No, this time it’s not another track from the urban legend that is Detox. Along with “working” on the upcoming “album” Dre has been busy getting his business right outside of the music.
Partnering up with Hewlett-Packard, the engine running behind Aftermath Records will assist the company in competition against Apple and its brand of laptops which have been dominating in retail.
As with his headphones, HP plans to incorporate the sound scheme of the producer. Being dubbed the “Mac Killer”, the Dr. Dre X HP Envy will have a sleek design and will be the first laptop to have an exclusive sound system that will be designed by Dre’s sound engineers, Beats Audio.
With the help of the West Coast artist, the laptop line will be able to develop a high performance audio software solution as it is developed by the same people that had a hand in creating tracks by the artist.
Setting the bar high for expectations from fans, the laptop will be available to stores on October 18 and will compete with Mac, in terms of price, starting at $1,699.
This will not be the first time that Dre has been used as a marketing tool to promote product. This year, he was also featured in a commercial for Dr. Pepper as he endorsed the cola with an exclusive track from his upcoming release.
Hewlett-Packard is known for its work of integrating the urban community to help in promotion for its product. They have used the appeal of people such as Serena Williams and rapper Talib Kweli in their marketing.
Going for the fences, they tapped the big homie Jay-Z for an ad during the NBA Finals when HP was beginning their climb back to the top to be known as the best personal computer to have. Incorporating the business and music aspects of Jay’s life, their marketing campaign put a red dot in the center of the Black population.
