. I want to make a change in a different way. This is about me personally feeling like I wanna mean more after I’m dead, when I’m gone."

source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17846/title.50-cent-speaks-on-advice-he-gave-to-dr-dre-for-detox

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

2011-12-02T00:03:00.004Z

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

'I Need A Doctor' nominated for 2 Grammys

2011-12-01T16:17:00.006Z

The single which was released around this tme last year, featuring Eminem & Skylar Grey has been nominated for 2 Grammys:

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Best Rap Song

Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg performance Mnet Asian Music Awards, Singapore

2011-11-29T23:38:00.000Z

Slim The Mobster explains his recent Detox comments

2011-11-28T20:55:00.001Z

The Dre protege opens up about a few topics including how Dre's hiatus was blown out of proportion.

Slim the Mobster has previously spoken on his working relationship with Dr. Dre, offering his opinion on why Detox still hasn’t been released. During an interview with Good*Fella Media, the Dre protégé explained that his comments on taking a break from the industry were blown out of proportion and that he still might have plans to release the LP.

“I ain’t ever said ‘Fuck Detox.’ I don’t know if that’s the case. I think it got kind of taken out of hand, what he was saying. He was saying, he’s about to let us do us because of where his motivation,” he said. “I don’t think he’s saying ‘Scratch Detox, fuck Detox,’ none of those things. I think people took that as what he was saying, but again, he’s not a fucking rapper. And people forget that.

“For him, he’s a producer. [Rapping] is not what he does,” he continued. "Detox was a thought when Eminem came out, 50, Game, all these dudes was involved. All those things played out and they turned out to kind of be iffy, because Game and 50 got into it and little things like that and dudes trying to come out with headphones. All those things. It’s a weird thing. I don’t want to be in competition with my boss. You can’t outshine the nigga that gave you your shine."

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17767/title.slim-the-mobster-speaks-on-dr-dres-detox-says-50-cent-forgot-how-to-make-street-records

Dre & Snoop to perform at 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards!

2011-11-27T16:02:00.001Z

World renown hip hop artists Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have announced that they will be performing at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards!

Mnet released new information on November 27 revealing that the two artists will be performing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on November 29, alongside some of Asia's hottest stars. For those unfamiliar with American hip hop, Dr. Dre is the figure behind the discovery of Eminem and is regarded as a world famous producer, while Snoop Dogg is the leader of the West Coast hip hop scene. He's also been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards as well.

This is the first ever time that such big figures from the hip hop scene will be joining on one stage in Asia, and many are hyping it up as the stage of living legends.

"We feel that we're taking one step further into truly being called the music ceremony to represent all of Asia, especially with the confirmation of such honorable artists attending from all over the world. They won't be just making an attendance, as we're also planning some special performances. Japan's top singer Koda Kumi, China's Jane Zhang Liang Ying, Lang Lang, Singapore's Richard Lee, and Fann Wong will also be coming together," said the MAMA.

Other artists currently confirmed include Super Junior, SNSD, 2NE1, miss A, YB, Dynamic Duo, Will.I.Am, apl.de.ap and others.

As always, the MAMA will be broadcast all over the world through 13 different broadcast networks. It will be held on November 29 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

source - http://www.soompi.com/news/dr-dre-and-snoop-dogg-confirmed-to-attend-2011-mama

Don't Give Up, Dr Dre's new material will be arriving soon!

2011-11-26T10:31:00.004Z

Visit the "Coming Soon" section of HMV.com and you'll notice that topping the December pre-orders chart, as it has done on and off since it was first announced eight bleedin' years ago, is Dr Dre's mythical third album Detox. Of course, barring some kind of rupture in the space-time continuum, the much-delayed follow up to Dre's 2001 (which was actually released way back in 1999) won't now be coming out this year, a fact tacitly acknowledged on the site by the absence of any official artwork. Instead, Dre stares out from a crudely mocked-up cover with the guilty look of a feckless mechanic who promises to finish fixing your car just as soon as the parts are delivered, his sciatica's cleared up, and Mars has formed a favourable aspect with Pluto.

source- http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/nov/26/dr-dre-peter-gabriel-dont-give-up?newsfeed=true

HMV album pre order link source - http://hmv.com/hmvweb/comingSoon.do?pGroupID=1&clickID=hp040203

Slim The Mobster says Dr Dre deserves a break, isn't too concerned with high-profile features

2011-11-22T10:13:00.002Z

'He gave us Eminem and 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Game ... let the man have fun,' War Music rapper tells 'RapFix Live.'

Dr. Dre made waves last week when he said he was ready to take "a little bit of a break" from music after he finishes working with Kendrick Lamar and Slim the Mobster.

When Slim appeared on "RapFix Live" Wednesday, the Aftermath rapper said, "For the past time that I've been around, I know for a fact that [Dre] hasn't been out the studio long. Let him have a break.

"He gave us Eminem and 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Game, he gave us so many different things in his time. There are some rappers who haven't gave us nothing. So, let the man have fun now."

At the opening of the Beats by Dre pop-up store in Manhattan, New York, the hip-hop icon told Fader TV, "I've been working on music for 27 years now, and the longest I've ever been out of the studio in 27 years has been two weeks. I'm never gonna stop music — it's like air to me. I'm gonna take a little bit of a break, enjoy some time with the family."

But can we at least get Detox before he goes? "I'm hoping," said Slim, who recently released his War Music mixtape. "That's what we're shooting for, right?"

Several years in the making, there hasn't been a hip-hop album shrouded in as much mystery as Dre's third solo affair. Even Slim, who is in the Doc's camp, isn't sure which songs will make the final track list, though he has heard several, including a song with Jay-Z and another with Drake.

"It's a process, so I don't even know what songs are really on the album and what songs aren't on the album," Slim said, before noting that, ultimately, Dre isn't too concerned with high-profile features. "He's picky; he don't care about that name stuff. It's gotta be appeasing to him and what he likes."

source - http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674810/dr-dre-slim-the-mobster-war-music.jhtml

Slim the Mobster "It's not like it's not going to come out! It's definitely coming out"

2011-11-22T08:18:00.000Z

During the Dubcnn interview Slim the Mobster talks about Detox.:

How tired are you of people asking about Detox?

Slim: I'm never tired of it! That album is like my little brother. I got a lot of faith and belief in it, I love it. When we get it all situated and we figure things out, it's coming. It's not like it's not going to come out! It's definitely coming out, it's just about the strategy, the plan and making him feel good about it. That's part of the reason that I stepped up from behind and just playing a low key role to me giving him some motivation by seeing me out here doing it and make him want to get back in.

source - http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/slimthemobster2011/

Slim The Mobster Talks Drake & Jay-Z Tracks Intended For ‘Detox’

2011-11-17T14:03:00.002Z

Sway was finally successful to get something out of one of his guests on MTV Rapfix live last evening regarding the mythical project Detox. Slim The Mobster was reluctant to speak on the album but he finally revealed hearing a Drake song and a Jay-Z song intended for Detox. The big question: is the album still coming or was Dre really serious about taking a break in the FADER interview?

"I Don't Know Where Dr. Dre Would Do It At Without It Being Crazy Sold Out"

2011-11-17T08:38:00.001Z

With Dr. Dre recently dishing out plans to possibly go back into deejaying, SOHH reached out to past N.W.A. affiliate/producer Cavie for his take on the Doc's possible career move.

In his eyes, Cavie feels Dre going back to his roots could strengthen hip-hop.

"That's actually a good thing," Cavie told SOHH about Dre going back to deejaying. "As a producer, it keeps your chops up, it keeps your ears fresh, you can really see what people are feeling when you're out there. There's no better feeling than when you're out there. I think I heard Lil Jon say you get that instant gratification. Being on that stage, right there, doing what you really do, it's not just a beat that you made. You're out there controlling. You're controlling the club, you're feeling that energy because when you play something good, everybody goes crazy. I think Dre, with the type of ear he has, I would love to see that. I've seen a lot of celebrities -- be really good deejays. [Singer] Macy Gray is a deejay and so they get paid crazy dough and you would never think that. So Dr. Dre getting behind the deejay table would be an interesting event. I don't know where he would do it at without it being crazy sold out." (SOHH)

Cavie also denied past claims suggesting Dre went by the deejay name, "Dr. J."

"I think that would be huge for the state of California too," Cavie added. "It's already huge but to know that Dr. Dre is spinning tonight or just being able to go out and see him spin, that would be crazy. Dr. Dre has always been Dr. Dre. He's never been Dr. J. He's always been Dr. Dre. He used to deejay at a place called Eve's After Dark and there was another place in Compton called Skateland USA. These are all of the places he used to deejay at. People used to make fun of him back in the day because he wore makeup but those were during the late 1970's, early 1980's where costumes and stuff, people did that. He used to rock stuff back there. He's definitely been a deejay and doing things for years. Like I said, I would love to see Dre do that. For him even considering it is big and not as a producer but as a deejay. It's a totally different feeling." (SOHH)

source - http://www.sohh.com/2011/11/dr-dre-getting-behind-the-deejay-table-w.html

"We Were All Just In The Studio, Me, Kendrick Lamar & Dr. Dre"

2011-11-17T08:36:00.002Z

With Dr. Dre announcing plans to take a music hiatus and focus on his family this week, SOHH recently reached out to the producer's protege Slim the Mobster about holding down Aftermath Records.

Speaking on his bond with fellow Aftermath rapper Kendrick Lamar, Slim said he feels now is the time to prove himself to the world.

"Yeah, I mean, it feels good. We were all just in the studio the other day, me, Kendrick and Dre and the energy was just there," Slim told SOHH when asked about holding up the Aftermath flag. "Me and Kendrick know each other from previous situations. Where he grew up, my lived there. I know who he is, he knows who I am. We just made it into something big. This is what I work for. With me, I have to really prove my point because I've been signed so long but it feels like I've done nothing. When I say 'nothing,' I mean I haven't done anything that's been Slim-motivated. It's been in the lure of of Detox and Dr. Dre. I feel like right now, it's my time." (SOHH)

source - http://www.sohh.com/2011/11/we-were-all-just-in-the-studio-me-kendri.html

Dr Dre Says After 27 Years Of Working On Music He's Taking A Break

2011-11-14T21:30:00.003Z

Dr. Dre ready for a break from music, wants Beats By Dre to become second only to Apple.

After almost three decades of non-stop contributions to music, producer/rapper Dr. Dre says he’s finally ready for a break from music. Dr. Dre revealed the news during an interview with The Fader at the opening of the Beats By Dre store in SoHo.

Dr. Dre explained that when he’s done working with Kendrick Lamar and Slim Da Mobster he’ll be ready for a break which will consist of spending more time with his family.

“These are the next two artists I’m working on, Slim Da Mobster and Kendrick Lamar. I think that’s when I’m gonna just wrap it up for a minute because I’ve been working on music for 27 years now and the longest I’ve ever been out of the studio in 27 years has been two weeks,” Dr. Dre explained. “So yea I feel like I’m gonna take a little bit of a break. I’m never gonna stop music, it’s like air to me. So I’mma take a little bit of a break. Enjoy some time with the family til I get that itch to get back in.”

Aside from working on music Dr. Dre has contributed heavily to the Beats By Dre line of headphones and says they won’t stop until they’ve become second only to Apple.

“I’m shocked myself as to how well they’re doing. We’re gonna keep new and exciting product coming. We’re trying to eventually be second to Apple. And I don’t think that’s a bad position,” said Dr. Dre. “We’re really trying to take over everything with a speaker. And also microphones. We’re gonna get involved in that also.”

There were no mentions of a Detox release during Dr. Dre’s interview with The Fader.

source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17603/title.dr-dre-says-after-27-years-of-working-on-music-hes-taking-a-break

Just Blaze producing track for Kendrick Lamar

2011-11-14T11:40:00.002Z

It might have caught your eye in the midst of Lord Knows leaking, but super producer Just Blaze let the cat out of the bag that he would be working with the buzzing Compton upstart, Kendrick Lamar. K. Dot confirmed the rumors but didn’t give a name or day it was releasing.

This makes it clearer that maybe we wont see a new Dr Dre track yet, as recent rumours stated.

Dr Dre track "no longer on Detox" ?

2011-11-12T14:11:00.004Z

On twitter there were rumours flying around for a possible Dr Dre track feat Kendrick Lamar and Game, with producer Just Blaze contributing.

According to @ChigzterOB4CL this track is "no longer on Detox".

https://twitter.com/#!/ChigzterOB4CL/status/135306253722324992

https://twitter.com/#!/ChigzterOB4CL/status/135305148049264640

Dre and Bishop Lamont to reunite?

2011-11-12T14:06:00.001Z

Reid is currently recording a new version of “Seeds of Memory,” the title track from his 1976 album produced by his friend Graham Nash, which besteveralbums.com calls Reid's best. He wrote it about World War II, but hip-hop master Dr. Dre and Bishop Lamont are now adding raps about Afghanistan to Reid's new, harder vocals.Reid is reticent to say he's making a comeback because he never made it big enough.

source - http://www.mydesert.com/article/20111106/LIFESTYLES0101/111060331/-60s-musical-prodigy-Terry-Reid-his-remarkable-past-future?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

Don Trip Reacts To Recording With Dr Dre

2011-11-11T18:51:00.001Z

Exclusive: Interscope's recent artist explains meeting the hit-makers who signed him, and his single "Letter To My Son," featuring Cee-Lo which he recorded before Cool, Dre or the iconic Dr. Dre.

A lot could be inferred when Dr. Dre mentions an unknown artist's name in the same sentence as Roc Nation's breakout star J. Cole. When that happened late last year, Memphis' Don Trip was hardly known to the industry, although he's been a fixture on the circuit in his hometown. The Dr. Dre connection came about when Cool & Dre took him to Interscope Records as the first artist signed through their new Epidemic Music imprint on the label.

With an album, Heaven On the Way, in the works, Don Trip has recorded to beats from Boi 1-Da, Renegades, T-Minus and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Ironically, Don Trip's current single, the emotionally charged “Letter To My Son” was recorded before the deal yet the current version features vocals from Cee-Lo Green.

