The LA legends released ‘Outta Da Blue’ in November before the album dropped on December 13. Now it’s been found that the two hip hop stars sourced a sample from the song ‘Watermelon Fantasy’, released by the charity Daylight Studio in 2018.

The sampled track was performed by three artists with learning disabilities and produced by the founder of Daylight Studio and one of its trustees. Daylight is a day centre for adults with learning disabilities, run by Islington Council.

‘Watermelon Fantasy’ is an abstract piece, featuring industrial synths, booming 808’s, jolty percussion rhythms and echoey vocals. Dre and Snoop’s reworking loops part of the song with some added funky drums beneath it.

Tina Bruins, one of the featured artists on the original, told the Guardian: “I was shocked. I remember being like: ‘Whaaaaaat?’ I didn’t know it was going to be released by Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. I thought no, I thought it was a fantasy.”

She added that “It was a good shock because it sort of proves I make good music. I’m proud of [‘Watermelon Fantasy’] because Snoop Dogg took it over.”

Jack Daley, a recording engineer, and Oliver Price, a music producer and songwriter, created the track with Tina Bruins, Mandy Priddice and Cedrick Letshou Olembo while hosting music sessions at the day centre. The proceeds from the collaboration are to be split equally by the three artists, with production shares being donated back to the Daylight charity.

Daley was happy to be sampled by Dre, telling The Guardian “This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m pretty certain I can say that this year has been the best year of my life because of it.”

Price said “I still can’t believe it’s a real thing. It sort of feels divinely ordained because the song is called ‘Outta Da Blue’ and it came out of the blue and it’s like we’re living in a watermelon fantasy. It’s all quite funny really.”

Since its November release, ‘Outta Da Blue’ has been featured in the trailer for Netflix’s upcoming film Back In Action featuring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, American football game Madden NFL 25, and in an Amazon Music Live series where Snoop performs hits from his extensive discography.

‘Missionary’, the new collab album from the California duo has featured a wide array of samples, plucking material from jazz artists like Ahmad Jamal, soul from The Stylistics, and even a few rock samples from Sting, Pink Floyd and Tom Petty.

All creators of ‘Watermelon Fantasy‘ would like to do more collabs with local and international artists using Daylight Studio’s music. Price hopes “maybe this won’t be the last sample. It would be awesome if Kendrick Lamar or Drake or someone would use it. You just don’t know.”

Dre and Snoops new album has received generally favourable reviews – while Slant Magazine branded its maximalist production as “sonic overindulgence” that sounds “ultimately uninspired”, The Independent complimented it as “relentlessly interesting” and praised Snoop’s inspired performance. You can listen to the full album here.

After decades of mutual collaborations, Garbology is Aesop Rock’s and Blockhead’s first full-length project together. While Blockhead produced much of Aesop Rock’s sophomore album Float, all the way back in 2000, this is their first official project as co-collaborators, nicely capping off a careers worth of reciprocal involvement.

In explaining the name and nature of the project, Aesop states: “Garbology is defined as the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns”, “I find a lot of parallels between that and the idea of picking up the pieces after a loss or period of intense unrest, and seeing what’s really there.” 

The study of garbology was initially spearheaded by American archeologist William Rathje, though the term ‘garbology’ itself was invented by A. J. Weberman after rummaging through the waste of folk legend Bob Dylan. This study has become much more important over the years due to climate concerns. Aesop additionally uses this as a metaphor for sampling: “Furthermore — the idea of digging through old, often neglected music from another time with an ear tuned for taking in that data in a different way than your average listener would is exactly what Block does. Go through the information and see what you find.”

To match the albums theme, it is being released on physical formats as “a 100% recycled compound comprised of trimmed flash and leftovers from other color vinyl pressings”, according to Stereogum.

Garbology came about after a creative rut experienced by Aesop, after he had lost a close friend. “The world got real weird during those months,” recalls Aesop. “I knew at some point I had to get back to making something. Make a beat. Draw a picture. Write. Just go.” After embarking on a quest to write again, it was only natural for Aesop to hit up Blockhead for some beats, and it was seemingly within no time that an albums worth of material had accumulated through their efforts.

The project has recieved acclaim since its release, with Pop Matters writing “Garbology is an album of rituals and graveyards, of mixed messages and lost communications, and it manages to walk a mirror-thin line between relatable and inscrutable. In short, it feels like a great Aesop Rock album.” 

Listen to the album Garbology below: