The Watcher (song)

"The Watcher" is a song by American hip hop musician Dr. Dre from his second studio album 2001. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album in France on February 27, 2001. "The Watcher" features vocals from rappers Eminem 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 bandmate Eazy-E & his death.

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, 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

 * CD single (France)

Sequel
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 Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Rakim 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 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.".