Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. turns forty years old today—incredible, if you remember what it was like to first hear his dulcet, melodic voice bouncing over the spine-tingling beat Dr. Dre made for the titular song of the 1992 Laurence Fishburne/Jeff Goldblum vehicle Deep Cover. Snoop Doggy Dogg, as he was known back then, already seemed like an ageless entity. And he's stayed seeming that way. (Even after he dropped the "Doggy" in his name in the mid-90s.) If he is not the greatest or most important figure in the history of rap, he is probably the most famous and beloved worldwide. The way he reaches his arm around Barbara Walters in the above clip from a 2008 appearance on "The View" pretty much tells you everything you need to know about why this is. READ MORE

Of course we wish the people of Sudan good luck in this week's referendum to decide whether or not the southern part of the country secedes to become its own nation. A vote for independence seems likely. While there's much discussion about what the new country's name should be, a national anthem has already been written and recorded. It's called "Land of Cush," a reference to a Biblical kingdom in the area. Unfortunately, it sucks. Before anything becomes official, they should talk to Dr. Dre about the possibility of using his song. READ MORE

This is big big news in rap. It's a new song from Dr. Dre, who is pretty much inarguably the greatest producer in the music's history. It's also, reportedly, an advance single from Dre's third solo album, Detox, a project rap fans have been waiting for, have know the title of, for nearly ten years now. READ MORE

Fans of Dr. Dre or Erykah Badu will recognize the slinky guitar riff from the young Mississippian rapper Big Krit's latest (it's a sample from Soul Mann and the Brothers' cover of "Bumpy's Lament" from Isaac Hayes' soundtrack to Shaft.) But to me the coolest thing about this song is the perspective: Krit rhymes in the persona of a pot-smoking, X-box-playing, Cribs-watching loser. One who has dreams of glory and riches like we're used to, but one who, at the end of the song, is clearly not going anywhere good. And pretty harshly called out for it. There's a lot of Notorious B.I.G. here. In an impressive way. READ MORE

This seems to not quite qualify as a great stroke of genius. Producer and former rapper Warren G tells XXL that he came up with the name for his step-brother Dr. Dre's classic 1999 album Chronic 2001-which was a follow-up to Dre's 1992 debut, The Chronic. "We actually met at the Beverly Hills Hotel one night, and-I swear to God-he was trying to figure out what to call the album, and I actually said, 'How about Chronic 2001?' Right there at the Beverly Hills Hotel-we sat there, in the bungalows, and named it The Chronic 2001... Dre probably don't remember that shit, but I said, 'Chronic 2001... We are The Chronic. Why change it and name it something else when you can name it Chronic 2001? Because it's the second one, and it's in the new millennium. Let's start it up and hit them again with it!'" Okay. In the '90s, there were so many rap albums coming out with future-year-based titles that hip-hop magazines were doing stories about the phenomenon. How about a quick list? READ MORE