The music world waited for Dr Dre’s Detox for sixteen years, and in that time, the idea the record would ever be released became a running joke. It was continually pushed back and, as the years passed, it seemed there was more likelihood of CNN reporting that Tupac had been found on Sumatra Island than a release date being announced. So, in a move that’s been long overdue, last weekend Dre put his fans (and himself) out of misery and announced that he had scrapped it.
“I didn’t like it”, he said on his Beats 1 show, referring to Detox, “I worked my ass off on it and I don’t think I did a good enough job.” That’s a fair statement. No artist wants to put out an album they hate. In Detox’s place though, comes a new record of new material inspired by the release of the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton – and given Dre clearly places his artistic integrity over cashing in on Detox, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume this is a release he feels is on par with The Chronic and 2001. He’s called Compton his “grand finale”.
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Outside Dre’s own musical output, comes his knack for picking talent. This is the man who introduced the world to Slim Shady, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar, but on Compton his desire to give shine to new, previously unheard artists is even more apparent. There are sixteen guest features on the record. Some you know – Em, Kendrick, Snoop, and Ice Cube (who collaborates in one of the duo’s only tracks together since NWA’s demise and Cube’s infamous diss toward NWA, “No Vaseline”). Then there’s BJ the Chicago Kid – the crooner best known for his work with Top Dawg Entertainment’s Roster; Jill Scott – whose neo-soul tinged intonations you’ll recognize from Lupe Fiasco’s “Daydreamin’”; and ex-Floetry singer – the British R&B group – Marsha Ambrosius, who signed with Aftermath in 2006. But what about these new proteges?
While you’re anticipating the crowning glory of the world’s most famous doctor to never attend med school, take a look at our guide to the best new names on Dre’s tracklist; artists who we think he believes fit the bill for musical talent to look out for in future.
Anderson Paak
Paak’s “Suede” featured in our Tracks of the Month round-up back in February. Based out in Oxnard, California – the home of hip-hop legend Madlib – he’s an all-rounder: he plays the drums, he raps, he sings, and he writes songs. His amalgam of rap, soul and jazz fits right at home on de-facto Los Angeles hip-hop label Stones Throw – basecamp for the likes of MF Doom, Jonwayne, and J Dilla – where he’s released music with LA producer Knwxledge under the name NxWorries.
Jon Connor
Connor signed with Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment in October 2013, where he announced his long-rumored addition to the label’s roster in a cypher at the BET Awards. Since then, he’s released The Late Registration of a College Dropout Who Had a Dark Twisted Fantasy of 808s and Heartbreak, a mixtape of Kanye West samples that, according to XXL, didn’t let a “single track disappoint, no small feat considering the shoes he tried on for size.” That was followed up with a similar mixtape, but with Biggie Small’s songs as the framework. Still no album, though. Until that arrives, the tracks he’s released over the past few years are enough to bounce on. “Don’t Wanna Be’s” inflections are reminiscent of Kendrick’s earlier work; there’s a pretty sweet freestyle over Kanye West’s “Bound 2” that dropped last year; “Broken Mirrors”, Connor’s track from three years ago, hits the sweet spot, somewhere between J. Cole’s “Lost Ones” and Isaiah Rashad’s “Heavenly Father”.
King Mez
King Mez resides out in North Carolina, where he’s collaborated with fellow state members J Cole and 9th Wonder. Essentially: he spits with a voice that can cut through spacious production, and get into your head, somewhere next to the likes of GoldLink, Mick Jenkins, and other introspective, making-you-think-about-your-life-but-sounding-hella-good-doing-it MCs. Last year’s Long Live the King is his standout release so far, with the dreamy, atmospheric “Morris” – a track that’s clocked in almost 100,000 plays on his Soundcloud – taking the top spot.
Justus
Justus (formerly Justin Mohrle) is Dr Dre’s latest project. The doctor came across the 23 year-old Dallas native by recommendation of The D.O.C, the artist who lent his pen to ghostwrite large amounts of NWA’s back catalogue and verses from other notable names that’ve graced Ruthless Records, Death Row, and Aftermath. Dre liked what he heard, hit him back, and asked Justus to make an “indefinite” move to California where, according to a recent feature in DMagazine, he’s been spending marathon “13-hour writing and recording sessions” at Dre’s Record One Studio’s. Not much material out there yet though, apart from the old freestyle above, so Justus’ appearance next to Kendrick Lamar on Compton is his first entrance into the new world he’s found himself in.
You can find Ryan Bassil on Twitter: @RyanBassil