HipHopDX caught up with Don Trip in late October just before his first performance in Los Angeles, at the House of Blues as the opening act on Game's R.E.D. Tour to going over his music's substance, Memphis, and the personal connections that got him out of there and possibly on the path to stardom.
Don Trip Explains Working With Dr. Dre Before His First Major Album

HipHopDX: What was it like being in the lab with Dr. Dre?

Don Trip: it was quite an experience. I come from listening to Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and N.W.A., so being in the studio with him, actually being able to meet him, is an experience within itself. I actually recorded a record working with him and I can tell you this: he is very precise. There's a certain sound he looking for and he go to till he find that sound. I rock with that.

DX: Who set that up? Did that come about from your deal with First Family and Cool & Dre?

Don Trip: As far as the deal, I met Frank Lopez from First Family Entertainment in Memphis through my DJ, DJ Larry Live. Frank told me about the relationship he had with Cool & Dre and they flew me down to Miami. We got to know each other a little bit and the chemistry worked so from that so felt it was a packaged deal of something to present to Interscope.

DX: What was the time frame on this process?

Don Trip: We started in like September of last year and we got the deal of February of this year.

DX: Talk about what your music grind was like in Memphis.

Don Trip: It was difficult, being that Memphis is one of the spots that there's only a handful of acts that come out and succeeded. It's a lot more difficult to make it from Memphis than to make it from Atlanta or Houston or many other places. Not to say it's not hard to make it there, just saying it was more difficult to make it from Memphis without there being an outlet for that. So it made it harder, but, I personally prefer the hard work. I don't knoLinkw why I'm wired like that but I prefer to go the road less traveled. I didn't have to move to another state to do it.

source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17563/title.don-trip-reacts-to-recording-with-dr-dre-explains-signing-with-cool-dre

New Dr Dre track coming soon??

2011-11-10T23:57:00.007Z

Producer Just Blaze has been hinting in his tweets about a new Dr Dre track being released, rumoured to feature Kendrick Lamar. Stay tuned will be looking for some more solid info:

@JustBlaze - In other news, to the few people that understands what this means. "Firestarter" has just been sent to Interscope at their request.

@JustBlaze - And @drdre said..

sources
https://twitter.com/#!/JustBlaze/status/134543863409934336

https://twitter.com/#!/JustBlaze/status/134760968503832577

Jimmy Iovine Talks Signing Eminem & BeatsByDre

2011-11-10T23:39:00.001Z

Part of Steve Stoute's online series "The Tanning Effect," he sits down with Interscope headman Jimmy Iovine. During the interview, Iovine speaks about finding out about Eminem, passing his tape to Dr Dre and signing him to Interscope.

"At the time, Dre was on fire. He also came off a weak album, but he was just so in touch. A kid came into my office, I used to be an intern, so I always like to help interns, so the kid came into my office, and he said, 'I heard this white guy last night rapping.' Again, I'm not a pioneer of rap, I'm not some guy who discovered the genre, so I always heard that white rappers don't work. I said, 'I'll tell you what, you did a really good job, if you give me a CD, I'll play it for Dr. Dre.'"

"The guys in Dre's studio at the time were trying to talk him out of it, while Eminem was in town working," Iovine continued. "Dre said 'I don't care what you think, this is gonna work.' And they made 'My Name Is.'"

Later, Jimmy Iovine speaks about how he and Dr Dre came up with the "Beats By Dre" headphone line and brand idea.

Eminem & Dre Inspire 50 Cent To Take His Time

2011-11-10T13:44:00.000Z

'I'll be dead, I'll be gone, and the material will still be here to influence new artists,' 50 tells MTV News.

Recording with Dr. Dre and Eminem is bound to rub off eventually. While in the middle of recording his upcoming fifth solo album, 50 Cent has learned to take his time in the booth, and that in part explains the delay in releasing his LP.

"This is the first time that I've recorded and I haven't put pressure to release at a specific day. I've been on the shot clock the entire time. Dre and Em — I mean Dre's record hasn't been out in 11 years, so when you talk about perfection, it's gotta be crazy, right?" he told MTV News while at a New York book signing for his just-released anti-bullying book, "Playground."

Dre's 2001 was released in 1999 and not long after its release, fans began to hear rumblings about the oft-delayed Detox. Dre, a noted perfectionist, has been said to be putting the finishing touches on the LP for quite some time now, and recently Fif has adopted the super-producer's ear for detail.

"I think that provides additional pressure for him that it's taken this long, and in Em's case he has high standards too," 50 said. "You wouldn't believe how many times he records the records that you hear. He's done it over and over and over and over to make it sound like the way that he feels it's supposed to sound."

For his 2003 breakout hit "In Da Club," the G-Unit general wasn't nearly as meticulous as he has recently become. "In the beginning, it was like 30 minutes, 'In Da Club' was 30 minutes, to write it, have the vocals laid," 50 revealed. "I punched in a few times, it didn't matter it was good. Everybody bought it, they said it's a classic and now it's a process where I'm recording it, listening to it and saying, 'I can do that better than that.' "

The veteran hitmaker has realized the influence that his catalog has, and it is that realization that has him thinking differently. "I understand it now because all the material that I put out is gonna be here longer than I am," he said. "So I'll be dead, I'll be gone, and the material will still be here to influence new artists moving forward."

source - http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674078/50-cent-inspiration-eminem-dr-dre.jhtml

Xzibit says Detox intro is done

2011-11-10T09:05:00.006Z

Jump to 8min27secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8fBRpmvSU&t=8m27s

Game to feature on Detox "More Than Once" ??

2011-11-09T20:53:00.004Z

Chuck Taylor says that if the near-mythical album ever releases, he will be on several tracks.

Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg recently said that Dr. Dre’s near-mythical album Detox was in the mixing stage, though a concrete release date is yet to be announced. Game recently spoke with KISS 107.5's Jay Thomas and said that if the album ever does drop, he will be featured on at least two of the tracks.

“If there is a Detox, then Game is on it more than once. But if it never comes out, then nobody’s on it,” he said.

As he’s previously done, the Compton, California native remained mum on all other aspects of the album, stating that while it’s been on his mind, he has nothing more to offer about the project.

“Detox man, I don’t know about Detox man. I’ve been thinking about detoxing lately, because I’ve been back on my workout grind and I’ve been thinking about detoxing. That’s the only thing I can tell you about Detox.”

source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17543/game-says-he-will-be-featured-more-than-once-on-dr-dres-detox/

New Slim the Mobster & Dr Dre "Back against the wall" + mixtape

2011-11-05T22:05:00.007Z

While in London Town to kick off his club tour with the Grime Godfather Wiley, SoulCulture TV caught up with DJ Whoo Kid at the Dope Chef showroom and he revealed that he would be premiering a brand new Dr Dre track on Saturday (November 5th) called "Back Against The Wall" which will be taken from a forthcoming mixtape by the latest aftermath signing Slim The Mobster. Describing the record as "Some hardcore shit, NWA type feel, like he's back, he's calling out haters...fuck y'all, no more Mr nice guy type ish" it premiere on the Whoolywood Shuffle co hosted by MTV's Sway.

The G-Unit repping DJ and radio personality also revealed details on a forthcoming mixtape he will be creating with Dr Dre later this year which will possibly feature Snoop Dogg and some more of Dre's old school collaborators.

Slim the Mobster feat Dr Dre - "Back against the wall"

Slim the Mobster radio interview (dre/detox/kendrick)

2011-11-04T00:42:00.000Z

SLIM THE MOBSTER GOES IN WESTSIDE RADIO TO DISCUSS UPCOMING ALBUM "WARMUSIC", SNOOP, KENDRICK, DRE, DETOX W/ THE ONE AND ONLY JULIO G .. TONY G

Beats by Dre shop opens in NY

2011-11-03T15:16:00.001Z

The first and only pop-up store for Dr. Dre's line of headphones opened on Greene Street Wednesday afternoon and the rapper/producer himself was scheduled to appear there Wednesday night.

The high-end headphone shop Beats by Dr. Dre was set to host a grand opening party at 67 Greene St. from 7 to 9 p.m., spokeswoman Karen Civil said. Dr. Dre was expected to be joined there by Interscope Geffen A&M Records chair Jimmy Iovine.

While the event with music by DJ Prostyle of the radio station Power 105.1 was private, small groups of fans who gather for the event were expected to be allowed in to the party, where a cake in the shape of a giant set of headphones was on the menu.

Metal barricades were set up outside the store Wednesday afternoon.

Dr. Dre said in a statement on Beats by Dr. Dre's website that the headphones, which start at $229 for over-ear models, provide realistic sound quality.

"Most headphones can't handle the bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line, the music doesn't move you," he said. "With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear, and listen to the music the way they should: the way I do."

Headphones that the company designed for celebrities, including the New York Yankees, are displayed in glass cases in the store. Every Yankee was given a pair of custom-made white headphones with blue pinstripes, Civil said.

The store also has a soundproof-room where shoppers can test the brand's speakers.

The pop-up store for the line, which launched in 2008, will be open through mid-January, Civil said.

http://www.dnainfo.com/20111102/greenwich-village-soho/dr-dre-set-ring-new-popup-store-wednesday

'Be creative and make money out of it' says Dre on headphones

2011-11-01T23:46:00.001Z

Preparing to interview Dr Dre is quite a nervy affair. Not only is he responsible for soundtracking gangsta rap, inventing G-funk, signing Eminem and reshaping hip-hop for the 90s, he also has a team around him seemingly desperate to make the experience as tense as possible.

A handful of journalists are driven downtown to Cult Studios on West 27th St in New York – a run-down space in mid-town which looks from the outside like, well, a squat (they've succeeded at looking inconspicuous) but inside is actually some kind of bling Tardis, with scantily clad promo girls giving out canapes to nibble on while we wait for The Doctor to arrive. One of his team warns me in conversation that he's a man of few words, answering technical questions in meetings with a simple thumbs up or thumbs down – and after seeing him in a press conference earlier where he spoke a mere two words ("thanks guys"), I believe what I'm told.

In recent years, Dre's branched out from music, becoming a successful international businessman with the birth of his Beats headphones range, a project which he has worked closely with head of Interscope records, Jimmy Iovine. So is he living the American Dream? He has no doubt. "Absolutely. I've been living the American Dream for over 25 years – just being able to do what I do, be creative and make money out of it, it's incredible."

Dre has certainly had a more creative hand in his line of Beats than a cynic would imagine. Iovine tells a story in the press conference of meeting Dre on the beach. Dre said he'd been approached to design a range of trainers, to which Iovine responded, "Fuck sneakers, let's make speakers". So they did. And Dre's been involved at every step – even harking back to hip-hop's early years in the new collection, which features a mobile beatbox designed to carry on your shoulder like a ghettoblaster. He talks about the project like his baby under a very simple premise: "I want people to enjoy music like I enjoy it in the studio, musicians have been hearing music differently for a long time and Beats are changing that".

Despite being flown to NYC to interview Dre ahead of the launch of this new range, I'm told that under no circumstance can I ask about his infamously long-awaited album Detox (It is testament to the brand he has become that Dre can keep the public eagerly waiting for a follow-up album to the legendary 2001 with no harm to his good name). Damn, I think, there goes the question on everybody's lips. As nice as they are, there's only so much I can bring myself to talk about headphones – what I want to know about, being a music journalist, is the music, not the earpieces you use to hear it. Unfortunately, a lot of my questions not relating to the product are cut short, so my allocated 10 minutes with Dre are punctuated with a PR's voice instructing me to "keep it Beats."

And yet, Dre is far from a sullen character. Before the interview, I stand outside and make small talk with him under the watchful gaze of his PR, and he manages to tell me that one UK act that he's listening to right now is the dubstep outfit Nero. He's so open and friendly, I wonder what all the fuss is about. The weight of the Dre legend is definitely felt by his team, though. The interview is conducted in a white room full of around 10 PRs, marketing managers and who-knows-who, and as a result the atmosphere is more than a little claustrophobic. At least he says more to me than he did in the conference, suddenly perking up about the project, adamant that he is not just a silent face of the brand.

"It's one of the best things I've ever been involved in" he says, laughing when I ask just how far he would take Brand Dre. Could he have a reality show like his long-time partner in hip-hop, Snoop Dogg on the cards? "No! In fact, I would advise against anyone doing reality shows. I won't be doing X Factor just yet."

I ask if his title as a businessman has overtaken the title of artist, "I don't think the brand has overtaken the music, I think that they just work together, like, I love watching the two come together."

We talk about how his journey has taken him from the streets of LA to the high-rise elevators of an international business mogul, and he says, with genuine modesty, that he's always surprised: "I could never have imagined where I am now." So has he let go of the anger that fuelled NWA? His PR steps in and insists, once more, that I "stick to questions about Beats." I want to scream.

I tell Dre how I saw a few kids wearing Beats on the subway earlier and he grins. "The ultimate experience is seeing young people in the headphones, almost as big as people listening to my album, well, listening to my album on the headphone would be pretty good too."

I try to talk about his influence on hip-hop culture and the awesome 2001, which my 14-year-old self played on repeat on my CD Walkman so that my mum wouldn't hear the unadulterated talk of bitches and hos but again, we're told to turn the questions back to headphones.

It's just surreal. What's funny, though, is that despite the pre-interview spiel from his "people" that tried to make speaking with Dre just a few steps down from an audience with God ("he's not doing any more interviews this year", "he doesn't speak a lot"), he actually comes across as modest, relaxed and entirely likeable, or at least not as intimidating as his build might suggest. Emboldened and frustrated, and with the PR theatrically tapping her watch, I decide to pose the question I've come 3,000 miles to ask. Lots have been cut short, I've been interrupted, and it's now or never.

"So Dre, when is Detox coming out?"

The room shudders, the PR bristles, and with that I'm ushered out.

source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/nov/01/dr-dre-headphones-detox?newsfeed=true

Slim the Mobster Interview - discussing Dre

2011-10-27T19:14:00.001+01:00

In this exclusive interview, Slim the Mobster steps into the Booth to discuss the importance of visuals in music promotion, his relationship with Booth-acclaimed cousin XV and the extent of his contributions to the long-delayed Detox LP.

Your brand new mixtape, War Music, is set for release on November 8. What was your goal going into this project?

My goals were to establish myself as more of an artist than a writer.

What do you think your fans are looking forward to the most with this release?

