Dr. Dre released the landmark album “The Chronic” today in 1992. It was Dre’s first solo album after leaving NWA and it represented a stylistic change not only for Dre but for all of hip hop music. “The Chronic” defined and codified the G-Funk style, marked by a slower beat and layers of funk punctuated with synthesizers, that would soon dominate rap.
Dre reached deeply into 1970s funk for the backbone of this album, using samples from the Ohio Players, Parliament, Funkadelic, James Brown, Leon Haywood and Graham Central Station (and Led Zeppelin). The silky, lilting rhyming of guest star Snoop Dogg and smooth singing of Nate Dogg further added to the laid back vibe of the record. That vibe was further reinforced by the title of the album, a reference to good marijuana, and the cover of the album, an homage to Zig Zag rolling papers.
“The Chronic” sold over five million copies, won a Grammy and is widely recognized as one of the most important hip hop albums ever created. In a time when “gangster” rap was far from mainstream, “The Chronic” made it to #3 on the album chart and #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop chart. “The Chronic” marked the return of The D.O.C., launched the careers of Warren G and Nate Dogg and made a star out of Snoop Dogg, whose first album wouldn’t even be released for another eleven months.
Let Me Ride:
Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang:
Lil’ Ghetto Boy:
