The Watcher (song)
2001 song by Dr. Dre
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"The Watcher" is a song by American rapper-producer Dr. Dre from his second studio album 2001. The song was released as the fourth and final single from the album in France on February 27, 2001, and features vocals from rappers Eminem and Knoc-turn'al.
| "The Watcher" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Dr. Dre | ||||
| from the album 2001 | ||||
| Released | February 27, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers | ||||
| Dr. Dre singles chronology | ||||
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| Eminem singles chronology | ||||
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| Knoc-turn'al singles chronology | ||||
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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 associates Rakim and Truth Hurts. A remix replacing Jay-Z's verse with a verse sung by Snoop Dogg would later be released, titled "The Watcher Pt. 3".
One of Dr. Dre's lines was later interpolated as the chorus for the song "Hello", a song by him and former N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren.
The song's instrumental was used in the J. Cole song "Adonis Interlude (The Montage)". The song was produced by Dre and appeared on the soundtrack to the 2023 film Creed III.
Track listing
Charts
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[3] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[4] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Sequel
| "The Watcher 2" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Jay-Z featuring Dr. Dre, Rakim and Truth Hurts | |
| from the album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse | |
| Released | November 12, 2002 |
| Recorded | July 2002 |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Length | 5:55 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Dr. Dre |
A sequel to the song was made by American rapper Jay-Z and released on the 12th of November, 2002 for his seventh studio album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, where it was titled "The Watcher 2". The song is performed by Jay-Z, alongside Dr. Dre, Rakim and R&B singer Truth Hurts. The song was featured as the third track to The Blueprint 2 and its reissue, Blueprint 2.1. Jay-Z performs the first verse. During it he shouts out fellow Roc-A-Fella associates Damon Dash and Kareem Burke, mentions Robb Report 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 sung 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.".[5]