I think the people are looking forward to me delivering some quality street music. I think that’s what the people want from me. I don’t partake in the creation of the corny rap that’s going on right now.

Several videos from this project have been serviced to all of the major blogs and websites. In this Internet age, how important is it to give fans visuals?

That’s a big part of it. That’s why you’re seeing the videos that you see right now. That’s why I’ve released songs already with Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. I’m doing these things for that exact reason.

Hip-Hop fans have been familiar with your name ever since Dr. Dre first mentioned your work during a radio interview, but you’ve been relatively quiet up until now. Why is now the time? Why not two years ago?

Who else’s time is it? There’s no better time than the present. In terms of why not two years ago, my focus was in other places at the time. I’d say I’m fully focused right now.

I am sure Booth-goers will be happy to hear that XV - a buzzing rapper out of Wichita, Kansas - is your cousin. Why haven’t we seen heard a collaboration from the two of you?

I taught him how to rap man. That’s my first cousin right there. Besides music, of course that’s my family. You’re definitely gonna’ get a collab between me and XV. I have another cousin that raps too – Mic Phenom. He’s big on the battle scene. I’m here to help him make the transition to songwriting.

Of late you've been mentioned in the same sentence as Kendrick Lamar, since both of you are Dr. Dre protégés. How would you describe your relationship with Kendrick?

We know a lot of the same people. I knew who he was before we both went under Dre. I look at Kendrick like my little brother and as an emcee; he’s hard on that mic.

In a recent interview, Dr. Dre (it seemed) intentionally didn't mention Detox. Instead, he was talking about a lot of the advertisement deals he has going on. Any status update on the project you can report on?

You see me right? Ok. That’s all I need to say. I’m gonna’ let the people figure that out. We’re here as a team for a reason right now.

How much writing have you done for Detox?

I don’t know how much writing I’ve done. I can only tell you that it’s a lot and that I’ll also appear vocally of course.

How would you describe the overall experience of working with Dr. Dre?

I don’t think they have a word for that yet. In the light of the experience that is working with Dr. Dre, it doesn’t have a definition yet. There was one track that leaked with me and Glasses Malone over a Dr. Dre beat. That track was called Motherf**kin’ Streets.

You’ve worked with a lot of producers outside of Dr. Dre – Nottz, Chocolate and DJ Silk to name a few. Has there been one producer in particular that you've vibed with the best?

My answer for that would have to be Eminem.

Why Eminem?

Because just on different occasions, I know that throughout the course of his day, he listens to my sh*t all day (laughs). That right there was big to me. I would see him and he’ll be singing one of my songs to me – that’s crazy. And its music that I haven’t even released yet, just something he’s had an opportunity to hear.

Any last words?

War Music drops November 8. Without a reasonable doubt, it will be here on that date. There were a lot of things I had to do to make it as classic as I could. Not just as a street album or mixtape, I want you to be in tune with me as a person so we had a lot of artwork created for the project. I’m gonna’ be in the places where most people don’t go and I’ll be handing out hard copies. I have a special exclusive t-shirt that I’m doing with Crooks & Castles I have a lot of things that I’m doing with this project to make it memorable. It’s not gonna’ be just a regular mixtape because if you’ve been paying attention, there’s a lot of different things we’re doing like behind the scenes videos and what not. I’ve done so much work to make it something different to where it requires more attention than just putting out a mixtape. I wanted to make this big.

Source - http://www.djbooth.net/index/news/entry/slim-mobster-in-mix-10261112/

Detox expected in 2012 - 12-20 tracks?

2011-10-23T08:59:00.005+01:00

The following was tweeted by The D.OC

@WESTCOASTDOC "Dre and Snoopy finding time to get things perfected but their schedules are a bitch. Far as how many between 12-20 is my guess."

Earlier he mentioned that they "...on the west trying to get the Dr out the gate right now".

Answering queries from fans, he also stated that a 2012 release is more likely than this year and that 'psycho' wont be in the final tracklist.

http://twitter.com/#!/WESTCOASTDOC/status/127449286278512640

http://twitter.com/#!/WESTCOASTDOC/status/127092400077287426

Slim The Mobster interview, talks about Dre, 'War Music' Mixtape, Meeting Eminem

2011-10-19T00:20:00.001+01:00

So after that initial call what came next on your journey to Aftermath?

We only talked for like 5 minutes and he asked if I was patient because he had a lot of things going on at the time—I think he was in the process of just working on Em’s album or something. I told him I had all the time in the world.

Was it a slow process after that?

I wasn’t signed until almost two years later.

So was it a trial process, were you in the studio with Dre and kind of feeling it out.

Yea from time to time I would be in one studio and then the other studio and that was that.

Was it a learning process for you? Working with someone like Dre isn’t an everyday occurrence.

Everything is a learning process but this was new to me so yea this was a big learning experience for me and all these things came into play later because when you’re dealing with someone as good as he is you have to learn and pay attention.

There’s no way around it, just be on your “A” game at all times, right?

Of course especially when you know he’s watching and I know he watches the [smallest] shit , like when we went out wherever and he wanted to see how I acted and how people responded to me and [vice versa] and I guess I did pretty good.

So it was like Dre wanted to get to know you as a person, as a well- rounded individual versus as just a rapper?

You know what the funniest thing is, for him to be like this big mogul but he knows everything that happens in the street and I don’t know how he knows about it. Like, how do you know that, who told you that? That’s the craziest shit to me, he knows things that are going on in the hood and it’s like where does he get this from.

That’s crazy. At any point on your Aftermath journey did you ever think ‘maybe it’s not going to work out”?

I’m going to keep it 100% real with you, and I’m probably not even supposed to say this—I make more money now than most people he’s put out for big tours.

Just off of working with Dre, you’re saying?

Yeah. Like can you imagine what Oprah gives to her friends and shit? Like c’mon man, knock it off, so I don’t know how they got frustrated. I’m not frustrated—I feel good about it, I’m comfortable, got all my little issues out the way. I’m more focused on my music, I don’t got to worry about the judges and the juries and all those people.

Dre even said in a recent interview that you and Kendrick were probably the last two artists he was going to work with ever. How does that make you feel?

I feel like a legend in the making. That’s a hell of a title, we the last, I guess they save the best for last.

Was Dre present for the whole process of recording War Music?

Nah, a lot of my recording I do on my own too. I really did this because people were wondering like can he rap? Can he do this or that so this is more for the people who really don’t know who Slim is, but there’s a lot of people who know I am and don’t appreciate the things that I’ve done.

Is there like one or two songs that are really personal to you or stand out the most that you can talk about?

Every song is personal to me but the one that’s more personal is something called “Falling Star.”

That sounds like it could have a deeper meaning?

The song is actually about me fucking up and not becoming successful like that’s what most people expect from me like ‘oh I’m surprised he even got this far.’ So I really like the song because it gives a different vibe, it’s not about guns etc. and some people say I always talk about guns but if you pay attention I’m not saying this to shit on anyone and I hope no one takes it personal but I’ve never heard Kweli compared to Jay- Z in light of, Kweli is hard, he’s good, but 9 times out of 10 when you say the greatest rapper you say someone hardcore.

Right, like Biggie, Pac, Jay…

I ask people this question and those are the names that usually come up so like when I made War Music—I wanted to keep it hard because I feel like that’s what people will really like because when you say the greatest people in hip- hop you only name hardcore artists that have an audience of people who [tend] to follow that type of music.

That’s interesting man. Do you feel like you kind of have to act, or make music a certain way to please people and give them what they want?

No, I feel like rap is not hardcore [right now] so if I was to please the people I would be doing techno- rap or something.

You’ve mentioned being Eminem being one of your favorite MCs, have you guys collaborated yet?

I mean we haven’t actually recorded together but I’ve been in the studio with him a few times and it’s heavy because he knows my shit. When I hear Em singing my songs and shit that gives me motivation. That’s someone I looked up to like I looked up to Dre so when I hear him saying like I like this song right here or when Em says this right here is my joint’ I take pride in those things.

http://www.vibe.com/posts/slim-mobster-dr-dre-war-music-mixtape-meeting-eminem-pg2

G.A.G.E. Assylum” produced by Dre

2011-10-18T20:30:00.000+01:00

It’s been a while since former Aftermath artist G.A.G.E. dropped a new record.

that Dre beat from Encore studio session

2011-10-17T12:32:00.002+01:00

The beat below was from the early 2010 studio session. Note that this is a loop of the skeleton beat.

Snoop and other westcoast cats Detox studio session PART 2 (video)

2011-10-13T09:30:00.005+01:00

New Doggisode with Snoop Dogg,DJ Battlecat, DOC, DJ Quik, 1500 or Nothin & DJ Pooh in the studio cooking up classics.

Click here for the part 1 of this studio video.

Dr Dre session up at Encore Studios (mini video clip)

2011-10-13T03:08:00.004+01:00

Dr. Dre previewed a song in the studio via a video clip shot by Lemar Guillary, a professional trombonist.

Guillary lensed the video before laying down the horns on the track. In the clip, the West Coast veteran presents the cut, which features plucked strings and a heavy bass.

The video and studio session is dated back to early 2010.

Dre possibly getting back in the DJ booth?

2011-10-13T00:43:00.001+01:00

Before he was a platinum rapper or superproducer, Dr. Dre got his start in the 1980s as a DJ for the World Class Wrecking Crew, so when it comes to the wheels of steel, the Good Doctor knows a thing or two.

Maybe that's why Beats by Dre snagged David Guetta to help develop the company's new Beats mixr headphones, designed specifically for DJs. In fact, Guetta and the new DJ headphones have inspired Dre so much that the hip-hop luminary is considering returning to the decks.

"He's passionate about what he's doing," Dre said of Guetta. "I flew all the way to Ibiza, Spain, to check him out, and I saw the show that he put together, and I was blown away, so who better to represent our DJ headphone?"

"Who has helped DJs more in the world than David Guetta?" Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine chimed in.

Guetta's Ibiza show clearly left an impression on the Chronic producer and rapper, who saw more than just a DJ, but an artist at work. "From the beginning, just the energy that he brought and all the effects that he had," Dre recalled. "He wasn't just DJing and spinning records; he put on a show, and I took that home with me. I fell in love with the show."

It's no secret that Dre has been fine-tuning is long-awaited Detox album, but what fans may not know is that the former N.W.A producer has at least thought about returning to the DJ booth. "I've actually been talking about it a little bit; dusting my hands off and getting back in the DJ scene," he said. "We'll see what's up with that in the future."

source - http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672418/dr-dre-david-guetta.jhtml

Purpose of this blog - a reminder

2011-10-11T08:51:00.002+01:00

Many people dont know what they are talking about. Some show frusration in the comments about how some news and intervews are not about Detox.

As the blog description states and my 100th reminder:

"Up to the MINUTE news & rumours of Dr Dre
and his highly anticipated album"

As the above description states, the purpose is of this blog is about Detox but also any general news and rumours of Dr Dre. It's not my fault that we dont see any concrete Detox news etc.

Also you might not like the news or rumours but others might want see what else Dre is doing.

If you want only pure Detox news, then by all means follow other sources, which will maybe have the same amount of Detox news but less general news and rumours.

Peace Uzee

Dre: "I Am Trying To Be #2 To Apple ... But Music Is Like Air To Me!"

2011-10-10T21:17:00.005+01:00

The male species can be classified into three specific categories: the ass man, the boob man and the man who enjoys all spectrums of the female body without bias.

Last night, the launch of the book and art instillation CULO by Mazzucco, in collaboration with Interscope’s Jimmy Iovine and Diddy, converted every person in attendance, male and female, in to an admirer of the glorious gluteus.

The instillation featured an array of artistically tasteful, and impeccably presented, back shots from some of the best bootys in the business, including Jessica White, Stacy Keibler, Suelyn Medeiros and Fergie.

We caught up with Dr. Dre, who is no stranger to rap video rumps, at the event, where he spoke exclusively to GlobalGrind about his electronics company, his goal to be second only to Apple and of course, about his favorite culos on display.

With all of this ass on the scene it was only suiting for the doctor to be in, checking out the anatomy, solely for research we are sure.

Global Grind: Why are you here tonight and what do you think of the art work?

Dr. Dre: I think the art work is incredible! I am here representing Raphael Muzzucco, the photographer. He is a friend of mine and I am just here supporting him, that’s all it is! I have been watching his work for quite a while. I was around in the beginning when they started this project when it was just an idea. It came out incredible. I am in love with it. I am actually going to buy a few of the pieces.

Do you have your eye on any particular pieces?

Yes, there is a red piece over in the next room with the three girls laying in the bed, I love that one. It almost describes my life.

Do you recognize any of the bootys in these pictures?

Yes, I do! Quite a few of them actually.

What you have been up to lately?

I am trying to build my electronics company, Beats Electronics. We just signed a major deal with HTC and we have cell phones coming out in the next two weeks. I am involved in Chrysler; we are in cars right now. My whole thing is to take over everything with a speaker. That is what I am shooting for.

What telephone provider is going to be carrying the new phone?

The phone will be on Verizon and, like I said, it is going to be out in the next 2 weeks.

You had wild success with Beats by Dre. Do you think the phone is going to match up? Are you a little nervous?

Oh nah, I am not nervous about anything! I am trying to be number 2 to Apple, and number 2 to Apple is not a bad position to be in.

What do you have going on outside of electronics? Musically, do you have anything going on?

Absolutely. I am never going to give music up. Music is like air to me, [music] is like oxygen, so I am always doing that. As soon as I get back to Los Angeles, I am back in the studio doing my thing. I have a couple of new artists that I am excited about, Kendrick Lamar and Slim The Mobster. These are the next two artists, and these are probably my final two artists that I am going to be working with at least for the next couple of years. I am going to devote all my attention to them and make sure their sh*t comes out the way it should be. I am just having fun with life right now!

source: http://globalgrind.com/style/dr-dre-exclusive-interview-cullo-mazzucco-party-photos#ixzz1aPbxVx9I

Who Is Slim The Mobster?

2011-10-10T20:34:00.000+01:00

Slim The Mobster talks about how he started working with Dr. Dre and his upcoming War Music street album Powered by Crooks & Castle

Method Man talks working with Dre

2011-10-06T20:49:00.000+01:00

Meth says that his collabo with Dre never made it out, but he wouldn't mind working with him again.

