The Chronic is the solo debut album of American hip-hop artist Dr. Dre, released December 15, 1992. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood. The album is named after a slang term for high-grade marijuana, and its cover is an homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers. It was recorded by Dr. Dre following his departure from hip hop group N.W.A and its label Ruthless Records over a financial dispute, and consequently features both subtle and direct insults at Ruthless and its owner, former N.W.A-member Eazy-E. Although a solo album, it features many appearances by Snoop Dogg, who used the album as a launch pad for his own solo career.
The discography of American record producer, sound engineer, and rapper Dr. Dre consists of three studio albums, forty-two singles, (including twenty-four as a featured artist), two compilation album, one soundtrack album, and twenty-one music videos.
The Chronic Dr Dre Album Download Zip
Dr. Dre began his rap career in the World Class Wreckin' Cru in the mid-1980s and performed with the group N.W.A from 1987 to 1991. In 1992, Dr. Dre launched his solo career with the collaborative single with Snoop Dogg "Deep Cover" and the album The Chronic under Death Row Records.[1] The Chronic was certified triple platinum in the United States.[2] Its singles "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" and "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" both made the top ten spots of the American Billboard Hot 100 chart; "Let Me Ride" reached number three on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.[3] Dr. Dre also began his career as a record producer, with his first productions including Snoop Dogg's 1993 debut album Doggystyle and the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim. He performed in guest spots for other artists in Ice Cube's "Natural Born Killaz" and 2Pac's "California Love". Dr. Dre's 1995 single "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" was another top ten hit and was featured in the soundtrack to the film Friday. In 1996, Dr. Dre left Death Row to form his own record label Aftermath Entertainment and released a compilation Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath with his single "Been There, Done That" and other tracks from artists newly signed to Aftermath.[1]
In 1999, Dr. Dre released his second studio album 2001. This album went six times platinum in the US[2] and five times platinum in Canada (500,000 units). Singles "Forgot About Dre" and "The Next Episode" reached the top ten spots of the Hot Rap Tracks chart.[3] As the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment, Dr. Dre focused on producing for other artists during the 2000s and appeared on singles by Eminem, including "Encore" in 2004 and "Crack a Bottle" in 2009. Dr. Dre began recording his cancelled album Detox in 2003,[4] and intended it to be his final album.[5]
In 2014, Aftermath producer Dawaun Parker revealed that Dr. Dre was working on a new album, but that it would not be titled Detox and he had scrapped that title "a couple [of] years ago".[6] The album's title was eventually announced as Compton, and acts as the soundtrack to the N.W.A biographical film Straight Outta Compton. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard Top 200,[7] and number one in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The Chronic is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.[3]
The Chronic was Dr. Dre's first solo album after he departed the hip hop group N.W.A and its label Ruthless Records over a financial dispute. It includes insults towards Ruthless and its owner, the former N.W.A member Eazy-E. It features many appearances by then-emerging American rapper Snoop Dogg, who used the album as a launch pad for his own solo career. The title derives from a slang term for high-grade cannabis, and its cover is an homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers.
