"The Watcher" is a song by American hip hop musician Dr. Dre from his second studio album '' 2001''. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on February 27, 2001. "The Watcher" features vocals from rappers Eminem and Knoc-turn'al, who sing the hook and Dj cuts after 2nd hook by Flash Technology. The song talks about Dre's rap career and what he's been through. It also mentions former

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

bandmate Eazy-E & his death. Rapper Jay-Z released a sequel titled "The Watcher 2" on his 2002 album '' The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse''. Jay-Z's version was produced by Dr. Dre and featured vocals from Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an America ...

associates

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

and Truth Hurts. A year later in 2003, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Rakim would release another version called "The Watcher Pt. 3" on the mixtape ''DJ Jam presents WBALLZ 187.4 FM Vol. 1''. The track on the B-side "Bad Guys Always Die" featuring Eminem originally appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

to the 1999

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

film ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

''. It was also on the expanded edition of Em's album ''

The Slim Shady LP ''The Slim Shady LP'' is the second studio album and major label debut by American rapper Eminem. It was released on February 23, 1999, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Recorded in Ferndale, Michigan following Eminem's recruitm ...

.'' One of Dr. Dre's lines was later interpolated as the chorus for the song "

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

", a song by him, former N.W.A members Ice Cube and

MC Ren Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 16, 1969), better known by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the record label Villain Entertainment. MC Ren ...

Track listing

;CD single (France)

Charts

Sequels

"The Watcher 2"

A sequel to the song was released in 2002 and titled "The Watcher 2". The song is a sequel to "The Watcher" and is performed by American rappers Jay-Z, Dr. Dre,

and R&B singer Truth Hurts. The song was featured on Jay-Z's album '' The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse''. Jay-Z performs the first verse. During it he shouts out fellow

Roc-A-Fella Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

associates Damon Dash and

Kareem Burke Kareem "Biggs" Burke (born January 19, 1974) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and producer. He is best known as the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records along with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Damon "Dame" Dash. Early life Kareem Bur ...

, mentions

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and references the Eric B. & Rakim song " Eric B. Is President". This is then followed on by Truth Hurts' bridge and the hook, with the same lyrics as the original hook sang by Eminem. This then bring Dre's verse, which begins with a similar pattern to Dre's song " Still D.R.E.". The third verse is performed by Rakim. He references his opening line on "Lyrics of Fury", from the Eric B. & Rakim album ''Follow the Leader''. Rakim told ''Who'' that the song was originally intended to be a Dr. Dre project: "That was a Dre project, man. A joint that I did for Dre. Jay-Z heard it and the rest is history, man.".

"The Watcher Pt. 3"

A prequel to the song was released in 2003 and was titled "The Watcher Pt. 3". The song is performed by American rappers Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Rakim. The song is a part of the DJ Jam mixtape ''WBallz 187.4 FM Vol. 1'' which is hosted by Snoop Dogg (under his moniker Bigg Snoop Dogg). On

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releases of the mixtape, the whole song can be heard however on the CD version of the mixtape, the last verse cannot be heard. The first verse is a

freestyle rap Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...

by Snoop Dogg, in which he says not to confuse him with rapper

Lil' Bow Wow Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil' Bow Wow), is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in the late 1990s, eventually being brought ...

by saying: "And I'm not the little one, I'm the Big Bow Wow". Whilst every other aspect is original to this song, the hook, Dr. Dre's verse, Rakim's verse and the instrumental are from "The Watcher 2".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watcher 1999 songs 2001 singles Dr. Dre songs Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre Aftermath Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles Knoc-turn'al songs Songs written by Dr. Dre Songs written by Eminem Gangsta rap songs