Dr. Dre’s First New Album in Nearly 16 Years is an Apple Music Exclusive
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Remember Dre’s first album? That was a hit record that brings back some serious memories of the past. In recent news, the third (and supposedly final) studio album by gangster rap icon Dr. Dre is set to debut this upcoming Thursday, August 7th. Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre is the artist’s first album in almost sixteen years, following his 1999 release of Chronic 2001. The long-awaited album, however, won’t be available everywhere when it releases – the initial release will be exclusive to Apple Music and iTunes.
The rapper/producer announced the new album on his Beats 1 radio show The Pharmacy this past Saturday. The album is inspired by his work on the upcoming music biopic Straight Outta Compton, which revolves around the rise and fall of gangster rap pioneers NWA. “During principal photography of Straight Outta Compton, I felt myself going to the studio and being so inspired by the movie that I started recording an album,” Dre said during his show on Saturday. “I kept it under wraps, and now the album is finished. It’s bananas… I’m really proud of this.”
Dr. Dre Posing With Beats Co-Founder Jimmy Iovine,
Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Apple SVP Eddy Cue
Fans of Dr. Dre have been awaiting a third album, titled Detox, since work began on the album in 2001. Initially set for a 2005 release, the album was pushed back to 2008, then to 2010. The last fans heard, the album was set to undergo a title change in 2014, but was still under production. However, Dr. Dre revealed Saturday that the Detox project will never see the light of day. “I didn’t like it. It wasn’t good,” Dre said. “I worked my [expletive] off on it and I don’t think I did a good enough job.” He added that the Compton album would be his “grand finale”.
Dre, who took a “senior role” at Apple after the company bought his company Beats Music, decided that the initial release of his album would be exclusive to Apple. Apple Music will be streaming the uncensored album in its entirety this Thursday at 9PM EST. The album will be officially released on iTunes immediately following the stream at 12AM on Friday. The release of the album marks the first high-profile exclusive for Apple Music, more of which could give the streaming service an edge over the competition.
