After almost 16 years, Dr. Dre released a new album. The hip hop and gangsta rap icon released a 16-track record titled "Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre" inspired by the much awaited film "Straight Outta Compton" featuring his former hip hop group N.W.A.
The compilation-style album reportedly features some of the mega-producer's favorite collaborators, including Eminem, Snoop Dog, Kendrik Lamar, The Game, as well as other up-and-coming artists like Jon Connor, Anderson Paak, and BJ the Chicago Kid.
Aside from being the first Dr. Dre album in more than a decade and being an avenue to launch new talents, the 50-year-old rapper-hip hop mogul also announced that all the artist royalties that he will earn from "Compton" will be donated to help build a new center for performing arts and entertainment in the city of Compton, California, where he and the N.W.A. came from.
"I've been really trying to do something special for Compton and just couldn't quite figure out what it was. She actually had this idea and she was already in the process of working on it. I said, 'Boom, this is what we should do," the hip hop mogul said during DJ Zane Lowe's program on Apple Music's Beats 1. "I feel it's the right thing to do and I hope everybody appreciates the work I put into this album."
Dr. Dre last released a solo record back in November 1999 — his sophomore solo record "2001." It became one of the most successful rap albums that year after peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 charts and being a certified six times platinum record.
However, despite the success of "2001," the Grammy Award winning rapper opted to take a break from recording to focus on producing music for other artists like Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, among others, under his Aftermath Entertainment record label. This also gave him a lot of recognition, including three Grammy awards for his production work. He also founded the Beats Electronics company together with former Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine, producing headphones and speakers.
"Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre" officially released Aug. 7.
