Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr. Dre – The Recipe (Prod. Scoop DeVille)

Finally! It’s been 17 long months since Dr. Dre went on record on L.A.’s Power 106 radio station saying that he wanted to work with Kendrick Lamar. Since that time, Kendrick has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in hip-hop, and, honestly, the best new rapper to emerge in at least the past five years or so. After all that wait, here’s Kendrick’s first official single from his Aftermath debut, “The Recipe”. The song features the good doctor but is actually produced by L.A.’s Scoop DeVille (Snoop Dogg “I Wanna Rock”/Fat Joe & Young Jeezy “Slow Down (Ha Ha)”). The album is titled Good Kid in a Mad City and is set to drop later on this year.

In 2010, Kendrick released the mixtape (O)verly (D)edicated, which is fantastic, and in my opinion, more fun to listen to than Section.80. Dedicated featured the song “Ignorance is Bliss“, the song which is said to have gotten Dre’s attention two years ago. Then the following year, he released the critically acclaimed tape Section.80, which cemented his status as more than just an average newcomer, but a rapper with enough substance and originality and absolute rapping ability to last him years and years in the game. He would, in the same year, be featured on Game’s The R.E.D. Album and Drake’s Take Care, also joining Drake on his Club Paradise tour.

Kendrick’s label Top Dawg Entertainment, which also houses rappers ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, recently inked a deal with Interscope Records, which allows Top Dawg full creative control but also gives help of a major like Interscope. We’re not sure if Dr. Dre’s appearance on this record signifies anything major about his album (…yeah, right) or if it’s just there to help push Kendrick. Either way, we’re glad to finally hear what’s been cooking in all those sessions. Kendrick has kept mum about his debut album, but he has worked with Pharrell, Just Blaze (remember when he was gonna do the single?) and, of course, Dr. Dre and the Aftermath crew.

Stream: Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr. Dre – The Recipe