Method Man has been a staple in Wu-Tang Clan's live performances, but often times not all members are able to commit to the shows. Speaking with MTV RapFix Live's Sway Calloway, Johnny Blaze explained that other obligations like movies prevent the group from joining forces as a unit.

"Certain individuals who have raised their level a little bit higher than what the rest of the Clan members were, had other obligations at times," he said. "Like this last [European] tour, RZA had a movie, he was doing his movie and he couldn’t make it out because when they lock you in, you’re locked in. a few times myself, I had movies and obligations, things like that."

Meth, who is set to star in the upcoming films The Sitter and Red Tails, also touched on his collaboration with Dr. Dre in 2002, explaining that while the West Coast veteran must not have been feeling their track together, he wouldn't mind linking up with him again.

"You gotta ask Dre. That night, I was in the studio with him, and Dre, he different. He like you to come in, be ready to go," he said. "That’s why I give a lot of credit to Xzibit, because Xzibit will go in there one take and he’s done. I got a little bit too blowed, and Dre was, ‘OK, I want you to rhyme here but then I want you to talk here but then come back into the rhyme in the middle.’ I was like, ‘Aight Dre, you got it.’ It was like five in the morning by that time. I just said, you know what? I’m going to lay this down and if he like it, he like it. And I guess not, because I ain’t never heard the song. And I ain’t heard from Dre since. But I’d definitely work with Dre."

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17126/title.method-man-on-wu-tang-clan-lineups-at-performances-working-with-dr-dre/

Snoop Dogg claims 'Detox' is "almost" ready for release.

2011-10-05T11:57:00.001+01:00

The rapper - who was discovered by the record producer in 1992, and is a close friend and collaborator - "feels good" about the imminent release of the long delayed album, which Dre has been working on since 2003.

He told NME magazine: "I ain't never said it was almost finished. He might, but that's my first time I ever said it. I was always saying it was taking too long to get done. It feels good now.

"We've been working on it. It's almost finished. So that's coming out soon.

"We got Slim [Eminem] on it."

Dre has said 'Detox' will be his last album as an artist, and has so far released one preview single from it, 'I Need a Doctor', in February.

Snoop is also enjoying the current music scene in the UK.

source - http://www.musicrooms.net/urban/41701-dr-dre-s-new-album-almost-ready-for-release.html

Snoop and other westcoast cats Detox studio session (video)

2011-09-29T16:29:00.005+01:00

Click here for the part 2 of this studio video.

EA Sports Teams With Beats By Dre, Gifts FIFA 12 Kits To Artists & Athletes

2011-09-29T08:56:00.004+01:00

In celebration of the FIFA 12 release, EA Sports includes Dr. Dre brand headphones in its VIP package, and sends them out to Lil Wayne, Drake, and others.

Less than a month after EA Sports released the 2012 edition of its super successful Madden NFL series, the gaming giant has launched a new version of FIFA 12. The game incorporates features geared towards delivering "real-world physicality," precision dribbling, and heightened intelligence for CPU players.

In celebration of the release, EA Sports has created a VIP kit which includes Beats By Dr. Dre Headphones, an engraved iPad, a PSP, a golden soccer ball, and the game itself. The kit was sent to several Hip Hop artists including Lil Wayne, Drake, Wiz Khalifa and those in the sporting world like Kobe Bryant, Ocho Cinco, and Chris Paul. Fans will be able to win one of the VIP kits at the EA Insider Facebook Page.

FIFA 12 was released this past Tuesday and will acquire additional features in the upcoming months.

Check out the Kit

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17033/title.ea-sports-teams-with-beats-by-dr-dre-gifts-fifa-12-kits-to-artists-and-athletes/

Dre's coloring Detox with shades Of R.E.D., says Game

2011-09-26T18:28:00.006+01:00

Game started his first session for The R.E.D. Album in late 2008, with plans for Pharrell Williams to executive produce and, of course, be one of the few track masters to provide beats. After several months and close to a dozen tracks in with Skateboard P, the Cali rhyme slinger got the call from Dr. Dre to come in and resume work on Detox, a project Game says he has worked on with his mentor on and off for the entirety of his eight-year professional career.

That’s when the Doc inspired a different feel to The R.E.D. Album. “Dr. Dre. came in and said, ‘This is The R.E.D. Album? Cool. But you need this, this, and this and that,’ ” Game says of the shift in his focus. “I was like, ‘Well, where am I gonna get this, this, this and that?’ He was like, ‘We here, ain’t we?’

“We started working on The R.E.D. Album, and some of the songs we did for The R.E.D. Album he snatched for Detox. Then we worked on some more, and he gave me more for R.E.D. At that time, I was probably the happiest I was in my career. Back working with Dre. Working really closely. Our relationship has always been real easygoing, man. Especially when it comes to the music.”

Despite providing heavy input on R.E.D., Dr. Dre and Pharrell have just one song each on the LP that they produced. Most of the tracks were helmed by La Mar “Mars” Edwards, from the collective of musicians and producers 1500OrNothin. “We’ve been working on The R.E.D. Album for two, three years,” says Mars, who also wound up being a co–executive producer on the album. “He still has half of the album he has from two years ago. That goes to show you how artistic he is and how he knows what he wants. It was just fun. It was just fun records.

Us doing those fun songs was cool because he didn’t have them. Then we had to get back to the core of who Game is and why people bought [his] albums, Doctor’s Advocate and The Documentary. The whole project was between gettin’ it done and taking it back to whoever.”

In total, Game recorded more than 100 songs for his new album. He worked with everyone from the YMCMB family to T.I. to Yelawolf to a woman he used to lyrically terrorize during his stint as a member of G-Unit, Ashanti. Most of the records, obviously, didn’t make the cut. Songs like the Pharrell Williams–produced “Ain’t No Doubt About It,” featuring Justin Timberlake, hit the Internet unsanctioned, while Game himself leaked a myriad of others, like the Dre-produced and Ashanti-featured “Soft Rhodes,” on various mixtapes, such as Hoodmorning (No Typo): Candy Coronas. Ironically, neither Dre nor Pharrell has heard the album in its completed state.

“I didn’t play the whole album for either one of them,” Game says. “They both were instrumental to the conception of it. But I don’t have to do that. They both know I can do it. I stopped sending people music when it got to the last two months. Nobody knows what the entire album sounds like except my engineer. [The album] was a little dark. But at the end, I did songs with Wale and [Rick] Ross and Mario. We got to the end of the album, and I was like, ‘We ain’t
got no songs for the bitches. None.’

“I had to reach out for Drake and Lloyd,” he continues.

“I already had Chris Brown, but the song he’s on is more inspirational. So it wasn’t catered toward the ladies. I had to go back in and lighten it up a little bit.”

Now, with the right hue to his project, Game feels that R.E.D. has topped all his previous efforts. “I know there’s some people that say, ‘Game fell off.’ For all of those people, I can’t wait for you to hear this new album,” he says enthusiastically. “Dre is narrating the entire album. It’s five or six skits going through my life. It’s connected to the songs, on a time line throughout my life, all the way into current-day Game. I asked Dre would he do that. I wrote out the script, and he did it. I cannot wait until people get a hold of this album and put it in. For me, I feel like I put everything I had into this album. It took me three years. And like I said, everything I had, I put in the album.”

Source - http://www.xxlmag.com/features/2011/09/game-grown-man-excerpt-from-the-october-2011-issue/2/

Kendrick Lamar - "Detox" Is Getting Mixed

2011-09-23T21:13:00.003+01:00

K. Dot swears the album is in the mixing phase and recalls his first session with the West Coast veteran.

Kendrick Lamar has previously spoken on working with Dr. Dre for his elusive Detox, but promises that the near mythical album is on the way. During an interview with Shade 45’s Sway Calloway, K. Dot said that the LP is getting mixed and that he’s unsure of how many songs he wrote will make the final cut.

“Detox is getting mixed. That’s all I can say. It’s getting mixed. I could say anything about Detox, nobody would ever believe me,” he said. “I got a few. I don’t know what’ll stick, as of yet. The creative process is so crazy as far as going in there and narrowing down all these songs. Thousands of songs.”

He also spoke on Dre’s work ethic, explaining that he expects nothing but the best from himself and his collaborators. “Perfection. Dre is the ultimate perfectionist. He’s not scared. He hears sounds that the average human being can’t even equate with the human ear. I’ve been in sessions with him. It’s perfection,” he stated, recalling his first session with Dre. “You know what’s crazy, on some real shit? I thought I’d be nervous as hell. But I walked in that studio and I was ready, 100 percent ready. He greeted me like a regular cat and made me feel comfortable.”

Watch the interview below, as well as a freestyle he performed on the show.

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16978/title.kendrick-lamar-says-dr-dres-detox-is-getting-mixed-spits-a-freestyle

50 Cent new album features Dr Dre

2011-09-21T10:10:00.000+01:00

50 Cent says his next album is nearly complete, and fans can count on a few appearances from the Good Doctor

Although 50 Cent's souring relationship with his record label Interscope may have seemingly railroaded the release of his latest album, 50 says that hasn't kept him from recording. Now, Fiddy says that his next as-of-yet untitled project is nearly completed and features production from his mentor Dr. Dre.

BET.com caught up with the G-Unit general at the 10th anniversary issue release party of Smooth Magazine to discuss the status of his long-awaited release. The Queens rapper says that he's nearly finished recording the project and that fans can expect to see his latest effort on shelves this Novemeber, complete with two beats from Dr. Dre.

“It’s good man, I’m done, actually - I just got to go through the mixing process,” he said. “It’s just the system and everybody being on deck at the same time to move at the same pace. When I have a conversation about something I expect it to happen like right after we talk about it.”

As previously reported, 50 Cent was involved in a heated dispute with his long-time label Interscope Records over the handling of the album's promotion.

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16941/title.50-cent-promises-new-album-by-november-features-dr-dre

Game: Kendrick is all "all over Detox"

2011-09-13T00:37:00.002+01:00

Game was disucssing how got back with Dre.

He also spoke on his relationship with Kendrick Lamar, who appears on his chart-topping The R.E.D. Album. Game explained that their friendship goes way back, and that K. Dot is heavily featured on Detox.

“Before Kendrick Lamar was Kendrick Lamar, he was K. Dot and he ran with me. I took him and Jay Rock on a tour with me and Snoop, way long time ago, and so I always told K. Dot to stay focused and he would get his day, and he did. It’s almost his time. He all over Detox.”

Watch the full interview below.

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16826/title.game-speaks-on-reconciling-with-dr-dre-working-with-kendrick-lamar

Detox promotion to maybe start in November?

2011-09-11T11:45:00.003+01:00

A tweeter had asked the D.O.C. if Detox "be released this year or in the first quarter of 2012?" and "when the real promotion for Detox will start?"

His response was "hard to say but one or the other and hold on it's gonna be a cool ride." and that he's guessing the promotion "would be November."

Like i said before, dont get too excited but dont lose hope either : )

http://twitter.com/#!/WESTCOASTDOC/status/112271015425482753

http://twitter.com/#!/WESTCOASTDOC/status/112541077143162880

Slim the Mobster Drops First Single; Enlists Dre, Snoop, Sha Money For 'War Music'

2011-09-08T00:32:00.003+01:00

Dr. Dre's latest artist Slim The Mobster announced the official release of the first single from his upcoming street album today (September 7th).

Slim released the video for his new song “Gun Play,” which is taken from his upcoming Aftermath street album War Music.

The album was produced by Sha Money XL and Vikaden, while DJ Skee and DJ WhooKid will host War Music, which is due in stores this fall.

Slim the Mobster signed with Dr. Dre, shortly after he dropped a demo off at the legendary producer's Los Angeles area studio, with his number scrawled on the back of a lottery ticket.

Dr. Dre was impressed and called him back to the studio to begin working on material.

To date, Slim the Mobster has worked on over 200 songs for Dr. Dre's highly anticipated release Detox.

“I talked for a few minutes with Dre and he said if I was patient and had some time, he wanted to work with me. It’s been on since then," Slim the Mobster explained.

As for his own street album, War Music will feature verses from his mentor, Dr. Dre, as well as Snoop Dogg and Sly.

“I been hustlin’ since I was 13-years-old, knee-deep in the streets and whatever came with it, came with it," Slim explained, to let fans know what to expect on War Music.

"I never want to portray somethin' that I'm not," Slim continued. "That's why, when you listen to my music, you'll hear me talkin' about Crippin' and gangbangin' 'cause that's part of my past.”

Nottz, Bink, Seige, Monstracity, N.U.M, Jake One, Sid Roams, Sha Money Xl, and Keykat Productions also contributed production to War Music.

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2011/09/07/22876831.aspx

The Detox Cycle: Longtime Dre affiliate Soopafly returns

2011-09-06T19:13:00.001+01:00

In this week in "Detox," we bring you the latest developments from the opaque and dank world of Dr. Dre, the West Coast's most indelible sonic icon, weightlifting enthusiast and O.C.D. perfectionist. According to Hip Hop DX, Priest "Soopafly" Brooks, the renowned ex-Death Row keyboardist, has returned to work on the mythologically delayed album from Andre Young.

The news suggests a back-to-basics approach to the construction of the album. After all, reading the rumor-laden Wikipedia page for the album is about as entertainingly byzantine as a Pynchon novel. Here's an abbreviated list of the artists on the record, at one time or another: Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Warren G, Mary J Blige, The Game, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Raekwon, Ice Cube, Lady Gaga, Just Blaze, R. Kelly Common, Wayne Newton, Lil B, and Big L's ghost.

The last three are not actually true, but they well may be for all we know about "Detox." The first rule of "Detox" isn't don't talk about "Detox," it's tell the world that it's a masterpiece and it's almost finished. That way, journalists write blog posts speculating about the content of the record and thus continue to foster its mythological status and public interest in whatever Dre's doing. (Wait a minute...)

July brought forth the news that Snoop Dogg and the D.O.C. were back in the mix, and now the return of Soopafly (the man who played keyboards on "Natural Born Killaz," Tha Dogg Pound's "Doggfood" and several hundred other records of the post-Death Row years) would seemingly imply that they're throwing their hands in the air and waving them as if they care -- and are very confused about the record's direction. Not so, according to Soopafly, who told DX that "Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and [me] are making sure it got that finishing touch on it."

