Chronicle Editor
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have plenty to celebrate this week. In addition to the rave reviews for the longtime friends’ all-star Super Bowl 2022 Halftime Show, both hip-hop legends scored their first-ever billion-view video on YouTube in the wake of the extravaganza.
The official video for the pair’s 1999 tune “Still D.R.E.” from Dre’s multi-platinum second solo album, 2001, crossed the billion line after they performed it at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., during the midway point in the contest between the Cincinnati Bengals and this year’s champs, the Los Angeles Rams.
The Hype Williams-directed clip represents the first video for either man to reach the 10-digit mark on YouTube.
And though it took its sweet time getting there, the video – first uploaded to YouTube in October 2011 – stands as a hermetically sealed time capsule of one of Dre’s most iconic songs, from the shots of the dynamic rap duo bouncing along the streets of L.A. in their lowrider to the giant party scene and brief cameos from Slim Shady, Xzibit, Funkmaster Flex and Warren G.
The February 13 halftime show found Dre and Snoop opening with “The Next Episode” and a Tupac Shakur tribute (“California Love”), before a surprise appearance from 50 Cent, a raging two-song set from Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar’s intense “Alright,” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and a finale that found Dre at the piano with Snoop right along for “Still D.R.E”.
Though the song topped out at No. 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of its release, it has become one of Dre’s most beloved anthems in the years since.
It was later featured in the 2001 Denzel Washington/Ethan Hawke drama Training Day — in which Dre and Snoop appeared in memorable cameos — and the Grand Theft Auto V video game.
According to HipHop-N-More, Dr Dre’s Spotify streams rose by 185 percent in the hour following the Los Angeles Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. This includes a huge 270 percent increase in streams of “The Next Episode,” which opened the star-studded Hip Hop showcase, as well as a 245 percent jump in plays of “Still D.R.E”.
Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly anthem “Alright” saw a similar 250 percent increase in streams, while Mary J Blige’s 2001 hit “No More Drama” enjoyed a staggering 520 percent spike in spins.
Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” which was followed by the Detroit rap icon taking the knee in support of Colin Kaepernick, also cracked the top 10 of the US Spotify chart for the first time. In October 2020, the Oscar-winning 8 Mile cut became the first rap song from the 2000s to surpass one billion streams on the platform.
This huge increase in streams will go some way toward compensating Dr Dre and co., who didn’t actually get paid for performing at the Super Bowl.
“We do not pay the artistes,” NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter told Forbes in 2016. “We cover expenses and production costs.”
In fact, Dr. Dre reportedly footed the bill himself and spent $7 million of his own money to fund the elaborate performance.
However, as Mary J. Blige pointed out during a recent interview, the financial opportunities the Super Bowl presents are worthwhile.
“Listen, you gonna be paid for the rest of your life off of this,” she said. “They don’t have to pay me. But if it was payin’ it would be a lot of money. But I’m good.
This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Eminem says that in ‘Lose Yourself,’ this is the opportunity of a lifetime.” – Billboard
Online Reporter