Dr. Dre rages on in gritty ‘Compton’
DR. DRE
Compton RAP
DOWNLOAD Darkside/ Gone, Issues, Animals
Nearly 16 years later, the doctor is in again.
Before last week, many hiphop fans had made their peace with the fact that Dr. Dre would never release another album. In some ways, it almost seemed for the better. After all, wouldn’t we rather remember the legendary West Coast producer/rapper for his already iconic output (1992’s The Chronic and 1999’s 2001) rather than risk disappointment by a subpar new outing? Those are questions that resurfaced over the weekend when Dre, 50, announced his latest, Compton, a companion soundtrack to N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton (out Aug. 14).
If you’re looking for the sorts of jaunty, addictive hooks found on Snoop Dogg joints Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang or The Next Episode, you should probably put your expectations in check. Dre’s third effort has its standout tracks, sure, but he goes for something deeper and more cohesive with Compton.
The scene is set with a spoken introduction as a news anchor solemnly details the American dream as it relates to Compton, Calif. — a city marred by homicides and gang activity. “Whites don’t buy houses in Compton anymore. Now with 74% of the population, black power is the fact of life,” the voiceover says. “But the dream that many blacks thought they were buying has turned sour.”
Dre’s dissatisfaction and rage echo throughout his songs as he addresses police brutality and a vicious cycle on incisive tracks such as Animals. “Just a young black man from Compton wondering who could save us / and could barely read the sentences the justice system gave us,” he raps, before R&B singer Anderson
Paak chimes in on the deceptively breezy chorus, singing about the demeaning way cops treat them.
If it sounds as if Dre has taken a page from the To Pimp a Butterfly playbook, you wouldn’t be wrong — he has a kinship in fellow Compton native Kendrick Lamar, who upstages other guest artists with fierce verses on Deep Water, Genocide and album highlight Darkside/ Gone.
Lest we forget, Dre was railing against social injustice decades before Lamar even hit the scene, as he reminds us on the reflective It’s All on Me. Reminiscing about the early days and how he met Snoop (also featured on Compton), Dre gives a nod to N.W.A.’s infamous 1988 protest song. “Face down on the pavement with the billy clubs / took that feeling to the studio and cued it up,” he raps. “And now it’s F - - - tha Police all up in the club.” He’s similarly meditative on album closer Talking to My Diary.
Compton features Ice Cube, Eminem, Jill Scott and The Game, as well as more lush production by Dre. While it’s tough to say just how the album stacks up against the year’s other great rap releases, hip-hop fans can breathe a sigh of relief. If this is indeed Dr. Dre’s final album, as he says, it’s one heck of a way to go out.