Later, Soopafly added that "[Detox] sounds good. I haven't even personally worked on anything yet. Dre's a perfectionist, so he takes his time. But, I listened to a lot of stuff [and] it sounds good. That’s all I’ma say.

Source - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/09/the-detox-cycle-soopafly-returns-home-to-roost.html

Dre & Game behind the scenes book - ‘The Making of Game’s The R.E.D. Album’

2011-09-06T01:16:00.001+01:00

Game is dropping the mic and picking the proverbial pen to document the making of his ‘R.E.D. Album.’

“With my book, ‘The Making of Game’s The R.E.D. Album,’ I wanted to give my fans a behind-the-scenes look of how my new album came to be,” Game says. Music journalist Soren Baker — who has previously worked as an editor at The Source magazine — worked alongside the ‘Good Girls Go Bad’ rapper to craft the project.

“These are my stories in my own words,” Game says. “This book is the only place where you’ll learn all the stories behind the music – how I got the beats, what inspired my lyrics and how the album was put together.”

The book will feature memories and anecdotes from Game as well as his collaboration with the likes of Rick Ross and Pharrell Williams. The book will also touch on Game’s work with Dr. Dre, why Dre let Game use their track, ‘Drug Test,’ instead of putting it on ‘Detox’ and the true story behind their controversial, violence-tinged track, ‘Red Nation.’

The book is currently available as a digital copy on Amazon.com, but will be out in print and on audio soon.

What's Taking Dre So Long With Detox?

2011-09-02T00:33:00.000+01:00

In April 2010, Dr. Dre traded in his White Sox cap for a Red Sox jersey during a public appearance at Fenway Park before the MLB season. The reclusive hip-hop icon's normally stoic grimace turned to a childlike grin as he took batting practice, participating in the spectacle in the name of promoting the "Red Sox Edition" of his Beats By Dr. Dre headphones, and not—as many fans had hoped—his decade-or-so-in-the-making third record, Detox.

At a press conference during the event, Dre finally did mete out a couple of details about the project—that its lead single, "Under Pressure" featuring Jay-Z, could be released in two weeks, and that the entire album would "definitely" drop in 2010. Both assertions turned out to be false. After weeks turned to months, the Internet decided to put out "Under Pressure" for Dre in June by leaking it, prompting him to issue this statement: "The song that's on the Internet is an incomplete song that I'm still working on. When it's ready, you'll be hearing it from me."

    Rapper Soopafly called Dre a "perfectionist" this week, echoing what 50 Cent said about him in 2007.

This summer, Dre released the first two singles from Detox, "Kush" featuring Snoop Dogg and Akon, and the Eminem collaboration "I Need a Doctor." But a year and a half after his Fenway stunt, a release date for the record has yet to materialize. Posting under the "Kush" video, a YouTube commenter said it best: "i used to say 'when pigs fly' now i say 'when detox comes out [sic].'"

Dr. Dre is part of a lineage of great artists who've had trouble producing the follow-up to a notable album. Notoriously, Guns N Roses' 2008 record, Chinese Democracy, was a critical and commercial failure that took 15 years and more than $13 million to produce (Detox has become known as the "Chinese Democracy of hip-hop"). An article in Psychology Today called "Axl Rose: Obsessive Monomaniac Perfectionist," speaks of the album in terms of "the latest act of a tortured genius in the great tradition of other tortured geniuses."

Uncomfortable with the superstardom wrought by the runaway success of her only studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill retreated sanctimoniously into obscurity. Despite her husband Rohan Marley's claims about the singer's prolific songwriting around the house—she writes "in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall," he told People in 2008—by now, those who once held their breath for a Hill comeback have either exhaled or expired.

The list continues: After putting out great records, My Bloody Valentine, The Avalanches, Neutral Milk Hotel, and D'Angelo have all seemingly ground to a creative halt. Amy Winehouse passed away as the fifth anniversary of Back to Black, her breakthrough last album, approached.

A few factors are at play, usually. Artists who become known as musical geniuses are often rewarded with an autonomy that does away with the usual record label strictures—deadlines and checks and balances—that ensured that their previous records actually saw the light of day. Issues like addiction, alcoholism and legal troubles can also play a part in delaying an artist's work, as was the case with Winehouse, and D'Angelo, who started making his third album, James River, in 2002.

Dre, himself, has already faced this challenge. His previous, critically acclaimed, multi-platinum album, 2001, came seven years after his equally successful solo debut, The Chronic. Compare this low productivity rate with that of his fellow hip-hop artist/producer/studio-mad-scientist Kanye West, who has managed to release six popular, critically lauded albums during Dre's time away from the spotlight.

It's likely that the most frequent cause for creative paralysis in the wake of landmark albums is the pressure put upon musicians by their own work—that they look back at their last effort and think, how did I do that?

It's a reasonable thing to wonder, says Dr. Simon Sherry, an assistant psychology professor at Dalhousie University. Mathematically, most talented people don't live up to their own past achievements.

"In the statistical sense, it's far more likely that following an exceptional, well-above-average performance, the performance drops," he says. "You see that all the time in the world of sports, where an athlete has an exceptional year... hitting 50 home runs in baseball. That's their peak performance, and it's much more likely that they're going to then regress towards a more average one."

But for Dre, "average" is not an option—possibly to his detriment.

Speaking about Detox to HipHoxDX.com this week, rapper Soopafly called Dre a "perfectionist" who "takes his time." It sounded a lot like what 50 Cent, in 2007, said of his label boss in an interview with the same website: "He's such a perfectionist. But sometimes that can be a bad thing. You create new pressure when you wait that long." HipHopDX.com

Sherry, a registered clinical psychologist who assesses and treats perfectionists, says that there are two main forms of perfectionism. One, known as "perfectionistic striving," whereby a creative person can't relax until they've lived up their own standard of excellence, can be motivational. The other is a more destructive form of perfectionism, referred to as "perfectionistic concerns."

The destructive form "involves things like a tendency to be harshly critical of yourself," Sherry says. "To doubt your actions and your performance abilities. To have an extreme, exaggerated concern over mistakes. And to often perceive or misperceive that other people around you require you to be perfect."

"That aspect of perfectionism is more clearly related to a range of work-related difficulties, including procrastination."

It wouldn't be hard to make the case that Dre's been procrastinating. Over the years, he has set aside Detox multiple times to focus on other projects. There is his hugely profitable line of headphones. His brand of Cognac . Endorsement deals with Hewlett-Packard, Dr. Pepper, Coors Light, and Chrysler. The eight studio albums he has executive-produced through his label, Aftermath Entertainment, since 2003, including Eminem's Recovery, the highest-selling record of 2010. His newest protege, 21-year-old Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar. Time at the gym. Fun in the studio with Justin Bieber.

But between these departures, and a period in 2004 when he gave up on Detox altogether, the doctor has been squeezing in sessions for the album. By all accounts, the results have been extraordinary.

"The man is getting piano lessons from Burt Bacharach and he's reinterpreting Chopin symphony stuff ," longtime Dre cohort and reported Detox collaborator DJ Quik effused in a 2008 interview with Loud.com. "It's crazy, he's lost his mind. He's got like 400 records."

In December, another Dre affiliate, rapper Kurupt, told SOHH.com about the seismic effect the album would have on hip-hop at large.

"I think it's going to do the same thing [2001] did—it's going to change the game," he said. "The one thing you don't play with when it comes to this [rap] game is the doctor. Point blank. Never play with the doctor... Because he plays no games. He's a stickler. He's a stickler for perfection."

Dre's exacting sensibility can be heard in his production aesthetic, which has grown increasingly meticulous over the years. On The Chronic, he favored loose riffs lifted from funk and soul artists. For 2001, he developed a clean, quantized balance of rhythms and melodies.

But in the past few years, his obsession with precision has rendered many of his beats cold and mechanical to the point of lifelessness - the antithesis of funk. As Ian Cohen wrote in his Pitchfork review of Eminem's 2008 album, Relapse: "Dre has treated production like a test run for his very expensive headphones, concerning himself with only the most inert, stainless steel sounds."

Beyond Bacharach, the list of artists who have allegedly logged time on Detox is a cavalcade of Billboard heavyweights that includes Eminem, Jay-Z, Beyonce, R. Kelly, and Lady Gaga, to name a few.

If the hype is to be believed, Detox will be Dre's magnum opus, a true, modern rap classic, something more akin to the Sistine Chapel (which, incidentally, only took Michelangelo four years to complete) than Chinese Democracy. Should that happen, his protracted creative process will be vindicated, and the doctor will always be remembered.

The anxiety that people aren't acknowledging his legendary status could be the prime motivation for Dre's perfectionism. The notion that the public has neglected him has been a theme reiterated often throughout the post-millennial part of his career.

On 2001, we "Forgot About Dre," forcing him to respond that he's the same O.G.—but he's been low-key—before breaking down his vast inventory of accomplishments (the studio full of tracks; the wall full of plaques hanging up in his office like trophies; the careers of Snoop Dogg, Easy E, and NWA). On his previous single, he reminded you that he's "Still D.R.E." And on " The Watcher," from the same album, with the tone of a mother, upset that no one complemented her casserole, he admonished, "I started this gangsta shit, and this the motherfucking thanks I get?"

Asked if Dr. Dre's contentious attitude toward his audience could be related to his perfectionism, Dr. Sherry says it's probably more a product of ego.

"Often times, people who are narcissistic are disappointed with how other people treat them," he says. "Because others don't acknowledge their so-called brilliance or uniqueness or special talents. And that lends itself to a sort of defensive orientation towards the world where everyone's attacking you, and everyone's disappointing you."

His most recent single, "I Need a Doctor," advances that narrative to its apotheosis—we need Dre—while inflating his return to almost messianic proportions.

The song opens with two melodramatic verses by Eminem, who raps, "you're either getting lazy or you don't believe in you no more... I demand you remember who you are!" In 2011, even Dre has forgotten about Dre. Finally, vehemently, he emerges for the song's climactic third verse, concluding, "...I'm back, bastards. One more CD and then I'm packing up my bags, and as I'm leaving I guarantee they'll scream 'Dre, don't leave us like that, man.'"

Ultimately, the fact that Detox will be the 46-year-old rap legend's last project could best explain what's taking it so long. It's his swan song, one he hopes will be the perfect last installment in a classic trilogy of hip-hop albums.
So like a pitcher on the mound, winding up for his third strike, a nation of listeners waits to see if Dr. Dre can do it again.

Source - http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/09/whats-taking-dr-dre-so-long-with-his-new-album/244390/

Dr Dre and others join Game In The Studio

2011-08-31T09:12:00.000+01:00

Behind the Scenes of Game R.E.D Album from Taydoe Kidd on Vimeo.

Tomorrow West Coast rapper The Game is expected to put up some big numbers when his R.E.D. Album hits the Soundscan charts. Keeping the momentum of his successful record, Game unleashes footage documenting the album with the majority of the guest features including legendary producer Dr. Dre, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Drake, Snoop Dogg, producers Cool N Dre and even Queen Latifah stops by to show love. Talk about name dropping. Hit the clip for the action. R.E.D. Album in stores now.

Source - http://rapfix.mtv.com/2011/08/30/dr-dre-lil-wayne-drake-rick-ross-and-join-game-in-the-studio/

Soopafly Talks Work On The New "Detox,” Hits With Dre & Tha Dogg Pound

2011-08-30T15:25:00.001+01:00

Exclusive: The west coast's best kept secret discusses being fired by Dr. Dre, recently rehired for Detox, and using social media to talk to onetime collaborator Nate Dogg.

Even the most ardent fan of Hip Hop from the land of palm trees and gang signs is likely to incorrectly reply “Warren G,” “Daz” or “Battlecat” when asked who produced certified left coast classics like Warren G’s “Somethin’ To Bounce To,” Tha Dogg Pound’s “Thrown Up Da C,” Daz Dillinger’s “In California” or Snoop Dogg’s “Loosen’ Control.” Unknown to too many for too long is that the musical mind behind some of the finest G-Funk selections ever created was actually Priest “Soopafly” Brooks.

Now with his aptly-titled third solo album, Best Kept Secret, the onetime protégé of Dr. Dre (whose first gig was playing keys for Dre and Ice Cube’s “Natural Born Killaz” as an unknown 19-year-old) is looking to finally let the world know who got some gangsta, gangsta shit by strategically keeping the best of his most recent G-certified creations all for himself.

Last Monday (August 22nd) the producer/rapper spoke to HipHopDX about the just-released follow-up to his slept-on sophomore album, 2007’s Bangin West Coast, and its past-meets-present sonic direction. The unofficial third member of Tha Dogg Pound also discussed his past and present working alongside Dr. Dre, being compared to legendary music makers like Dre and DJ Quik, and communicating with a recently passed legend via Twitter.

DX: Let’s switch gears to another one of your classic creations, the song that is the definitive L.A. anthem, Kurupt’s “Welcome Home.” Do you realize how often grown men turn into giddy little schoolgirls when discussing their fondness for that song? [Laughs]

Soopafly: [Laughs] Are you serious? I didn’t even know they liked that song. Is that right? Well, yeah, we did that at Sound Castle [Studios] years ago when Kurupt was working on his album, [Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha]. … We was working on his record, and I just told him I had a beat for him. He liked it, and he pretty much – anything I got he pretty much wit’ it anyway, so he got on it, jumped on it. I finished it up at the studio, had Toiya [Williams] come in and sing on it, [and] mixed it right there.

DX: I don’t know if the general Hip Hop community is aware of all the classics you’ve created. Do you personally feel like you should be considered in the same company of Westside music makers like DJ Quik and Dr. Dre? Do you see yourself in that upper echelon?

Soopafly: Do I see myself in that upper echelon? Uh … I’ve done a lot of work. I don’t see myself in that upper echelon as far as credits, because [a lot of them haven’t] been seen. But as far as getting the work done, yeah, I’m a worker; I just ain’t got as much credit as the Quik and Dr. Dre’s. Which is fine by me, but the real ones who read the credits and know how much I did, they know what it is.

