Review: Dr. Dre – Compton

Featured artists: King Mez, Justus, Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius, Candice Pillay, BJ the Chicago Kid, Anderson .Paak, Xzibit, Cold 187um, Sly Pyper, Ice Cube, Dem Jointz, Jon Connor, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Asia Bryant, Jill Scott, Eminem

Producers: Dr. Dre (also exec.), Focus…, DJ Dahi, Free School, Dem Jointz, Bink!, DJ Khalil, Best Kept Secret, D.R.U.G.S., Trevor Lawrence, Neff-U, Cardiak, DJ Premier, BMB Spacekid, DJ Silk, Mista Choc

Dragons. Orcs. Trolls. Griffins. Vampires. Werewolves. A list of legendary creatures that spread through stories and tales, used to entertain children and adults alike with a mere thought of their existence. This list also used to include Dr. Dre’s Detox, an album from one of the greatest producers of all time, the Chinese Democracy for the hip-hop generation. And while we probably never will see Detox, at least a new Dr. Dre album can no longer be a punchline with the release of Compton, to tie in with the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton.

The inherent problem with reviewing a Dr. Dre album is deciding whether to take it as it is or compare it to his past work. This is an artist who has had an immense influence on not only hip-hop but music in general, and even if you just consider his own albums, The Chronic and 2001 are bonafide classics. However, Compton stands up in its own right as a great album, despite all the pressure and comparisons.

Compton, whether it was the intention or not, feels like a concept album, with two central plots; the development and history of Compton, and the personal journey of Dr. Dre himself. Oddly, for an album basically themed around the notion of nostalgia, the album has a very modern sound, more closely resembling the recent work of newer producers like DJ Dahi or Cardiak than the Dre sound of old. There’s a reason for this, which is that Dre has decided to draft in a cavalcade of co-producers, including the aforementioned as well as Dem Jointz, Bink!, Best Kept Secret, DJ Premier, BMB Spacekid and Aftermath producers Focus…, DJ Khalil, Neff-U, DJ Silk and Mista Choc.

This decision makes the album sound unlike a Dr. Dre project at all. I don’t know if this is necessarily a bad thing (after all, The Chronic doesn’t sound like 2001), but the stark contrast to even the most recent Dr. Dre produced song (which from memory is a Detox leftover taken by 50 Cent) is a bit disconcerting. However, the album still has a very cohesive sound, the whole thing sounding much better as a whole project than as individual songs.

Dre claims that the entire project was mostly written by himself, King Mez and Justus. This perhaps doesn’t reflect well upon the latter two. While it’s been well-known for decades that Dre doesn’t write his own lyrics (or at least the majority of them), the fact that all of his verses on here are just unmemorable means that the other two really haven’t held their weight here. What happened to the days of “Things just ain’t the same for gangstas”? The lack of catchy lines disappoints me slightly.

The upside is that all the guests and collaborators absolutely pull their weight on the album. Well-established names like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Xzibit, The Game and Kendrick Lamar as well as newcomers like Jon Connor and Anderson .Paak all deliver excellent verses. Special mentions go to Snoop who may have delivered his best verses in over a decade, and Anderson .Paak who features on six of the 16 tracks and kills it on every single one.

Despite all the problems I’ve managed to pick out of this album, I still absolutely love it. Something about the album is so endearing. Perhaps the feelings I have will fade once I get over the shock of having a new Dr. Dre album in my ears. Perhaps it won’t. But at the time of writing, this album still sounds amazing to me. I know this album will be polarising, but the only way you’ll know if you like it is by listening to it. And this is probably the last chance you’ll get to listen to a new Dr. Dre album. Go for it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 unbought states (which aren’t far behind California)