The Chronic
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| The Chronic | ||
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| Studio album by Dr. Dre | ||
| Released | December 15, 1992 | |
| Recorded | June 1992 at Death Row Studios; Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering; Mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios | |
| Genre | West Coast hip hop, Gangsta rap, G-funk |
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| Length | 62:52 | |
| Label | Death Row/Interscope | |
| Producer(s) | Dr. Dre | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Dre chronology | ||
| The Chronic (1992) |
Dr. Dre Presents…The Aftermath (1996) |
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The Chronic is the highly influential debut album from American rap producer Dr. Dre. It came out in 1992. It was a very important album in popularizing gangsta rap and West Coast hip hop. Its peak position was #3 on the Billboard Charts and went on to sell 4 million copies with chart-breaking hits. The album was named after a slang term for cannabis. The album cover itself is an homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers. It is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential albums of the 1990s.
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[edit] Overview
Having split from N.W.A., Dr. Dre's first solo album established him as one of the biggest rap stars of his era. The Chronic brought the genre now known as G-funk to the mainstream — a genre defined by slow bass beats and melodic synthesizers, topped by P-Funk samples, female vocals, and a laconic, laid-back lyrical delivery referred to as a "lazy drawl". The Chronic featured both subliminal and direct insults to Ruthless Records and its owner, Dr. Dre's former N.W.A. band-mate Eazy-E.
The album is also credited with launching the careers of several prominent West Coast hip hop artists, including Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and Warren G — all of whom went on to pursue successful commercial careers. The Chronic is widely regarded as the album that re-defined West Coast rap [1], demonstrated gangsta rap's commercial potential as a multi-platinum commodity, and established G-funk as the most popular sound in hip hop music for several years after its release, with Dr. Dre himself producing several major albums that drew heavily on his production style.[2][3] Furthermore, the album's success established Death Row Records as a dominant force in 1990s hip-hop.[2]
The album has been re-released twice, first as a remastered CD, then as a remastered DualDisc. The remastered CD was released in an "edited" version which scrambles most profanity and the most explicit drug content backwards. On the original version, most drug references are left uncensored and all violence is completely uncensored. An alternate edited version of "Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')" can be found on Dr. Dre's The Chronicles: Greatest Hits album. This album fixes some of the slippage of the original remastered edit. On the remastered disc, the editing will commonly leave in some profanity and then censor it other times. "Ass" and "bitch" are commonly censored sometimes, but not others.
The Chronic was included in VIBE's "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Vibe", ranked #137 in Rolling Stone's list of "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and was also listed in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the '90s". Furthermore, the album ranked #8 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s", and in 2005 it was ranked #35 in the "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005" list by the same magazine. It was even ranked #6 in VIBE's "Top 10 Rap Albums of All Time". The album was also retroactively given a score of 5 mics from The Source magazine, making it a classic album (it received 4.5 mics in its original review). In 1998, the album was selected as one of "The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums". On the Billboard Music Charts (North America) album lists, The Chronic hit #1 R&B/Hip-hop and #3 Pop. Also, some critics claim that The Chronic is the best produced hip-hop album of all time.
