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Dr. Dre sues Death Row

Dr. Dre filed a lawsuit against his former record label in federal court Thursday in Los Angeles, claiming it released a new version of The Chronic without his permission and hasn't paid him royalties since he left Death Row in 1996.

"When it came to paying artist royalties and honoring limits on Dr. Dre recordings that could be released, the 'new' Death Row Records, to quote our client, 'forgot about Dre,'" attorney Howard King said in a statement. "This lawsuit will make sure they remember."

The label, renamed WIDEawake Death Row Records after the original went bankrupt and was purchased by WIDEawake Entertainment Group, released The Chronic Re-Lit last year. A Dr. Dre greatest hits collection called Chronicles also was released in 2007 by Death Row. Neither were released with his permission or his cooperation, according to Dre, whose real name is Andre Young.

Dre also claims in the suit that his original contract did not include digital distribution rights, yet the new owners of the label have been selling digital copies of The Chronic. The album originally dropped in 1992.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for false advertising, trademark infringement, breach of contract and misappropriation of publicity.

Dr. Dre has only released one solo album since The Chronic, 2001 in 1999. He has been working on his next album, Detox, on and off for the past decade.

Rap Grammy predictions

The 411 Online has kept a record of every rap Grammy ever awarded, but we've never tried predicting who would win before. That changes now. It's not easy getting into the warped mind of the Grammy voters, who often overvalue pop artists, fall in love with creating repeat winners or just generally have no clue.

Here are our predictions (in bold):

Best Rap Solo Performance
"Best I Ever Had," Drake
"Beautiful," Eminem
"D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)," Jay-Z*^
"Day 'N' Nite," Kid Cudi
"Casa Bey," Mos Def

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
"Too Many Rappers," Beastie Boys & Nas*
"Crack A Bottle," Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent^
"Money Goes, Honey Stay," Fabolous & Jay-Z
"Make Her Say," Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common
"Amazing," Kanye West & Young Jeezy

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"Ego," Beyoncé & Kanye West
"Knock You Down," Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo
"Run This Town," Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West*^
"I'm On A Boat," The Lonely Island & T-Pain
"Dead And Gone," T.I. & Justin Timberlake

Best Rap Song
"Best I Ever Had," Drake
"Day 'N' Nite," Kid Cudi
"Dead And Gone," T.I. & Justin Timberlake
"D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)," Jay-Z*
"Run This Town," Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West^

Best Rap Album
Universal Mind Control, Common
Relapse, Eminem^
R.O.O.T.S., Flo Rida
The Ecstatic, Mos Def
The Renaissance, Q-Tip*

*-who we'd pick, given the choices
^-actual winner

More: Every Rap Grammy from 1989-present

Dr. Dre: No rush to 'Detox'

Dr. Dre is a notorious perfectionist, so it comes as no surprise that he takes years between albums. But we've entered our second decade of waiting for Detox, as Dre's last album was released in November 1999. He might have thought it was safe to hide out overseas, but Great Britain's The Guardian newspaper caught up with the hip-hop legend this weekend and asked him what the holdup was.

"I'm working hard on it. I'm stopping to work on other artists in-between, but the minute it's done and I feel it right here, that's when it will come out," Dre told The Guardian. "Hopefully the beginning of 2010."

But that timetable was ambitious, and even Dre quickly admitted that the key word in that quote was "hopefully": "You'll probably hear something in a year or so," he told Slam magazine for their March issue. That puts the latest ETA at January 2011, but undoubtedly he'll have another excuse ready by then. Perhaps too much time in the clubs?

"I have to go out to clubs now," Dre told The Guardian. "You need to understand what people are listening to."

He didn't say if that same kind of Detox research from several years ago still helps him today.

It's become a nearly annual winter ritual for Dre to tease the release of Detox, dating back at least to 2002 in The 411 Online's records. That January he said he it could be done by the end of the year, a statement he's echoed in one way or another in January 2006, December 2006, December 2008 and now January 2010. (Dre did not, however, address it in our interview with him in 1995. Back then, it was the Dr. Dre-Ice Cube reunion album that was perpetually on hold. Still waiting for Helter Skelter.)

More than just fans are fiending for another hit of Dre's golden touch.

"He's gonna drop it. He's just ... a perfectionist," Warren G told Hard Knock TV. "When he feels right, that's when he's gonna let it go. I think he's close because when he starts working with Snoop, that's when I know he's getting down to the wire."

