June 4, 2000

Forget About Dre

June 4, 2000

Rap artist Dr. Dre submitted a list of hundreds of thousands of usernames to the software company last week, alleging that all of them had illegally made his songs available as free downloads online. Like hard rock band Metallica before him, the artist demanded that Napster block these people from its service.

This morning, when these rap fans tried to log in to the service, they found themselves banned.

"The artist Dr. Dre has requested that your access to Napster be terminated for alleged copyright infringement," read a statement from the company that appeared in place of the service itself.

The company notes that banned members can appeal the action if they think they've been identified by mistake. Anybody who appeals will be reinstated within two weeks unless Dr. Dre individually sues that person. More than 30,000 people appealed the Metallica-incited ban on Napster users last week, prompting the band's lawyer to call them "liars."

Forget about Dre Seriously, Dr. Dre, go back to pimping and leave Napster alone. First of all, being an "artist" who cried "FUCK THE POLICE" should make you the last one to run for your lawyers when you feel as though your drug money is dwindling because of MP3 piracy.

Yes, what happened to Kid Rock was tragic, but for the rest of us, life goes on - we suggest you deal with it and move on...just like the rest of us. Turning in thousands of people to the Napster cops and joining such vigilante musicians as tennis superstar turned mouthpiece/drummer Lars Ulrich will not endear you to any of your fans.

Metallica demonstrate how Napster turns a blind eye to piracy Let me guess: your fans aren't the guys downloading your songs off the Internet, right? Of course they aren't - they would have all kinds of disposable cash, right? They wouldn't be saving up for their first AK-47 or anything, would they? They've got all kinds of money, right? After all, we've both seen all the BMW's that the kidz in the hood are driving to Dr. Dre shows, right?

Perhaps you've helped some of these kids out and gave them part-time jobs being Napster rats for Dr. Dre, and showed them how to access Napster download records in order to rat out their friends.

Aren't MP3s the turn-of-the-century equivalent of taping songs off of the radio, something that everyone with more musical interests than their allowance would support, did as a teenager? Popular acts of the 70's, like THE CARPENTERS, never starved to death because some kid was taping their songs off the radio (wait a minute...so THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!!! The whole NIRVANA thing is starting to make sense now, too...). Face it, a great deal of people have high-speed Internet access these days, and accessing media rich content like MP3s and videos is just a technologically advanced alternative to turning on the radio. If someone likes something and they haven't spent all their money on weapons, they are going out to buy a HARD COPY of it. MP3's don't have fancy graphics, liner notes, or lyrics in them - for that, people are still going to buy your CD's. Don't worry about collecting food stamps just yet - you won't meet the same fate as Kid Rock. After all, you have a BACK CATALOGUE and a Grammy!

I can just picture it now - when my son is old enough to download MP3's (or more likely MP4 or MP5 files by then), I may just receive a phone call from Dr. Dre himself, telling me that my son has been busted by the Dr. for being a "big time music pirate". P.S.: He was also chewing gum in class the other day.

Thanks, Dr. Dre - with modern day Robin Hoodz like you out there, the world is safe from evil once again. Such good and selfless work almost makes up for the few little screwups you had in your day:

In the early '90s, Dre was sued by a woman who accused him of assaulting her in a nightclub (the case was settled out of court) and by a colleague, the late Eazy-E (his label, Ruthless Records, sued Dr. Dre's Death Row Records for alleged racketeering; the suit was dismissed in 1993). The godfather of gangsta rap was also convicted of assaulting a record producer and arrested for punching a cop. On probation, he wore an electronic monitor and had to be at his million- dollar home by 9 p.m. The rapper's rap sheet got longer in 1994. After being pulled over for doing 90 in his Ferrari, Dre failed the alcohol test. He was sentenced to five months in the slammer for violating probation.

P.S.: Shame on you too, Metallica! I seem to recall a home video that you released shortly after Cliff Burton died. For those of you who don't remember, it was a compilation of live tracks, recorded by bootleggers, as they captured the raw energy of the band, and the spirit of true Metallikatz. This was, of course, before Metallica decided that they should start making music videos. This was also before they decided that the true spirit of the band is really maintaining their multi-millionaire lifestyle. This was way before Cliff started rolling over in his grave. Remember that punk rock ethic? You seem to whenever it's time to do another covers album and it works out to be good for the "street cred". Don't tread on me.