The story of Dr Dre’s classic ‘The Next Episode’
Whether through consent or not, we have all heard ‘The Next Episode’. The intro featuring its simple, two note bass line accompanied by low pitched horns is now iconic. Pair that with Snoop Dogg singing “La-da-da-da-dah / It’s the mother f*kin’ D-O-double-G”, and then introducing the mastermind behind the project, Dr Dre, the track will always get people off their seats. But did you know that the track was foreshadowed in another song created by the two hip hop icons?
In their 1992 collaboration, ‘Nothing but a G thang’, which was released on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Snoop, with one of the last lyrics, would foreshadow the track that would take seven years to release. The line “It’s like this, and who gives a f**k about those? So just chill ’til the next episode.” would indeed keep audiences on their toes, but for much longer than anticipated.
There was no intent to wait that long, with ‘The Next Episode’ originally intended to be released the next year on Snoop’s Doggystyle. Problems arose when the track list for the upcoming album was leaked, forcing Snoop to alter his approach. In his revisions, ‘The Next Episode’ did not make the cut. Instead, the instrumental beat was given to the duo’s close friend and collaborator, who would include it on his 1993 album Regulate…G Funk Era, with the track ‘Runnin’ Wit No Breaks’.
The track would be shelved until 1999, when Dre would return with his second album, 2001, which included ‘Still D.R.E’ featuring Snoop Dogg and a young Eminem, fresh off the release of The Slim Shady LP on ‘Forgot About Dre’. In this rendition, Dre dropped the ‘a’ from Tha, instead favouring the traditional ‘e’, and flipped the beat beyond recognition. This time around featuring Kurupt and Snoop Dogg’s cousin, Nate Dogg, who would add immortal deliveries of the lines “Hold up, hey” and “Smoke weed everyday”.
There is a poignant line which is exacerbated by the track’s success over the years. In the second verse Dre raps, “I’m on one, I might bail up in the Century Club / With my jeans on, and my team strong” which refers to a prestigious club in Los Angeles which had a strict dress code.
Having recently joined the 1 Billion club on Spotify, which only 762 other songs in history can claim to have achieved, the Doggystyle leak appears to have been a blessing in disguise. Without that intervention we may not have been privy to one of the most seminal tracks in the catalogues of West Coast hip hop. I’m sure if Dr. Dre turned up to that club today, not only would they let him in with jeans on. They’d probably play ‘The Next Episode’ on the spot.