Soopafly Talks Working On Dr. Dre's Detox

DX: Well, Dr. Dre obviously thinks highly of you. You recently revealed that you were “in studio working with Dr. Dre again. Making sure this Detox sound got my imprint on it too.” Is this a new version of Detox y’all are working on? Is Dre starting completely from scratch?

Soopafly: Uh … nah, not from scratch. We just coming in, as far as Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, and making sure it got that finishing touch on it.

DX: Was that an invite directly from Dre to you?

Soopafly: Yeah, it was. When the man call we tally up. It’s like the Super Friends.

DX: [Laughs] Can you give your peoples at HipHopDX any insight into what the stuff you worked on for Detox sounds like?

Soopafly: No. [Laughs] How ‘bout that? It sounds good. I haven’t even personally worked on anything yet. Dre’s a perfectionist, so he takes his time. But, I listened to a lot of stuff [and] it sounds good. That’s all I’ma say.

DX: I was hoping you had given Dre something on par with “Crazy” from Bangin West Coast. That would’ve raised the anticipation level for Detox I think.

Soopafly: Oh yeah, I was thinking about Dre when I made the beat – just that sound, that type of sound.

DX: You mentioned on “That Way” from your last album that you previously “made beats with Dre.” Can you reveal what songs those beats became?

Soopafly: Uh … “Natural Born Killaz.” Uh … “[Keep Their Heads] Ringin’.” [Laughs] A lot of [the] Above The Rim [soundtrack]: “Big Pimpin’.” During that time, the Murder Was The Case Soundtrack, things like that. “Who Got Some Gangsta Shit?” I would have to admit that when we did the song it had my drums to it. Dre changed the drums, made ‘em his drums that he liked. At the time I was like, “Ah, I want my drums.” But then I listened back and I’m glad he changed it, because his ears is and was much, much more polished than mine.

DX: So during that era – like, ’94, ’95 – were you just playing keyboards, sort of as a session player? Or were you coming up with riffs and then taking ‘em to Dr. Dre, taking ‘em to Daz and saying, “Listen to this?”

Soopafly: It was before I met Daz. I was with Dre. With Dre, I was a keyboard player. He’d bring me to the studio, he’d play a beat, if he had a idea about how he wanted it [added on to I’d play that], or maybe [he’d have me] listen to a sample [and tell me to] “Do this over,” or [we’d] just come up with something hard and just see what we can do. We just created. So it was an even collaboration. I might do a bassline [and] he might [be like], “Well, change that note.” And he might [play] on there and I might change a note. It was just creativity.

Soopafly Recalls Getting Down With Tha Dogg Pound

DX: And then Daz came in and stole you away? [Laughs]

Soopafly: Dr. Dre fired me, matter of fact. Really, he didn’t fire me, he was not doing music. So it was really nothing for me to do. So, I met Kurupt first. And then we did a song together. And then he introduced me to Daz. And when I met [back up with] Daz the next morning, we went in the studio and we did [Tha Dogg Pound's] “What Would You Do.” So, we kinda knew we was a match. And we became best friends – me, him and Kurupt.

DX: One last Dre-related question: Has he heard “Sumthin Better” from Best Kept Secret yet? ‘Cause if not, he’s gonna be mad as hell when he finds out you kept that heatrock for yourself.

Soopafly: What I did for this album – A lot through my little career, I feel like I gave my best ones away. I don’t regret that at all, but I just wanted this album to save everything for me this time. And [I just wanted] to come with an album that I think is pretty much complete – not to think that, Man, I shoulda put this on here ….

DX: I don’t know how to describe the sound … but I wrote down [it was] sorta futuristic Soopafly. Like, [with the song] “All This Game.” You agree with that assessment?

Soopafly: Uh … yeah, future and the past, kind of keeping ‘em together at the same time, but still [a] G-Funk feel to it. As sounds evolve, you gotta evolve too. Anything that catches a ear that I can make catch somebody’s ear, I’ma use it.

DX: I know producers especially don’t like comparisons, but I felt the same vibe listening to your album that I did listening to DJ Quik’s Book of David album that he put out earlier this year.

Soopafly: That’s a good comparison, ‘cause Quik is a great guy to be compared to. I know he puts nothing out but perfection.

DX: You got a nice string of perfection on Discogs.com.

Soopafly: I’m trying to hang up there with the big boys. It’s hard sometimes, but then again it’s easy.

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16662/title.soopafly-talks-work-on-the-new-detox-hits-with-dr-dre-tha-dogg-pound

Dre Presents Snoop Dogg with BMI Icon Award

2011-08-27T19:05:00.000+01:00

Dr. Dre presents Snoop Dogg with the BMI Urban Icon Award at the 2011 BMI Urban Awards. After he accepts, Snoop joins Bootsy Collins, Game, Kurupt, Warren G, Daz Dillinger, The Lady of Rage, and Charlie Wilson to perform his classic "Who Am I (What's My Name)."

Busta Rhymes & The D.O.C. plus others in the studio

2011-08-27T04:36:00.001+01:00

Looks like there was a Aftermath reunion last night and no one invited Game. While Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent & Dr. Dre were running around, Busta Rhymes & long time Dre collaborator & friend The D.O.C. took the flick above. We thought Game said Dre & 50 weren’t working together anymore? You ready for Detox now?

Source - http://57thave.com/?p=43597

New Dr Dre Detox Facebook group now open - instructions

2011-08-24T02:37:00.000+01:00

Finally the new Dr Dre Detox group has been created, which contains some little enhancements. I had no choice but to create this new group, as FB will eventually close down any groups using the old system.

All you have to do is join the new group by clicking the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/211077528949606/

Once you have joined the new group, i recommend you leave the old group by navigating to it and clicking on the ‘leave group’ link located on the side of the page.

Eventually I myself will shut down the old group, once all/most members have moved to the new group.

Any queries just ask.

Uzee

Game Dre and Snoop pass the torch onto Kendrick Lamar

2011-08-21T18:46:00.001+01:00

In the biggest showing of West Coast unity in recent memory, 24-year-old Dr. Dre protégé Kendrick Lamar headlined a sold-out show at Los Angeles venue the Music Box on Friday night (Aug. 19), performing with his Black Hippy crew, and receiving onstage co-signs from virtually every relevant L.A. MC.

A Tupac Shakur video clip set the tone for the evening, as the Compton native, who looked like a mini Bernie Mac, in a black suit and T-shirt with a single gold chain, deftly controlled the crowd with a similar amount of authority, despite his age.

With Dre looking on from the the balcony, Kendrick brought out a veritable who's who of West Coast rap royalty, alternately receiving praise from his heroes and delivering crowd favorites from his 2010 mixtape 'O(verly) D(edicated)' and noteworthy street album 'Section 80,' which he released in July.

"Ayo, throw up dubs for Kendrick Lamar," fellow Compton rapper Game announced, as he surprised the significantly smaller rapper by coming out early in his set to rock 'The City,' their collaboration from Game's forthcoming 'The R.E.D. Album.' "The illest n---- in the west right now is this n---- right here. This n---- right here can flat out rap. It ain't no n---- in this city, including me, that can f--- with Kendrick Lamar."

The night continued with a special dedication to Kendrick's parents, an impromptu Nate Dogg memorium, and song after song from the up-and-coming MC's internet-only releases, as he was joined on stage by his Black Hippy partners Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q, who opened the show with an energetic set, and surprise guest Talib Kweli.

Though the sound cut out during 'A.D.H.D.,' which should have been one of the hypest songs of the night, Mos Def made a brief cameo, followed by Big Sean, who likened Kendrick and himself to Tupac and Biggie Smalls, a bold, albeit somewhat dubious comparison.

"I'll tell the world man, you one of the only rappers that inspire me," Big Sean exclaimed. "Let's be like what Biggie and 'Pac was to our generation."

After Game returned to contribute a verse to 'Blow My High (Members Only),' and Schoolboy Q rocked crowd-pleaser 'Michael Jordan,' the show took on a ceremonial quality, as Kendrick was joined on stage by West Coast legends Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Warren G and several others, who figuratively passed him the torch, once again.

"I'm sittin' there with Dr. Dre, we watchin' you rock, and we watchin' Game pass the torch," Snoop barked. "You great at what you do. You ain't good at what you do, you great. You got the torch n----, you better run with that mothaf---er."

Things got emotional then, as the group of Cali O.G.'s surrounded the visibly moved young rapper in a group hug, and he appeared to tear up, while the entire crowd chanted his name. Closing with 'HiiiPower,' it felt like Kendrick might actually have a real shot at success, with the whole city behind him -- even the bartenders were shouting out their streets at this point.

"Tonight was for everybody to understand me," he concluded. "I'm Kendrick motherf---in' Lamar. Los Angeles, I love y'all."

Source - http://www.theboombox.com/2011/08/22/kendrick-lamar-brings-out-snoop-game-kurupt-in-l-a/

Kendrick Lamar - Detox Is Basically Done, Will Drop Soon

2011-08-18T20:00:00.001+01:00

Compton's own, K Dot, speaks about his introduction with Dre, another Compton artist, and says "Detox" will drop "soon."

Compton emcee, Kendrick Lamar's rise within Los Angeles Rap has been one to watch in recent times. Running from obscurity to running with the elite veterans of left coast Hip Hop, Kendrick Lamar has been getting co-signs left and right. One of those co-signs came from Dr. Dre. The Good Doc didn't just see the potential in him; he also made him a part of the Detox project, according to several sources. In a recent interview with The Masked Gorilla, Kendrick spoke about his relationship with Dre and said that Detox is basically done.

"Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's manager, reached out to Dr. Dre and said, 'This kid on the net, right now, is killing it. He has a crazy sound, a nice sound. You should mess with him.'

From there, Dre's attention was grabbed. The Compton vet quickly reached out to the Compton up-and-comer and their relationship has grown from that day forward.

"Dre heard me that minute and got in contact with my peoples the next day. It's been on since. We've been trying to finish up this project, Detox. Well, it is basically [done]."

When pressed for more details, Kendrick was quick to say he couldn't divulge too much information on the project.

"I'm not going to give no time, no dates. Everybody looking for dates. I'll say soon."

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16496/title.kendrick-lamar-says-dr-dres-detox-is-basically-done-will-drop-soon

Nas Speaks on Collaboration with Dre for Detox

2011-08-11T18:09:00.000+01:00

Nasir Jones recalls the fallen songstress and promises an ill collaboration with the West Coast veteran.

He also spoke on Dr. Dre’s oft-delayed Detox, stating that the record that he has on the LP with the West Coast veteran is worth the wait.

“Dre is the king of the gangsta music. I just did something for his new album Detox, so I’m waiting for it,” he said. “We got a nice record.”

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16396/title.nas-speaks-on-amy-winehouse-collaboration-with-dr-dre-for-detox

Dre’s Beats Electronics Partners with HTC

2011-08-11T14:40:00.000+01:00

Dr. Dre is coming for Jay-Z’s spot on Forbes’ Cash Kings list. In a newly announced deal, the hip-hop mogul has sold a majority stake in Beats Electronics to HTC for $309 million.

The Taiwan-based smartphone maker will acquire 51 percent of the company, which Dre co-founded with Interscope Geffen A&M Records CEO Jimmy Iovine in 2006. Beats, known for its popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, sells celebrity-endorsed lines by Lady Gaga, Diddy, and Justin Bieber.

“The HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre partnership is an opportunity for two world-class companies to redefine the smartphone industry and define the future,” stated Iovine. “For Beats by Dr. Dre, this represents a critical step in our continued mission to clean up the destruction of audio caused by the digital revolution and reengineer how sound is delivered, so the consumer feels the music the way that the artist intended.”

As part of the strategic partnership and investment, HTC plans to incorporate Beats technology into their phones by the end of the year. Dr. Dre and Iovine will continue to operate Beats autonomously.

http://www.rap-up.com/2011/08/11/dr-dres-beats-electronics-partners-with-htc-in-300-million-deal/

Source -

Bridget Kelly worked with Dre for Detox

2011-08-10T17:48:00.001+01:00

In addition to prepping her debut, Bridget Kelly has been in the studio with two of hip-hop’s greatest. Not only is she signed to Jay-Z’s label, but the Roc Nation singer had the privilege of collaborating with Dr. Dre and Nas.

She described the out-of-body experience recording with the West Coast rap icon for Detox. “He’s funny, he’s so down to earth,” she told Rap-Up TV. “It’s weird ’cause one would think that after being around Jay so much that you would go into a room with Dr. Dre and not be fazed, but I definitely walked in and I was just like, ‘Oh my God. This is Dr. Dre.’”

Source - http://www.rap-up.com/2011/08/10/rap-up-tv-bridget-kelly-talks-dr-dre-nas-collaborations/

Dr Dre makes Forbes rich list

2011-08-10T14:27:00.000+01:00

Zack O'Malley Greenburg is the Forbes writer who puts together the magazine's annual "Cash Kings" list, which estimates the earnings of the wealthiest rappers of the past year and ranks the top 20.

Their newest version came out yesterday; Jay-Z topped the list with $37 million, and L.A. is represented by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, who tied Eminem at number six with an estimated $14 million. We spoke with O'Malley Greenburg, author of an excellent recent book on Jay-Z's balance sheet, about how Dre and Snoop made their money, and why former inhabitants like Ice Cube, Game, and will.i.am are no longer on the list.

How did Dre make his cash this year? Is it mostly Eminem money?

Some, but he gets a lot of money with from his Beats by Dr. Dre venture with Jimmy Iovine. In fact, I'm not sure if it's an official mandate at or an informal one, but there's a mandate at Interscope that every artist -- in every genre -- has to have a Beats product in their video, unless the video is set in the past.

Also, in addition to Beats by Dr. Dre, there are other artists who have their own lines, like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Diddy, and Dre makes money off of all of them. As I understand, Dre and Iovine are equal partners in the venture, and I believe that counts for half of Dre's annual income.

D.O.C. says he got mostly stiffed for his work on albums like Straight Outta Compton and The Chronic. How much does Dre get from his classic works?

That's all lumped in there. About half of his money comes from Beats by Dr. Dre, and the other half comes from music. He's not touring, so I'm projecting he gets half of that other $7 million from royalties, and half from new productions.

How did Snoop make his money this year?