And Snoop Dogg certainly won't be the only one making a guest appearance.

"Me and him are supposed to do a record on there," Warren G added. "He said as soon as he finds the right record, with the right melody, we'll do it. I think it'll be something that the world would love to see 'cause it's never been done. The publicity on it will be huge. It's like, 'Warren G and Dr. Dre doing a song? That's crazy.' I'm open. I'm with it."

Who knows if that collaboration will become that "perfect song" Dre mentioned he is searching for.

"I don't think I've done that record yet," Dre told The Guardian. "I'll know what it is when it comes; I know exactly what it is in my head, but I haven't done it yet. It's close. ... Once that sound is right, once that mix is right, it's a feeling that you get. It's unexplainable."

And of course, once Detox finally does hit stores, Dre thinks there's only one way to listen to it: Through his Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones. "I just want to get my music out and make sure that it's heard in the right way," Dre said, who added that speakers might be next because so many people are listening to music "the wrong way" -- on cell phones, MP3 players, etc. "Once it gets to your computer, everything's compressed. It's like smashing sound. So we're trying to fix that."

Let's hope the repairs are done on time, or we may never see Detox.

Remembering 'Paint the White House Black'

The late MC Breed coined the phrase in 1990 on "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'." George Clinton loved it so much he built a song around it in 1993, recruiting the likes of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Humpty Hump, Flavor Flav, Yo-Yo and Breed himself for the single and video.

As Barack Obama is sworn in as President of the United States, The 411 Online pauses to celebrate what no one thought was possible 19, 16 -- or even a couple -- years ago.

Dr. Dre not happy with latest leak

A track from the long-awaited Detox album, called "Could Have Been You," has found its way to the Internet. And Dre is not pleased. Of course, you wouldn't be either if it had a hook with crappy lyrics -- literally -- sung by R. Kelly.

HipHopDX has the details.

Dr. Dre rhyming with 50 Cent, Eminem

While the world still waits for Detox, some of Dr. Dre's roadblocks are slowly moving out of the way.

Eminem's now-completed "Crack a Bottle" single finally dropped Tuesday. An earlier version of the song leaked in November with Em doing Dre's vocals for the legendary producer to use as a reference track.

Meanwhile, 50 Cent, who also is featured on "Bottle," unveiled his latest, "I Get It In," on Hot 97 that night, as well as a tracklisting of his upcoming disc. It shows four production credits for Dre, who is also expected to appear on the mic.

Neither Eminem's Relapse or 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct have definitive release dates yet. And, of course, neither does Detox.

Autopsy: Dr. Dre's son died of overdose

After more than four months, the Los Angeles County coroner's office has released the results of the autopsy on Dr. Dre's son.

Andre Young Jr. died of "morphine and heroin intoxication" on Aug. 23 at the family's Woodland Hills home, coroner's office assistant chief Ed Winter told the Los Angeles Times. The death was ruled an accidental overdose.

Winter said that the autopsy was completed within days of the 20-year-old's death, but determining the cause of death took so long because of the amount of tests performed.

Dr. Dre's 'Detox' on hold for Eminem's 'Relapse'

One casualty of Eminem's upcoming album is a frequent visitor to the backburner: Dr. Dre's long-awaited Detox album.

Eminem told Billboard that he and Dre have been "up to our old mischievous ways" during the making of Relapse. (Isn't that supposed to come after the detox?)

It will be Em's first album since 2004's Encore, which gave the MC a much needed break from over-exposure and will likely set this disc up to succeed. However, Eminem is "really heated" about leaks, including one that had him reciting Dre's lines. "It wasn't close to finished, and it even has me doing guide vocals for Dre as a suggestion of how he could lay his verses down," he said in the interview, which was conducted via e-mail. It's like someone catches you peeping in your window before you got the Spider Man costume all zipped up! Nobody is supposed to see that."

Swizz Beats' claims that he had worked on a sequel to "Stan" also raised Em's temp.

"There isn't a 'Stan 2,' and there won't be. Stan drove his car off a bridge and I'm not writing a song as Stan's ghost. That would just be really corny... I haven't worked with Swizz on this album," adding that Dre is his preferred producer.

"I don't have chemistry like that with anyone else as far as producers go -- not even close. Dre will end up producing the majority of the tracks on Relapse."

