Dr. Dre has dictated the pace of change in West Coast rap more than any other single figure. As DJ/producer for N.W.A., he ushered in a whole new era in rap by adapting the raw sonics of Public Enemy & Boogie Down Productions to the ethos of L.A.'s youth gangs. After the group's split, he expanded his style to include eerie P-Funk synths on his solo releases and those of prot‚g‚ Snoop Dogg. The resulting "G-Funk" sound influenced many other West Coast rap artists. In the late 1990s, Dre found another notable prot‚g‚, a promising young lyricist from Detroit named Eminem.
Track Listing
MP3 Downloads
DISC 1 for The Chronic (CD) Album
By Dr. Dre (Artist)
Death Row Records. Digitally remastered and repackaged in jewel box in slipcase. Enhanced portion features the classic video Dre Day. 2001 reissue.
Product Notes
1989''s Straight Outta Compton, by Dre''s previous outfit N.W.A., may have shined the public spotlight on the genre, but The Chronic legitimized it. That is not to say that Snoop Doggy Dogg (The Chronic marks his debut) and Dre''s raps are for everyone; the subject matter is the sex, drugs, violence, and politics of South Central Los Angeles, and the phrasing is explicit, to say the least. But The Chronic''s real genius is the music. By breeding hip-hop, jazz (studio instrumentation includes saxophones and flutes), funk, and soul (sampled artists include Parliament, Donny Hathaway, and Isaac Hayes), Dre creates downright intoxicating grooves. If you can''t feel The Chronic pulsating through your veins, maybe your heart''s not pumping. --Bill Crandall
1989''s Straight Outta Compton, by Dre''s previous outfit N.W.A., may have shined the public spotlight on the genre, but The Chronic legitimized it. That is not to say that Snoop Doggy Dogg (The Chronic marks his debut) and Dre''s raps are for everyone; the subject matter is the sex, drugs, violence, and politics of South Central Los Angeles, and the phrasing is explicit, to say the least. But The Chronic''s real genius is the music. By breeding hip-hop, jazz (studio instrumentation includes saxophones and flutes), funk, and soul (sampled artists include Parliament, Donny Hathaway, and Isaac Hayes), Dre creates downright intoxicating grooves. If you can''t feel The Chronic pulsating through your veins, maybe your heart''s not pumping. --Bill Crandall
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