Snoop actually tours quite a lot. He did 89 shows during our scoring period, from May 2010 to May 2011. He's not as big a draw as a Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne or Eminem, but he certainly does well for himself, and when you do that many dates you get a lot of money. Touring and merch is roughly half [of his $14 million], and he had a new album, but he also has a lot of endorsements. He has MetroPCS and Pepsi Max, and a bunch more. He's done one for Chrysler, a couple years ago he did something for a German telecom company where he busts out of the TV and starts singing in German. He makes roughly half of his total take from touring, and of the remaining money he makes as much on endorsements as on recorded music.

In previous years L.A. rappers Ice Cube, will.i.am and Game were on the list. What happened to them?

Game didn't earn as much this year. Concerning will.i.am, at one point we counted him separately from the Black Eyed Peas, but we don't do that anymore. Black Eyed Peas actually made more than anyone on the Cash Kings list -- $61 in the past year -- but we don't consider them hip hop. As for Ice Cube, after 2007 we determined that he was more of an actor; putting him on the list at this point would be like putting Will Smith on it.

Source - http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/08/dr_dre_and_snoop_tie_for_sixth.php

Soopafly to work on Detox, too

2011-08-07T20:00:00.000+01:00

The onetime Dogg Pound member and keyboardist for "Natural Born Killaz" adds on the growing list of new and familiar contributors.

Dr. Dre's forthcoming third solo studio album Detox has been in the making for a decade. The Aftermath/Interscope Records release has reportedly included numerous personnel from earlier parts of Dr. Dre's career, including Sir Jinx, DJ Quik, The D.O.C. and others. Another name can be added to this growing list. Today, a press statement from emcee/producer Soopafly confirmed that the Long Beach, California veteran is also contributing to Detox sessions.

"I'm in studio working with Dr. Dre again. Making sure this Detox sound got my imprint on it too. You won't be disappointed,” said Soopafly in a press statement.

A onetime member of Tha Dogg Pound, Soopafly began his career playing keyboards for Death Row Records hits such as "Natural Born Killaz" by Dre and Ice Cube. Burgeoning into emcee and producer, Soopafly stayed at the label that Dre co-founded to the early '00s, after his solo debut, Like It Or Not was shelved indefinitely. On August 30, Soopafly will release his third solo album, Best Kept Secret, on his own Fly2K Records imprint.

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16341/title.soopafly-confirms-working-on-dr-dres-detox?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

'I Need A Doctor' cover by Clement Marfo & The Frontline

2011-08-05T16:40:00.001+01:00

Clement Marfo and The Frontline have decided to cover Dr. Dre's comeback track 'I Need A Doctor'.
The group, which consists of seven people including a live band, have put their spin on the track.

In a recent interview with MTV's The Wrap Up, Marfo said: "There are seven of us, so it’s a full-on musical experience of hip-hop-meets-rock and we wanted to present that visually to those who haven’t seen us live before. Eminem and Dr. Dre’s latest single blew us away and we felt that it was only right to give it a CMTF spin, so we did a cover of it in our live session. Hope you all enjoy it!"

Source - http://www.taletela.com/news/8595/clement-marfo-&-the-frontline-cover-dr-dre-and-eminems-i-need-a-doctor

The D.O.C. back with Dre to Detox

2011-08-04T19:48:00.003+01:00

In the late '80s D.O.C. was recruited to Southern California by Dr. Dre from his childhood home of Dallas. Shortly thereafter, the Texas-bred wunderkind helped bring gangsta rap to the mainstream, ghostwriting large portions of the biggest West Coast classics, starting with Straight Outta Compton. He gave voice to the volatile-yet-comedic character of Eazy-E, and helped define the personas of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. What the MCs who used his words admired about him was not just his rhymes, but his ability to mold ideas and fragments into memorable songs.

"He showed me how to take the greatness out of the words, and combine that into a verse, a hook, a bridge," Snoop told English radio personality Tim Westwood recently.

D.O.C.'s 1989 solo debut, No One Can Do It Better, was expected to make him a star like his collaborators. Featuring his nimble, aggressive-yet-warm chops, it's considered one of the best rap debuts of all time, and Jay-Z cites it as a profound influence. But while driving home drunk and high from a video shoot for a song from the album, he fell asleep and slammed into a tree, hitting it with his face.

"I had so much in my system that they couldn't sedate me," he remembers now, over a late dinner in Los Angeles.

He fought the medics when they tried to insert a breathing tube into his trachea, causing it to scar his larynx. As a result, he speaks in what sounds like a stage whisper, almost like he's talking through a smoker's voice box. He became utterly demoralized — so much so that, when his music came on at the club, he would leave.

"I didn't want to hear that voice," he says.

Though his subsequent rap albums wouldn't prove successful — after all, he'd lost his trademark booming baritone — he nonetheless remained tight with his famous friends. He helped Dre and Snoop write The Chronic and Doggystyle, as well as Dre's best-selling 1999 work 2001, which has moved more than six million albums.

D.O.C., who is 43 and was born Tracy Curry, became relatively content in his position as ghostwriter to the stars, a post he held for two decades. But though he was one of the original owners of Death Row Records and estimates that he wrote more than half of each of the first Ruthless Records albums — including Straight Outta Compton and Eazy-Duz-It, which have sold about five million albums combined — he never got his business affairs straight, and thus never received his proper publishing. Content to stay in Dre's posh houses, eat fancy meals with the crew and get blitzed, he didn't grow rich like those around him.

"I was totally in the grips of the drug lifestyle," he says. "The only thing I was really concerned with was having enough money in my pocket so that I knew I could get high when I wanted to."

Making matters worse, in late 2009 he split with Dre, who'd put him up in a rented house and paid him a $20,000 annual retainer while they worked on Dre's long-awaited album, Detox. The situation came to a head in October 2009, when, while eating dinner together at a steakhouse, the pair had a huge blowup and proceeded to part ways.

This wasn't the first time they'd taken a break from working together, but the nasty argument — which D.O.C. still refuses to discuss — convinced him that their partnership was over.

He's since sought to get his life back together, preparing for highly experimental stem-cell surgery to restore his voice, mentoring young rappers, going to Alcoholics Anonymous and settling down in his home life.

Still, the split from Dre, combined with the fact that he might never be able to rap like he once did, threatened to embitter him permanently.

"I'm probably one of the best motherfuckers to ever pick up a microphone and spit in it," he says. "But you'd never really know that because I never really got a chance to show you."

Things haven't been all that bad for D.O.C. After falling out with Dre, he moved back to Dallas and began living part-time with the stunning and iconic R&B singer Erykah Badu and their 7-year-old daughter, Puma. Also in the house are Puma's well-pedigreed half-siblings: 13-year-old brother Seven, whose father is OutKast's Andre 3000, and 2-year-old sister Mars, whose pops is venerated New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica.

With all of these musical legends coming in and out, it's quite a scene. Badu's Dallas home is a "beautiful house right off of a really nice body of water," D.O.C. says of the singer's home overlooking White Rock Lake, while adding that he remains very much enchanted with her. In fact, he hopes to film a reality show before long about the goings-on in her house, ending with a wedding between him and Badu.

D.O.C. is well-built, light-skinned and has a radiant physical presence; upon meeting him, it's immediately clear why he was groomed for stardom. He's tremendously charismatic, striding into a Mexican eatery and chatting up the staff members — many of whom he knows from his days living just across the street. For much of the latter half of the aughts, he was ensconced there, just down the street from the Record One studio that Dre liked to use. (That is, when he wasn't randomly flying his collaborators out to places like Hawaii and Reno, where 2001 was largely created.)

Flanked by his new business manager, D.O.C. sits down in a secluded booth and orders an iced tea, rather than a beer. He's "detoxing," he notes. There's truth to this, as he's been sober for more than six months. But it's also a pun referencing Dr. Dre's supposedly forthcoming album, which has become the Chinese Democracy of hip-hop, so long delayed that many doubt it will be any good — if it ever even emerges.

D.O.C. began working on Detox in 2005, after Dre had already been struggling on it in vain for years. Their efforts spawned a series of uninspiring singles, and D.O.C. began to clash with Dre over matters both creative and financial, with D.O.C. accusing Dre of not paying him what he was worth. Meanwhile, in his stunning May conversation with Tim Westwood, Snoop asserted that Dre had now surrounded himself with the wrong people, a cast of lesser-known producers, engineers and MCs. It was he and D.O.C. who represented the historical "backbone" of Dre's operation, Snoop continued, through his own gangsta bravado and D.O.C.'s song structures.

"It has to be ... holy matrimony," Snoop said. "And right now it's holy macaroni."

(Dre could not be reached for comment for this story.)

The fallout with Dre hurt D.O.C. deeply, and he returned to Dallas at the beginning of 2010, unsure what lay ahead. Then, in an interview with the website Hip Hop DX earlier this year, D.O.C. announced the crystallization of plans for a medical procedure that could restore his vocal capabilities. The science-fiction-sounding surgery would use stem cell tissues and be spearheaded by a revered Barcelona-based physician named Paolo Macchiarini — famous for performing a windpipe transplant using a woman's own stem cells.

In June, D.O.C. traveled to a Sacramento hospital for a series of tests to see if his body could handle the surgery. He's still awaiting the results, but says he feels optimistic. He even brought a camera crew to the hospital for another reality television show he's planning, to be bundled with footage from a musical talent search. He's in the process of training a handful of potential rap stars, including a genteel white 19-year-old Texas rapper named Mike Bond. These unknowns will perform lyrics he has written, and their verses will be paired on tracks with urban superstars in D.O.C.'s rolodex — a group that includes Snoop, Andre 3000 and Badu. D.O.C. says he's in talks with production companies for the program, which he plans to title I Got My Voice Back.

D.O.C. says he receives about $20,000 per year in writer's royalties. This is, of course, only a fraction of what he's owed, considering that the works he contributed to continue to sell well. Until recently the majority of even this modest sum went to the IRS, owing to unpaid back taxes. He says that a combination of loyalty, ignorance and substance abuse issues kept him from legally pursuing his publishing credits over the years.

But now he's ready for a new day. He has paired up with a crackerjack PR rep named Chad Kiser, as well as a new full-time business manager, John Huffman, who has worked hard to get him the royalties he deserves.

"We're happy now about the situation with 2001," Huffman notes, adding that D.O.C. still hasn't received his just due from his Ruthless contributions.

More recently, something else fortuitous happened to the ghostwriter — he received a call from Dr. Dre, who invited him to come back to California. Snoop was brought back into the fold as well, and the trio resumed work on Detox at Dre's Burbank studios in late July.

D.O.C. says he feels reinvigorated creatively, and that he brought Dre ideas to help "get that core audience back, with those types of songs, and that California vibe from the Chronic album." Don't scoff: D.O.C. insists that the album really is coming soon.

"He's pretty fucking close," D.O.C. says, adding that he plans to move back to L.A. for six months — time enough, he contends, to complete the work.

This go around, however, he plans a different type of working relationship with the famed producer. Instead of having Dre put him up and pay him a measly salary, he's going to rent a house for himself — "in Marina del Rey, with the artists" — and make sure he receives his proper back-end publishing. He says that Snoop has called their recent reunion "magical."

D.O.C. isn't entirely certain what caused Dre's change of heart, as Dre told him he didn't want to focus on the past. He speculates that one factor may have been Snoop's impassioned plea to Westwood, while another is simply that their loyalty runs deep.

"We all got love for each other," he says. "I love Dre like my fucking family."

Dre appears to feel the same way. One night in the studio a couple of weeks ago, he took a break from playing his new beats to put on a Beethoven symphony. As it played, Dre noted that the composer had created the work after he had gone deaf.

"And he drilled the point into my head — that most of Beethoven's greatest compositions were created after he lost his hearing," D.O.C. says. "I got the message."

Source - http://www.dallasobserver.com/2011-08-04/music/legendary-dallas-rapper-d-o-c-starts-his-return-to-the-top/

Dre Narrates R.E.D. Album

2011-08-04T18:10:00.001+01:00

Game has spent nearly three years working on his oft-delayed project The R.E.D. Album, which he finally finished just last week. Before the LP drops on August 23rd, the Compton, California native spoke with MTV News’ Sway Calloway on RapFix Live to discuss details surrounding the album most notably revealing that Dr. Dre narrates the entire offering.“It’s narrated by Dr. Dre, the entire album. So it’s real movie-ish man. It’s going to be crazy,” he said.

Source http://www.hiphopdx.com/m/index.php?s=news&id=16289

Kendrick Lamar Complex Interview-Dre/Detox

2011-08-02T02:01:00.002+01:00

Complex Mag rcently conducted an interview with Kendrick Lamar, in the full interview he talked about Section.80, major labels amongst other things.

Below is the excerpt of the interview, where he discuses working with Dre and work on Detox.

What about Aftermath? You were seen with Dre, he stood closer to you than any artist he has actually signed in ten years.

That is because Dre and I have a personal relationship. In the first studio session, we clicked so crazy. It was more like a uncle-nephew kind of vibe. Because everybody sees Dre as just a gangsta rapper, but he shares the same story that I have, a good kid in a mad city.

When we sit in the studio, we talk about these different streets that we both lived on and experiences he had that I can relate to being two generations younger. I think that’s why people attach it so strongly because of the chemistry that we have outside the studio.

Dre has signed other guys, like Joell Ortiz and Slim Da Mobster, but he never appeared with them anywhere. He went to the Lakers game with you, he went on stage with you. He never did that for anyone else.

It’s the relationship, truthfully. And the music making is that much better though. When you are able to create and click in the studio and outside the studio. I respect Dre 100%. He gave me so much game just in this past year that I’ve known him, it won’t only make me a better artist, but it makes me a better person.

What did he tell you?

Just about life in general. About having passion, setting goals, and having a vision. I never understood vision to that pedigree until I sat in that studio and he wrote down everything that manifested in his life—he’s seen it before. You can’t really grasp that concept that people have because they can’t really justify it because they can’t touch it.

Everything that has manifested in his life in the past year, he’s seen it at the start of N.W.A. People can never justify that because they can’t grab it. They can’t think that heavy on that type of level. That was the coldest shit he told me because he was telling me the steps on how he’s seen this album and this record doing this and seeing his label doing this and they actually did that.

