Released: August 7, 2015

Songwriter: Dontae Winslow Focus… Dr. Dre

Producer: Dontae Winslow Dr. Dre Focus…

[Intro]
Compton was the American dream. Sunny California with a palm tree in the front yard, the camper, the boat. Temptingly close to the Los Angeles ghetto in the 50's and 60's, it became "The Black American Dream." Open housing paved the way as middle-class blacks flooded into the city. Whites don't buy houses in Compton anymore. Now with 74% of the population, black power is the fact of life. From banks to bowling alleys. But the dream that many blacks thought they were buying has turned sour. Though the mayor and four out of five city councilmen are black, they have been unable to solve the problems of crime and growing welfare which is slowing turning suburban Compton into an extension of the black inner city. Crime is now as high as the ghetto. 47 homicides last year gave Compton one of the highest per capita rates in the country. Juvenile gang activity, muggings, small robberies make some blacks want to leave

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, producer, and mogul who is considered by many to be the greatest hip-hop producer of all time. He raised the profile of West Coast rap after he helped pioneer the sounds of gangsta rap in the 1980s with N.W.A and helped popularize the G-Funk sound in the 1990s with his label Death Row Records before changing his sound again after he established Aftermath Entertainment. Dre assisted in the rise of hip-hop stars Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar, while producing hits for many other artists. He also became a mogul with his Beats empire and partnership with Apple, helping him become one of the richest musicians in the business.

Born Andre Romelle Young in Compton, California on February 18, 1965, Dr. Dre started as a club and radio DJ. In 1984, he joined the music group World Class Wreckin Cru, which featured producer DJ Yella. Dre’s cousin Sir Jinx introduced him to a rapper named Ice Cube, and they later connected with Compton hustler Eazy-E, rapper MC Ren and producer Arabian Prince to form the gangsta rap group N.W.A. They released their seminal debut album Straight Outta Compton in 1988 and helped put the West Coast on the hip-hop map.

Financial issues led to the demise of N.W.A and caused Dre to form Death Row Records along with The D.O.C. and Suge Knight. Dre released his classic solo debut album The Chronic in 1992 and further helped the West Coast dominate the sound of hip-hop. Due to disagreements with Suge Knight, Dre left Death Row in 1996 and formed Aftermath Entertainment. He released his classic sophomore album 2001 in 1999 and later released multi-platinum albums from Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar. In 2002, Dre won a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.