Throwback: Dr. Dre’s “Darkside/Gone” Featuring Mez, Kendrick Lamar & Marsha Ambroius Remains A Compton Classic! Hip hop mogul, Dr. Dre recently turned a new page as he celebrated his fifty-sixth birthday Thursday last week (February 18) a day that many called “Dre Day.” Many of his fans and industry friends alike were not left behind as far as celebrating the mega producer on his big day is concerned. Dre received a ton of love-filled messages from fans across all social media platforms. Eminem and Ice Cube led the way on social media and duly accorded the Dr. the roses he so deserves while he can still smell them.
With his new album in the works, a project that may or may not be the long-awaited Detox, there couldn’t be an appropriate time to highlight one of Dr. Dre‘s many classic tunes as now, as the hip hop mogul turns a new page after clocking 56. And while the temptation may be to look at The Chronic and 2001, it’s about time to start recognizing Compton for the elite project that it is. Case in point, the absolute monster that is “Darkside/Gone,” a two-beat banger starring Mez, Kendrick Lamar, and Marsha Ambrosius.
Driven by a shuffling drum-line and a creeping synthesizer, the first beat is sinister in nature. Both Mez and Dre slide over it with adroit flows, with Metz setting the pace with an introductory verse before Dre announces his presence. “Now who you know who came this fucking far from the fucking bottom?” he spits. “Thirty years in this bitch and I’m still here, decade after decade / And evidently I must be doing somethin’ right, word to my ni*ga Eazy.”
From there, the track transforms into a different horizon altogether as Kendrick Lamar and Marsha Ambrosius join the mix. Succeeding an anthemic chorus from longtime Aftermath collaborator Ambrosius, Kendrick Lamar absolutely obliterates Dr. Dre’s signature pianos. “I thought I was holding my city up, I thought I was good in the media,” he vents. “You think I’m too hood in my video? But really,no clue, you idiot!” To date, “Darkside/Gone” stands alongside Dr. Dre’s finest works, and even at 56, there’s no sign that he’s about to slow down.
Be sure to check out what Dr. Dre’s fans had for him on twitter as he celebrated his 56th birthday.
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