There is one indisputable fact: Dr. Dre is one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. Okay, maybe influential is a little subjective, as this usually equates to performers with an otherworldly gift for spinning rhymes into dizzying poetry. In that respects, Dr. Dre may not be influential in the slightest. His best work often doesn't even feature him providing groundbreaking verses that are reserved for his co-stars of any given project. However, it is important to notice his roster as a producer, whose 30+ year career has produced everything from N.W.A. to Snoop Dogg to Eminem to Kendrick Lamar; critically acclaimed talent spanning several decades. On his latest album "Compton," he keeps that title of influential alive by being autobiographical without really drawing attention to himself. As a result, it is a mixed bag that sounds like his friends are paying tribute to a legend at 50 years old.
In 1999, Dr. Dre released his last album "2001," which promised a millennium of his label Aftermath Records. It was on the cusp of Eminem's prime and the brief glory that was 50 Cent. It was before Snoop Dogg became Snoop Lion and before Kendrick Lamar became the hip hop activist icon with "To Pimp a Butterfly." It was also before Dr. Dre made the notoriously panned Beats by Dre headphones and became a millionaire ($650 million to be exact). There was an eagerness to "2001" that may have helped it seem vital and fuel the rumors of his follow-up "The Detox": an album 16 years in the making that was eventually scrapped. While Dr. Dre remained busy, producing some of the finest talent of the time, there was growing concern that he would never release another album. When he did release a single ("I Need a Doctor"), it created concern due to it sounding tonally off (or more succinctly: awful).
Then there's "Compton," which was subtitled as "A Soundtrack." You may ask yourself what the soundtrack is referencing. If you haven't been watching TV (it even played during the Republican debates last Thursday), Straight Outta Compton is the biographical film about Dr. Dre's first big break with the rap group N.W.A. and their eponymous album. With it hitting Friday, there's a certain amount of this album that feels unfortunate. Why release an album that is autobiographical randomly to commemorate a biopic, especially when that film arguably has a better soundtrack that is 30 years old? I don't think that "Compton" really answers that question, but kind of explains the motivation. It was an elderly artist, way past the point that most in his genre would have retired, becoming nostalgic and wanting to revisit his past through song - and he's brought all of his buddies with him.
The album begins on the right note for this type of flashback. With Dr. Dre epitomizing west coast rap and the G-Funk genre from the 90's, it felt important to open the album with an excerpt from a news report talking about how Compton, CA (his hometown) became a ghetto. Even the musicality under the track has top notch productions that will be scattered throughout the album. It also epitomizes something greater about this album that feels hypocritical of the personal nature: Dr, Dre isn't the most prominent artist. In fact, you're more likely to hear and remember more from Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, and King Mez than you will Dr. Dre. With that said, the album is an embarrassment of riches, choosing to mix skilled rappers narrating his life story with precision over some pretty solid productions. The music may lack a nostalgic rhythm that Dr. Dre is better known for, but you can't fault how concrete each production is.
It depends on what the value you're expecting to get out of a Dr. Dre album. If you're looking for an album that recollects "Straight Outta Compton" or his own "The Chronic," you will be lost. If you're looking for how an artist pioneers and keeps up with the times, then this may be more in your wheelhouse. The album feels modern, as if it will appeal to the mainstream culture of the modern era. True, there isn't anything as immediately accessible about it, but each song feels fine tuned and given certain care. If the idea of songs reflecting gun violence offend you, it may be tough to recommend this album. Seeing as it is autobiographical, it makes sense that he would insert various gun cocking sounds. The one catch is that Dr. Dre is so rich and so removed from his violent days that it occasionally sounds insincere, as if the production is more theatrical and heightened for the sake of entertainment.
The album's biggest complaint is that it is monotonous. Each production sounds good, but doesn't flow together in a compelling fashion. In fact, you're not likely to immediately call this a Dr. Dre album. It feels even more appalling considering that, as noted, this is the long awaited follow-up to an album from 16 years ago. Considering that the wait time for his albums seem to double each time, he may be in his 80's before a hypothetical new album is even conceived. That is why this hypothetical farewell to an influential artist feels is kind of a let down. It isn't an awful let down, but just one where an album embodying his life seems to lack a lot of personal passion or reasoning behind it. To add insult to injury, this sounds like a more dated version of his latest protege Kendrick Lamar's "good kid, m.a.a.d city," which highlighted the young rapper's life in Compton. It was theatrical and he gave you a reason to care, even having Dr. Dre appear on a song ironically called "Compton."
This isn't a bad album. In fact, there's plenty to admire about it. Even if it doesn't live up to the 16 year wait, it does reflect Dr. Dre's legacy in a specific way. He has helped to hone the craft of several fine talents. Even if this isn't a recognizable farewell, it does summarize how he is influential. He makes others sound good at the risk of not being front and center. It may hurt this album if you want his narrative to sound more personal, but it works as a bunch of pretty good songs reflecting the ideals of Dr. Dre. It likely won't age well, possibly being forgotten more quickly than the film that inspired it. But what will be left is this scrapbook of an album that shows just what would happen if Dr. Dre, far removed from his gritty past and now hanging with millionaires, had to look back at a past he is entirely disconnected from.
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
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