"The Watcher" is a song by American hip hop musician

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

from his second studio album ''

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

''. 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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on February 27, 2001. "The Watcher" features vocals from rappers

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

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 Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

& his death. Rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

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 Americ ...

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 Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

and Rakim would release another version called "The Watcher Pt. 3" on the

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

''DJ Jam presents WBALLZ 187.4 FM Vol. 1''. The track on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"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 o ...

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 Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

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 C ...

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

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

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

, 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 Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

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

Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury-lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also dist ...

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

. 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

, Dr. Dre and Rakim. The song is a part of the DJ Jam

''WBallz 187.4 FM Vol. 1'' which is hosted by Snoop Dogg (under his moniker Bigg Snoop Dogg). On

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

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