It’s basically about believing in yourself and having the dedication he has. Being under him and watching the passion, the same type of feel he has since the first early days of N.W.A., it’s crazy. It makes me go harder.

You talk about learning to believe in yourself from Dre. On “I Need A Doctor” Eminem talks about Dre second-guessing himself all the time. Have you ever gotten that same sort of impression? That Dre is second-guessing himself?

Nah, what I got was that he knows he has the world on his back, as far as the music. I’ve gotten more of the passion than anything, just making sure everything is right. He’s like a scientist in there. I think that’s something that all artists have to develop within themselves. His is just at a point where it’s unmatched.

I mean, ten years...

[Laughs.] Right, when I say that it’s really unmatched, everything has to be right. He is real critical and he has a passion for the music so heavy where he can’t go out unless he feels it’s right, so I feel him.

Did you put in any work on Detox?

I did a lot of verses. To be in there and see the quality of music it is, the shit that he just has in the cut, waiting. It’s unmatched.

You seem to know, is Detox coming out this year or what?

I can’t give no date. I’m not even about to throw a date in the air. When it comes, he’ll have the whole industry shut down.

I was so convinced it was coming when the video came out...

The video definitely tells you it’s about to come out. He ain’t put out no video [before]. The leaks and that shit don’t count. When you put out an actual video and spend money, it’s coming.

You’ve said before that Section.80 wasn’t the right time for people to first hear you over a Dre beat. When do you think you will start releasing music that you have worked on with him?

I wanted to save that. I wanted to give a beat by Dre its own light. I didn’t want to put it on Section.80. I want Section.80 to have its own light, its own entity. I didn’t want people to want to purchase the project because I had two or three crazy ass Dre beats. I think I made the right choice because once they hear the shit that I’ve done with him, they’re going to appreciate it a lot more.

Did Dre have any contribution toward how you put together Section.80?

Nah. Y’all heard the album just the way I played it [for Dre]. I wanted to get his perspective on it and see what he thought about it. He loved it. He said it was different. Different as in different-good. Everything that’s different is not good. [Laughs.] He loved it. That studio footage of me and him in there, that’s when I was playing the joints.

You have beats from Dre, beats from Pharrell. These are pricey guys to get. How do you afford beats from them?
That’s off the relationship.

Are you getting a discount?

[Laughs.] Hopefully. I make that record and we try to release that motherfucker, then they try to charge me five hundred racks for it. Fuck! Nah, I’m just fuckin’ around. But yeah, hopefully. If they love the record that much and they believe in me, hopefully, because I definitely don’t have that type of money.

So you guys have never had that type of discussion?

Nah, that’s what you don’t want to do. That’ll ruin the artist and the producer. I wouldn’t want no producer telling me, “Let me talk to ya folks first about this record.” I don’t even want this shit anymore because I can’t even put my all into it and be creative without thinking about numbers that I don’t have.

Source - http://www.complex.com/music/2011/08/interview-kendrick-lamar?page=1

Dre featured in new Game track with Snoop

2011-07-31T00:17:00.002+01:00

We were cautiously optimistic earlier this month when we mentioned that Dr. Dre was helping out the Game with The R.E.D. Album. The two rappers repairing their relationship and dropping those crazy Halloween-evoking beats (as well as dropping, in the Game's case, names) sounds great — but only if the powers that be ever let us hear it. Thankfully, a glimmer of hope called "Drug Test" has leaked onto the Internet, giving us proof that the album really does exist and might actually come out one day. And on top of that, the track goes ahead and throws Snoop Dogg into the mix. Look, they're doing it — they're really doing it!

Source - http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/07/the_game_dr_dre_and_snoop_dogg.html

Ex aftermath producer Focus talks about Dre, Detox and Aftermath

2011-07-28T16:30:00.000+01:00

This is only part of the interview, where he talks about Dre. Full interview link below.

DX: Did you and Dre part on good terms?

Focus...: Yeah we were together for seven, almost eight, years and we were working on the same projects. We were working on Detox. After so many years people were asking how it was sounding as no one else had heard it. I felt like I was talking about a myth that wasn’t in existence. Some people had heard the leaked tracks and they were now hearing Dre talk about it so now it is probably coming to fruition.

But I was there in the early stages and it started to get frustrating to sit there, going day in and day out, working on a project that was not seeing the light of day. So it was easier for me to go off on my own and make my own music as I had neglected so many things; my family, myself, other genres of music and I was just sitting there, focused on making things for Dre and it just got frustrating. Before I did anything where it wouldn’t have been cool between Dre and myself, I just told him I appreciated everything he had done, but it was time to go and do something for myself.

DX: Do you feel that’s what the expectations were or are of you?

Focus...: Yeah, as when you look at a lot of the fans who follow me, and I call them family, a lot of my family are avid listeners and they always make the comparison that Dr. Dre is better than Focus... or Focus... is better than Dr. Dre or that Dr. Dre needs Focus... and it is something I am never going to get away from. I will never be able to get people to avoid putting my name and Dre’s in the same sentence and that gets frustrating.

DX: But with that being said, does being branded with Dre and having been under the Aftermath umbrella for so long, does that have something to do with what you are feeling now?

Focus...: I feel that working with Dr. Dre, I had the joy and pleasure of working with on of my main mentors. I got to build relationships that I wouldn't have been able to build and it definitely opened doors for me that wouldn't have been easily opened on my own. So I do appreciate everything Dre and Aftermath did for me. I’d never say anything other than that. Bit it is very hard when all you what to make is music and I could have probably done the same thing if I was telling everyone that my father was Bernard Edwards from Chic. I tried my best to do it on my own so I could survive on my own.

A lot of people don't liken their careers to their lives and they don't liken that a successful career comes from a successful personal life. I get all my inspiration from my family. I know when all is said and done that if I was to never sell another track, my family is still going to love me and accept me for who I am, so I am still somebody.

DX: Do you see yourself with a credit on Detox?

Focus...: No. One thing I thought and took it to the bank was when Dre said to me, "You know Foc, this album can’t come out without one from you on there," and I was like "This is Dre saying this," and I thought if I was to send him something he will find something we can build on and work on it. I invited him to Atlanta to sit with me in the studio and he was all for it, but it never came to fruition. I lost heart after that and I don’t want to just sit here sending him beats. Maybe there is an ounce of ego in there, who knows but I did say to him, “I am the most separated from your project than anyone, I need to know where you are trying to get to.”

DX: No hard feelings?

Focus...: None whatsoever. If it weren’t for Dre and Aftermath my career wouldn't be what it is. I would love to work with him again.

Source - http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/interviews/id.1743/title.producers-corner-focus

Dre, Snoop, Warren G, Kurupt togther - behind the scenes

2011-07-28T00:44:00.002+01:00

50Cent to unveil new Dre track???

2011-07-27T08:50:00.001+01:00

50 CENT JUST TWEETED

"I LOVE DRE but I'm putting his next single psycho out tomorrow at 2:00"

"Your gonna love it its a big song I just don't think it deserves a great set up sense they can't seem to get it right when it comes to me"

Sources - http://twitter.com/#!/50cent/status/96096983546204161

http://twitter.com/#!/50cent/status/96098226163290113

The Detox Cycle: Dre & Snoop back together again

2011-07-26T23:59:00.001+01:00

Dr. Dre is all alone. All of the great mythologically delayed records have been released. Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy," Chef Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2," the Who's "Lifehouse," all for sale on the open market in some form.

No tears need be shed for Andre Young, who is selling headphones and soda and cars in steroidal numbers. Occasionally, he drops a single that receives radio play but that no one really seems to like. And he toils on to make "Detox." Endlessly, so we're told. Even though the first rule of "Detox" is that you don't talk about "Detox." However, when you ask anyone off the record who has heard the project, they will assure you of its excellence with a weird Benedictine reverence.

What Dre really needs is someone following him around to make the hip-hop "Lost in La Mancha." Unfortunately, that will never happen. So we mainly get a series of awkward interviews done by someone shoving a camera into Dre's face at an opportune moment. According to the news from the latest interview, Snoop and Dre are back working in the studio together.

If you'll recall past "Detox" drama, earlier this summer Dre and Snoop had a falling-out that led to Snoop criticizing Dre's work habits. But the new video finds the pair hanging out and giving the cosign to Watts rapper Jay Rock. Dre offers high praise for Jay Rock's new record, "Follow Me Home," with a series of unprintable phrases, while Snoop chimes in: "You've been stamped. Now you've been approved. Now go do what you do."

As for Dre doing what Dre does, expect more delays. On the Detox Cycle, we are back to where we began. Unless we aren't and at this very moment Dre is putting the finishing polish on the album's capstone track. But I doubt it.

Source - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/07/the-detox-cycle-dr-dre-and-snoop-are-back-together-again.html

Paul Oakenfold would love to work with Dre

2011-07-26T15:24:00.001+01:00

Paul Oaken fold is a Brittish producer who has helped many musicians including Mark Ronson, Tiesto and David Guetta. He also contributed to the music score for Bourne Identity and other movies. Below is the part of the interview where he mentions Dre.

You have worked with so many incredible artists your back catalogue is beyond impressive, but is there anyone you would love to work with in the future?

I would love to collaborate with Dr Dre. I just think it would be a really interesting collaboration to work with someone who is a pioneer in his world and comes up with these really creative beats.

Source - http://www.skiddle.com/news/all/-I-would-love-to-collaborate-with-Dr-Dre-Paul-Oakenfold-talks-to-Skiddle/9724/

Jay Rock album listening session

2011-07-25T20:35:00.002+01:00

Dre and Snoop Dogg in Cannes, France

2011-07-20T13:47:00.003+01:00

It was a West Coast reunion overseas when Dr. Dre met up with Snoop Dogg in Cannes, France. The hip-hop veterans, along with Warren G, kicked it at Gotha nightclub for Snoop’s concert presented by Beats by Dr. Dre. Tha Doggfather surprised guests when he brought out a buff Dre to share the stage with him on their Cali classics. Envy the lucky partygoers by peeping the rest of the pics.

Source - http://www.rap-up.com/2011/07/19/dr-dre-and-snoop-dogg-connect-in-cannes/

Favour from you to trigger Facebook Group upgade

2011-07-20T01:37:00.002+01:00

The time has come when the Dr Dre Detox Facebook group will need to be upgraded. In order for this to happen i need you the community to be active and add comments in the wall section of the group.

So I will ask a simple question, to which I want you to respond only in the Facebook group. The comments for this post only is closed, to make sure you comment on the group instead with your response the question below.

From all the Detox or potential Detox leaks, what is your favourite track?

Respond here

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119270501459864

The Rebirth of Instrumental Hip-Hop (The Planets and not Detox)

2011-07-18T19:26:00.001+01:00

When the excitement over Detox started up again last year, Dr. Dre even teased his next, next album -- an instrumental project called The Planets, with songs inspired by the "personalities of each planet." We're still waiting for Detox, so the chances of ever hearing Dre go all Gustav Holst are slim, but a nutty, no-rapping release about space actually sounds more interesting than a decade-in-the-making sequel to The Chronic 2001. Plus, there's plenty of enthusiasm for boundary-pushing instrumental hip-hop right now.

The subgenre quietly and creatively returned this year, and last month saw the arrival of two game-changing releases: Electronic Dream by Dipset producer Araabmuzik; and Rainforest from Lil B beatmaker Clams Casino. Making a similar instrumental move could be a savvy career shift for Dre -- someone who once had his finger on the pulse of burgeoning trends, yet now seems to be chasing them.

But that's not going to happen. "Detox coming soon!" will remain the mantra. For AraabMuzik and Clams Casino, though, who've come up in the digital era where free downloads and iTunes albums reign, a production credit (let alone cash) for their work is hard to come by. Stepping out of the box and doing their own mini-versions of The Planets is almost a necessity. Instrumental albums are the culmination of a rising profile and a reasonable answer to the increased artistic excitement generated by their experimental beats.

Source/full article - http://www.spin.com/articles/rebirth-instrumental-hip-hop

Kendrick Lamar discusses many things including Dr Dre Detox

2011-07-17T20:41:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago during a short trip to Chicago, Kendrick Lamar and fellow Top Dawg Ent. emcee Schoolboy Q chopped it up with Gowhere Hip Hop‘s GY312 where the gentlemen discussed K.Dot’s rumoured mixtape project with renowned producer 9th Wonder, the chemistry between the two Top Dawg Ent. emcees and Kendrick’s involvement on Dr. Dre‘s Detox. During their brief discussion about involvement on Detox, the Compton proud emcee, who’s parents originate from Chicago, gave oft delayed longplayer a 12 out of 10 rating as well as stating that the best guest collaboration on the LP will feature himself.

Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q Interview with Gowhere Hip Hop from gowherehiphop.com on Vimeo.

Source - http://drdre-detox.blogspot.com/2011/07/kendrick-lamar-discusses-many-things.html

Lady Gaga was snubbed to do vocals for I Need a Doctor

2011-07-16T20:13:00.000+01:00

Grammy-winning rapper Eminem decided to pass on an opportunity to have Lady Gaga appear on Dr. Dre's "I Need A Doctor" Detox single for music newcomer Skylar Grey.

According to Grey, Gaga was already slated to appear on the record's final version.

Along with Dre, Skylar has Eminem to thank for her continued success, even going to bat for her when she penned the hook to "I Need a Doctor" and the label attempted to swap her vocals for Lady Gaga's. "Somebody in the room suggested we get Lady Gaga to sing the hook on 'I Need a Doctor' and [Eminem] stood up for me and said no, because he wanted to keep my voice on the song," she says. "That was a big thing for me because had I not kept my voice on 'I Need a Doctor,' who knows where I'd be right now." She continues, "After the Grammy Awards performance of that song, alot of things changed for me. It really changed my life. It provided a great platform for me, and I'm forever grateful for Eminem and Dr. Dre." Skylar revealed that she had 6500 more Twitter followers in the immediate minutes that followed that fateful Grammy performance. (Hip Hop DX)

http://www.sohh.com/2011/07/eminem_snubbed_lady_gaga_for_dr_dres_det.html

Tito Lopez 'voice of the underdog' showing Dre his skills

2011-07-14T20:47:00.000+01:00