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Dr. Dre using album proceeds to fund arts center in Compton

Written by . Published: August 07 2015

Dr. Dre has pledged to donate the royalties from his first album in 16 years to officials in his native Compton, California to fund the construction of a new performing arts space.


The rapper and superproducer was inspired by the city and his former band N.W.A.'s new biopic, Straight Outta Compton, to head back into the studio, and he debuted the project, titled Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre, on Apple Music's Beats 1 radio network on Thursday (06Aug15).


During an interview to promote the album, Dre revealed he had reached out to Compton Mayor Aja Brown to discuss ways for him to give back to the community.


He explained, "(I) decided to donate all of my artist royalties from the sale of this album to help fund a new performing arts and entertainment facility for the kids in Compton."


He adds, "I feel like it's the right thing to do and I just hope everybody appreciates all the hard work I've put into this album."


Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre, his long-awaited follow-up to his 1999 release 2001, will be available on Friday (07Aug15).


Last week (01Aug15), the hip-hop icon admitted the project would be his "grand finale".

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