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Featuring | Samples/Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Chronic (Intro)" | 1:57 | Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 2 | "Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')" | 4:52 | Snoop Doggy Dogg, Jewell, RBX |
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| 3 | "Let Me Ride" | 4:21 | Jewell, Ruben, Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 4 | "The Day the Niggaz Took Over" | 4:33 | Dat Nigga Daz, RBX, Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 5 | "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" | 3:58 | Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 6 | "Deeez Nuuuts" | 5:06 | Dat Nigga Daz, Nate Dogg, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Warren G | |
| 7 | "Lil' Ghetto Boy" | 5:29 | Dat Nigga Daz, Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 8 | "A Nigga Witta Gun" | 3:52 | Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 9 | "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat" | 3:48 | RBX, Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 10 | "The $20 Sack Pyramid" (Skit) | 2:53 | Big Tittie Nickie, The D.O.C., Samara, Snoop Doggy Dogg | |
| 11 | "Lyrical Gangbang" | 4:04 | Kurupt, Lady of Rage, RBX |
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| 12 | "High Powered" | 2:44 | Dat Nigga Daz, Lady of Rage, RBX |
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| 13 | "The Doctor's Office" (Skit) | 1:04 | Jewell, Lady of Rage | |
| 14 | "Stranded on Death Row" | 4:47 | Bushwick Bill, Kurupt, Lady of Rage, RBX, Snoop Doggy Dogg |
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| 15 | "The Roach (Outro)" | 4:36 | Dat Nigga Daz, Emmage, Jewell, Lady of Rage, RBX |
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| 16 | "Bitches Ain't Shit" | 4:48 | Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Jewell |
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[edit] Credits
- Dr. Dre - Vocals, Keyboards, Producer, Drum Programming, Mixing
- Lady of Rage - Vocals
- Bushwick Bill (credited as "Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin the Barbarian Mother Funky Stay High Dollar Billstir") - Vocals
- Snoop Doggy Dogg - Performer
- Warren G - Vocals
- The D.O.C. - Cowriter
- RBX - Vocals
- Nate Dogg - Vocals
- Dat Nigga Daz - Performer, Drum Programming
- Kurupt - Vocals
- GM Grimm - Ghostwriter
- Katisse Buckingham - Flute, Saxophone
- Emmage - Vocals
- Bernie Grundman - Mastering
- Greg Royal - Mixing
- Colin Wolfe - Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Keyboard Bass
- Daniel Jordan - Photography
- Cheron Moore - Drums
- Eric Borders - Guitar
- Chris Clairmont - Guitar
- Justin Reinhardt - Keyboards
- Chris "The Glove" Taylor - Mixing, Mixing Assistant
- Suge Knight - Executive Producer
- Willie Will - Mixing, Mixing Assistant
- Kimberly Holt - Artwork, Art Direction, Design
- Kimberly Brown - Project Coordinator
- BJ "Tha Mocking Bird" - Performer
- Matthew McDaniels - Provided L.A Riot scenes
- John McClain - A&R Director
- Noor - Vocals
[edit] Chart and singles history
Chart positions from Billboard magazine (North America).
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Peak position ( # ) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | US Top 200 | #3 |
| 1993 | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
| 1993 | UK album chart | 43 |
[edit] Singles
| Single cover | Single information |
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"Nuthin' but a "G" Thang"
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"Dre Day"
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"Let Me Ride" was also released as a 12" promotional single.
| Name | Chart (1993) | Peak position ( # ) |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 34 | |
| U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 34 | |
| U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 | 21 | |
| U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 45 | |
| U.S. Hot Rap Singles | 3 |
[edit] Music sample
- Nuthin' But a "G" Thang (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Short sample of Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang, by Dr. Dre (ft. Snoop Doggy Dogg), from his 1992 album The Chronic. This sample shows Dr. Dre's fairly straightforward rapping technique, and his classic G-funk production style.
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] References
| Dr. Dre |
|---|
| Discography |
| Albums |
| Solo albums: The Chronic • 2001 • Detox |
| N.W.A. albums: N.W.A. and the Posse • Straight Outta Compton • 100 Miles and Runnin' • Efil4zaggin |
| Singles |
| Mainstream singles: "Deep Cover" • "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" • "Fuck Wit Dre Day" • "Let Me Ride" • "Lil Ghetto Boy" • "Natural Born Killaz" • "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" • "Been There, Done That" • "East Coast/West Coast Killas" • "Zoom" • "Fuck You" • "Still D.R.E." • "Forgot About Dre" • "The Next Episode" • "Put It On Me" • "Bad Intentions" • "The Wash" |
| Featured songs: "Funky Flute" • "We're All In The Same Gang" • "California Love" • "No Diggity" • "Puppet Master" • "Ghetto Fabulous" • "Guilty Conscience" • "U Know" • "Chin Check" • "Hello" • "Just Be A Man About It" • "Fast Lane" • "The Knoc" • "Symphony In X Major" • "Encore" • "Imagine" |
| Related articles |
| Ruthless • Death Row • Interscope • Aftermath • Hood Surgeon • World Class Wreckin' Cru • N.W.A. (Krazy Dee • Arabian Prince • The D.O.C. • DJ Yella • MC Ren • Ice Cube • Eazy-E) • Snoop Dogg • Mel-Man • Eminem • 50 Cent • The Game • Bishop Lamont |