Hip-hop album covers in Lego

Ever wondered what your favorite hip-hop albums would look like if they were portrayed by those little, yellow Lego men you played with as a kid? No? Me neither. But then again, I never envisioned Star Wars and Indiana Jones characters in that shade either, playing video games no less.

But you've gotta see what Format has done with some of hip-hop's classic albums. From Common and Run DMC to EPMD and Dr. Dre, to De La Soul and Gang Starr, they've got them all. Some work better than others, but all are worth a look. (Found via Cool Hunting)

Dr. Dre archive 1994-2008

The following news, reviews and interviews were published in The 411 between 1994 and 2008:

Dr. Dre News Jay-Z Forbes' 'cash king' Dre signs film deal with New Line Dr. Dre & ODB's lost ones Where are they now? The Game: 'The one-man N.W.A'? Nas gets Kanye, others for album It's official: Jay-Z is back Snoop Dogg pushes back album Jay-Z album by Thanksgiving? Bumped 'Big Bang' worth it to Busta Busta, Dre ready for 'The Big Bang' Dr. Dre helps Paris Hilton Common wants Kanye, Dre 'Detox' among most anticipated albums Dr. Dre's Detox expected this year Suge, Kurupt confirm reunion The D.O.C prepares comeback Cube discusses N.W.A, leaving Priority Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear? Dr. Dre settles lawsuits Dr. Dre donates $1 million Daz sues Death Row Records "Murder Was The Case" arrives on DVD Dr. Dre, Snoop join "The Wash" Warren G gets help from old friends Dr. Dre: "We were robbed" Eminem, Dr. Dre win Grammys Grammys focus on Eminem, Dr. Dre It's Tha Liks -- officially Dre supports Eminem, rejects MJ Dr. Dre wins American Music Award Dr. Dre leads Grammy nominations Dr. Dre delays Eve's album Xzibit debuts at No. 14 Snoop Dogg serves up Tha Last Meal Dre: N.W.A reunion is on hold Death Row hit with $4.3 million verdict Outkast certified double-platinum Naughty tops hip-hop's pop Snoop prepares The Last Meal Jay-Z named artist of the year Suge lashes out at everybody Is Rakim next on the waiting list? Xzibit: The next big thing "Direct Effect" premieres Monday Eminem will appear on "Saturday Night Live" Eminem wins 3 MTV awards Source Awards are a hit on UPN Nelly stays at No. 1 Clearing up The Source's mess Source Awards canceled DMX will perform at MTV awards Ice Cube leaves "Up In Smoke" Eminem leads MTV nominations Dr. Dre sues Detroit for $25 million DJ Yella joins N.W.A reunion Police hassle Dr. Dre over video Dr. Dre leads Source nominations Tour tickets available for a price Dr. Dre compiles list of his own Up in Smoke Tour finalized Dr. Dre responds to Lucasfilm lawsuit Blockbuster Awards announce nominations N.W.A announces summer tour dates Dr. Dre sues Napster Dr. Dre is sued by Lucasfilm N.W.A shoots new video, plans tour Dr. Dre, Snoop attack Death Row N.W.A performs live Dre, Snoop file lawsuits Busta, Eminem lead Grammy nominations Dr. Dre goes platinum N.W.A reunites on "Next Friday" Dr. Dre 2001 or $20.01? Dre takes over New York Still Dre, still The Chronic Cube talks N.W.A reunion Heavy D, King Tee dropped Back together again Dr. Dre sues Death Row The doctor is in Dr. Dre rethinks title Reviews DR. DRE, 2001, Aftermath Interviews DR. DRE, August 1995 Photos Dr. Dre at the 1999 Source Awards Dr. Dre at the 1995 Source Awards Dr. Dre at the 1995 Source Awards Dr. Dre at the 1995 Source Awards Dr. Dre at the 1995 Source Awards Dr. Dre at the 1995 Source Awards Dre, Snoop at the 1995 Source Awards

Discography 1987 N.W.A N.W.A and the Posse Listen to samples Buy the album 1988 N.W.A Straight Outta Compton Listen to samples Buy the album 1990 N.W.A 100 Miles and Runnin' 1991 N.W.A Efil4zaggin Listen to samples Buy the album 1992 Dr. Dre The Chronic Listen to samples Buy the album 1996 Dr. Dre The Aftermath Listen to samples Buy the album 1999 Dr. Dre 2001 Listen to samples Buy the album