Dre, by contrast, is more concerned with atmosphere, mood and texture.

West, focus primarily on how small parts of songs interact to create the whole. His true peers aren’t other hip-hop producers, not even tenured greats like Kanye West or Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes or even DJ Premier, the New York formalist who produces one song here, “Animals,” in a sort of fantasy-league, best-of-both-coasts arrangement. the Aftermath.”)īut those are microconcerns, and Dr. (In this, it recalls the scattershot 1996 compilation “Dr. But there’s almost an open-door policy in place for collaborators, meaning that attack dogs like the new Compton superstar Kendrick Lamar coexist alongside more dubious talents, like the young Dre protégés Justus and King Mez.

Musically, it’s ornate and grand-scaled, and somehow also deft. Dre was an executive producer - is a combination of utter confidence and distracting hodgepodge. “Compton” - which was inspired by “Straight Outta Compton,” the new N.W.A. Dre, when he has deigned to do it, but what he wants, mostly, is to be a conduit for others - to get out of the way. He subsequently bragged that he was “the first billionaire in hip-hop.”)Ĭarrying hip-hop on his back has been relatively light work for Dr. “I don’t think I did a good enough job.” (Last year, Apple bought Beats Electronics, of which Dr. “I didn’t like it,” he conceded during his radio show on Beats 1, the Apple Music station. And yet, for no one else is resentfulness so central. He’s been one of hip-hop’s signature musical innovators, from N.W.A.’s gangster rap to his own G-funk to Eminem’s carnival-esque novelties and beyond. No one in hip-hop has built as impressive and seemingly bulletproof a reputation with as little material as he has: His debut album, “The Chronic,” came out in 1992, followed by “2001,” in 1999. On “All in a Day’s Work,” he’s more succinct: “Though I gave everything to this game, they still complain.” “I’m very aware hip-hop needed something to carry it/So I married that bitch and swung down in that chariot,” he raps, somewhat bafflingly, on “Genocide,” a hard-snapping song from “Compton” (Aftermath/Interscope), his third album, and first in 16 years. On his albums, he labors hard behind the scenes as a producer but is generally reluctant to hog the spotlight, instead showcasing others on his coattails.Īnd when he raps, it’s often with exasperation - not boasts, but sighs - like a parent cleaning up his children’s mess. He walked away from Death Row Records, leaving behind his 50 percent ownership stake, worth millions of dollars, to secure his creative freedom and security. Dre’s lyrics and self-selected narrative is sacrifice. disbanded in the early 1990s, he’s released just two albums and supervised one compilation - but when he does, he exudes what feels like decades’ worth of tension.Ī recurring theme of Dr.

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