Dr. Dre's production popularized the G-funk subgenre within gangsta rap. The Chronic has been widely regarded as one of the most important and influential albums of the 1990s and one of the best-produced hip hop albums.[9][10][11] In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[12]
The album's lyrics caused some controversy, as the subject matter included sexism and violent representations. It was noted that the album was a "frightening amalgam of inner-city street gangs that includes misogynist sexual politics and violent revenge scenarios".Most of the N.W.A members were addressed on the album; Eazy-E and Ice Cube were dissed on the second single "Fuck Wit Dre Day", while MC Ren however was shouted out on the album's intro.[21] Dr. Dre's dissing of former bandmate, Eazy-E, resulted in vicious lyrics, which were mainly aimed at offending his enemy with homosexual implications, although it was noted to have "a spirited cleverness in the phrasing and rhymes; in other words, the song is offensive, but it's creatively offensive".[22]
Snoop Dogg, who had a significant role on the album, was praised for his lyrics and flow, and it was mentioned that "Coupled with his inventive rhymes, Snoop's distinctive style made him a superstar before he'd even released a recording of his own"[23] and that his involvement was as important to the album's success as its production.[24] Touré of The New York Times remarks that "While Snoop delivers rhymes delicately, the content is anything but. Growing up poor, often surrounded by violence, and having served six months in the Wayside County jail outside of Los Angeles (for cocaine possession) gave Snoop Dogg experiences upon which he draws."[25] Snoop Dogg later commented on the "reality" of his lyrics, stating "My raps are incidents where either I saw it happen to one of my close homies or I know about it from just being in the ghetto. I can't rap about something I don't know. You'll never hear me rapping about no bachelor's degree. It's only what I know and that's that street life. It's all everyday life, reality."[25]
In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Havelock Nelson wrote that the album "drops raw realism and pays tribute to hip-hop virtuosity."[21] Entertainment Weekly said that it "storms with rage, strolls with confidence, and reverberates with a social realism that's often ugly and horrifying".[35] Matty C of The Source claimed that Snoop Dogg's "Slick Rick-esque style" produces "new ground for West Coast MCs" and that the album is "an innovative and progressive hip-hop package that must not be missed."[37] Edna Gundersen of USA Today found "Dre's prowess as beat-master and street preacher" to be "undeniable".[38] Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times wrote that, although the rappers lack "quick wit" and "rhythmic virtuosity", Dre's artistry is "on a par with Phil Spector's or Brian Wilson's." Gold argued that, because Dre recreates rather than samples beats and instrumental work, the finished album's fidelity is not inflected by that of "scratchy R&B records that have been played a million times", unlike productions from East Coast hip hop.[36]
In a retrospective piece, Jon Pareles from The New York Times said that The Chronic and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle "made the gangsta life sound like a party occasionally interrupted by gunplay".[17] AllMusic's Steve Huey compared Dr. Dre to his inspiration, George Clinton, stating "Dre's just as effortlessly funky, and he has a better feel for a hook, a knack that improbably landed gangsta rap on the pop charts".[10] Rhapsody writer Brolin Winning named the album as "an untouchable masterpiece of California Gangsta Rap" and that it had "track after track of G-Funk gems".[43] In Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was noted that "Dre funked up the rhymes with a smooth bass-heavy production style and the laid-back delivery of then-unknown rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg."[44] Time magazine's Josh Tyrangiel states that Dr. Dre created "a sound that defined early 90s urban L.A. in the same way that Motown defined 60s Detroit".[33] Laura Sinagra, writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), said that The Chronic "features system-busting Funkadelic beats designed to rumble your woofer while the matter-of-fact violence of the lyrics blows your smoke-filled mind".[45]
In 1994, "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" and "Let Me Ride" were nominated at the 36th Grammy Awards, with the latter winning Best Rap Solo Performance for Dr. Dre.[32] That year, readers of Hip Hop Connection voted it the fourth best album of all time, leading the magazine to speculate, "In a few years' time, it could even be remembered as the best rap album of all time."[53]
As of 2015, the album has sold 5.7 million copies in the United States,[4] and was certified Triple Platinum by RIAA on November 3, 1993.[61] It is Dr. Dre's second-bestselling album, as his follow-up album, 2001, was certified sextuple Platinum.[62] The album first appeared on music charts in 1993, peaking on the Billboard 200 at number three, and peaking on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at number one.[63] The Chronic spent eight months in the Billboard Top 10.[7] The album's three singles became top ten Billboard singles.[8] "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number one on both the Hot Rap Singles and Hot R&B Singles charts.[8] "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" became a top ten single on four different charts, including the Hot R&B Singles (number 6) and the Hot 100 (number 8).[8] 2ff7e9595c