The Chronic and 2001 are widely heralded as two of hip-hop's most celebrated bodies of work, the foundation for Dr. Dre's legendary status. Yet his third album, Compton, seldom gets the merit it deserves. Dre's third studio album, released in the summer of 2016, found Dre assembling a new team of trusted collaborators, with the core trifecta being King Mez, Anderson .Paak, and Justus. Their presence can be felt throughout the album, contributing vocals to ten of the sixteen tracks; that's not even factoring in the work spent behind the scenes.
Of course, Compton is, as the Dre brand suggests, an incredibly dope album - and one perhaps hurt by the legacies of its predecessors. Still, it has earned a core group of loyal fans who enjoyed Dre's newest direction, and eagerly anticipate the Doctor's next move. As it happens, the board appears set for the coming months. It was previously reported that Dre and 2 Chainz were in the process of cooking up, with many concluding the pair were working on Tity's Rap Or Go To The League. Yet the full extent of those present paints somewhat of a different picture.
King Mez took to IG to document the session, sharing a pair of images from the weekend. In the first, we can see Mark Byrd, Mez himself, Dr. Dre, Anderson .Paak, Sly Pyper, 2 Chainz, and Honorable CNote. The second image finds the same crew relocated, only this time producer Dem Jointz has joined in. For what it's worth, Jointz also played a role on Compton, and the presence of so many key players alludes to the possibility of a Dre project, with 2 Chainz involvement at that. Of course, it's entirely possible that several projects were worked on at once, but it certainly seems likely that Dre has assembled his team of "Avengers" for a fixed purpose.
To add fuel to the speculative fire, longtime Dre collaborator and legendary West Coast rapper Xzibit, was also present during the weekend studio blitz. "Usually I’m the one snapping pics of the team sleep in the studio, this night it was my turn," writes X, in the caption. Sadly, he got caught snoozing, and Dre used the opportunity to have some fun at his expense. Consider that Xzibit previously appeared on Compton, during the cinematic and harrowing "Loose Cannons" cut. With all this in mind, it's evident that Dre is up to something. Can we expect a Compton followup in the near future?