Dr. Dre may be feeling good about his new album with Snoop Dogg, Missionary, but he hasn’t been really inspired by any other new Hip Hop album since 2015.
In an interview with Complex published on Monday (December 16), the legendary producer was asked: “Do you remember the last person or last album that you heard that you were inspired by?”
“Well, if you’re talking about new shit, I would say good kid, m.A.A.d city and To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar were the last hip-hop albums that inspired me,” he replied, shouting out K.Dot’s 2012 and 2015 releases, respectively.
Dre himself was an executive producer on both projects.
One of the big surprises on Missionary was having Snoop, Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent join forces as a four-man unit for the first time on a new song called “Gunz N Smoke,” which pays homage to the late, great Notorious B.I.G.
Despite being longtime friends and collaborators who have worked together in different combinations over the last 25 years, the rap legends have never previously all featured on the same song.
The heavyweight track comes finds 50, Snoop and Em trading rejuvenated rhymes over groovy production from the Aftermath founder.
The G-Unit boss fires the starting pistol with a fleet-footed verse warning his opps about his firepower, before Tha Doggfather takes the baton and moves through the gears with various flows.
Biggie’s presence is felt throughout the first half as 50 adopts the Bad Boy MC’s cadence and spits: “Red dot ya, I got ya / B.I.G. time, who shot ya?” — just as Dre drops in a heavy-bottomed bassline that harks back to “Hypnotize.”
Snoop repurposes Big’s “you should too, if you knew” lyric from “Notorious Thugs” in his verse, while a sample of his “gunsmoke!” line from “Dead Wrong” rings throughout.
Carrying the collab across the finish line, Eminem delivers a typically intricate and technical verse that finds him reflecting on his chaotic upbringing, past propensity for violence and maturity into middle-aged mellowness.
Missionary was released on Friday (December 13) and serves as the long-awaited (and amusingly-titled) successor to Snoop Dogg’s 1993 debut Doggystyle, which was also produced entirely by Dr. Dre.
The 16-track album boasts further appearances from the likes of Method Man, Jelly Roll, Jhené Aiko and BJ The Chicago Kid, as well as rock legends Sting and Tom Petty.
Yeah I know the feeling I just gave missionary a spin
We can tell with that flat ass missionary album smh
Of course. Everything that comes out now is hot garbage and it’s been that way for a while. Look at the top sellers and all their auto tune trash that sells hot. Rap is dead.
You mention that song honoring Biggie but why no mention about Pressure where Snoop basically imitates Slick Rick voice and flow, that is the highlight tribute of the album in my book, btw where is the review? Also the instrumental version came out today damn some of those beats are crazy technical
kendrick lamar??????? Wtf is that about homey you keep an ear out for the underground tha god fahim roc marciano your old droog lil b clams casino vato jay rock the truth berner……. get them on the come up man……….. kendrick lamar?? Come on now
At this point is Dr. Dre’s opinion really relevant? I don’t even recall the last time he dropped a banger. His Compton album smelt like ass. And this Missionary album smells like anus. His material is just gettin worse decade after decade. And for him to say that he didn’t get inspired by an album since 2015 is disrespectful to artists such as Nas and Kendrick who dropped some bangers in the last five years. Or artists such as Westside Gunn and Benny the Butcher who also dropped some serious stuff since 2018. FOH. Dre sounds bitter as fxck. Probably because his last work didn’t get the accolades he expected.
Is dre’s opinion relevant? To put it bluntly……. it’s a hell of a lot more relevant than yours.
Of course I’m not impartial cause I suck Dre’s schlong from time to time
Big mad lmaoooooo but damn, some key points, but west side Gunn is ass with his raps and voice. Them beats were saving him, although the. Drumless beats with song titles that don’t match the song is becoming old and played.
Hip Hop hasn’t been inspired by Dre in 20. At best.
It’s easy not being inspired if you don’t listen to it. He lives in a bubble and thinks he’s a king.
dre fell the fcuk off since 2001…simply put, the man’s overrated and a legend of the fall ass n!qqa💯