The Watcher (song)

"The Watcher"
Single by Dr. Dre
from the album 2001
Released	February 27, 2001 (2001-02-27)
Recorded	1999
Studio	Larrabee (Hollywood) Dre's Crib (Los Angeles)
Genre	West Coast hip hop gangsta rap
Length	3:26
Label	Aftermath Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Andre Young Marshall Mathers
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre Mel-Man
Dr. Dre singles chronology
"Hello" (2000) "The Watcher" (2001) "Bad Intentions" (2001)
Eminem singles chronology
"Stan" (2000) "The Watcher" (2001) "Rock City" (2002)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Watcher"	Andre Young Marshall Mathers	Dr. Dre Mel-Man	3:26
2.	"Bad Guys Always Die" (with Eminem)	Young Mathers	Dr. Dre	4:38
Total length:				8:04

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
France (SNEP) [2]	47

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 (2002-11-12)
Recorded	July 2002
Genre	Hip hop
Length	5:55
Label	Roc-A-Fella Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Shawn Carter Andre Young William Griffin, Jr. Scott Storch
Producer(s)	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]

References

1. "The Watcher: Dr. Dre, Eminem" (in French). Amazon (FRA). Retrieved October 14, 2013.
2. "Dr. Dre – The Watcher" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
3. "New Zealand single certifications – Dr. Dre – The Watcher". Radioscope. Retrieved January 22, 2025.Type The Watcher in the "Search:" field.
4. "British single certifications – Dr Dre – The Watcher". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved December 8, 2023.
5. JAY-Z (Ft. Dr. Dre, Rakim & Truth Hurts) – The Watcher 2 , retrieved November 14, 2022