Dr. Dre – Compton | AudioSprawl

To what may be the surprise of many, Compton was only recorded in a few short, even rushed months. But despite the reputation that Dr. Dre has for being an obsessive and a perfectionist when it comes to creating music, his projects have all been created in surprisingly normal, and even short amounts of time. The Chronic only took a few months in 1992. 2001 was whipped up quickly just to prove he still had street cred. This reputation, or indeed, this myth, can be contributed almost solely to Detox, the legendary album supposedly over a decade in the making. The more time passed, the more its cult grew, almost akin to that of The Beach Boys’ Smile…until the simple announcement that it had been scrapped stopped everything dead in its tracks. That Detox will never be released is perhaps for the best, its legend was far better than what anybody could imagine. It’s just like that quote from 500 Days Of Summer, “Robin is better than the girl of my dreams. She’s real”. Just replace ‘Robin’ with ‘Compton‘ and ‘girl’ with ‘album’ and ‘She’s’ with ‘It’s’, and you get the situation.

This is not an album of club bangers like The Chronic or 2001. In fact, there isn’t anything on Compton that even resembles a party anthem. In this sense, Dr. Dre knows when he needs to be serious, undoubtedly whipped into shape by the overtly political To Pimp A Butterfly. But whereas Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece through shots at the entire world, Dr. Dre keeps things very personal, focusing on his history, and ruminating on his importance to the industry. “All these… But I’m like. Fuck that, I gotta work”. Two tracks in a row, Dr. Dre complains about the weight of expectation and pressure that is placed on him, and rightly so! Obviously addressing his legacy and the hype surronding Detox, the retro light funk of It’s All On Me, and the Gnarls Barkley-esque All In A Day’s Work jointly contribute to the creation of Dre as a figure to sympathise with.

The blistering opener Talk About It is an obvious standout, with Dre bragging about checks from Eminem that he hasn’t even opened yet over a colossal and ferocious horn blare. Newcomer King Mez makes his mark here and other tracks, with his style being one that combines a stumbling collection of syllables fading in and out of time with the beat in a strangely effective fashion. Dre’s trademark booming sledgehammer vocals are barely present here, with it now morphing into a faster, tighter, more expressive flow that is undoubtedly influenced by Drake and protégé Kendrick Lamar. Dre is almost unrecognisable throughout, so fiery and hungry, you forget that he is a 50 year old man. It’s the same story with Snoop Dogg, once the eternal supplier of lazily incandescent flows, he utterly transforms on the raging One Shot One Kill, with a verbal ferocity that is decidedly nasty and exciting, and one which is sorely absent from his most recent solo outing. Meanwhile, like on 2001, Eminem drops in to steal the show on the vicious Medicine Man, with practically breathless control, escalating anger, and as always, excellent visuals, most notably, the terrific image of Eminem’s likeness jumping off a poster like a ghost and haunting a recording studio.

One aspect of Dr. Dre’s career that he has not been able to shake, is the unshakable desire for excess. Compton is absolutely stuffed full of ideas and intentions with its 16 song, 1 hour running time. Indeed it does start to lose a little steam just after the midpoint and before the show-stopping finale, and maybe a culling of 2 of 3 tracks would have been more effective. But having said that, just like the subject Dre and company rap and sing about on Compton, things are messy and and at times ugly. And of course, the production is terrific, but what else did you expect?

Talking To My Diary concludes the album, and most likely Dr. Dre’s solo recording career on a forceful yet sombre and reflective note. The track finds him looking back to the N.W.A days with arresting respect without being schmaltzy. As the beat rides on and a hot jazz saxophone solo plays, all is silenced, and you are left to wonder. Dr. Dre has perhaps given more to the modern music industry than anyone, and with Compton, he has contributed a very final goodbye.