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

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

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

Producer Rick Rock talks experiences with Dr Dre

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

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

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

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