#CLASSICFRIDAYS...

I'm currently zoned out and mentally zooted thanks to the good work of The Chronic...
"1, 2 , 3 and to the 4 Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre is at ya door..."

Remember hearing that bump out of the speakers of every drop top vehicle back in '93.  

Fresh off an N.W.A split-off and Ruthless Records departure (due to financial disagreements), Compton, California's own Dr. Dre went on to join forces with Suge Knight to form the record label that came to be known as, Death Row Records.  During its emergence in 1991, the label hosted artists such as a young Snoop Dogg, Daz, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg (Tha Dogg Pound).   This crew would become a major importance to the Dr.'s debut album, The Chronic.  


The Chronic, released on December 15th, 1992 was able to garner many accolades and critical appraise due to its superb production and Dre's ability to create a unique sound that can only be described as "fat, blunted Parliament-Funkadelic beats, soulful backing vocals, and live instruments in the rolling basslines and whiny synths" G-funk. 

Besides The Chronic's production and sound quality, the pinnacle importance would be granted to Snoop Dogg.  Snoop Doggy Dogg (known as during the time), made an impressive debut appearance alongside Dre on this project, displaying his laid-back, lazy flow jointed with witty yet clever wordplay.  His presence on these records helped in building a buzz that has been unmatched even with the recent anticipation of 50 Cent in '02 and Drake.  Unlike the latter two, Snoop had no mixtape out and was just freshly introduced on wax rhyming bar for bar with Dre first on the 1992 Deep Cover Soundtrack single "Deep Cover (187)" and to this aforementioned LP.  


The combination of the two artists created a collection of controversies for the LP.  Not only was the media criticizing its potent violence-misogynic-filled lyrics, but also the second single track and video "F*ck Wit Dre Day", which was aimed at Dre's former friend Eazy E.  


"Used to be my homey, used to be my ace now I wanna slap the taste out ya mouth..."


The track was called "creatively offensive" due to Dre & Snoop's chemistry in presenting clever phrases and rhymes. 


The importance for this signature classic is the fact that it is indeed a classic.  If you listen to most hip-hop albums released in the latter '90s and present day, they all have either samples from The Chronic or similar beat patterns (i.e. Ready to Die '94 - Notorious B.I.G, etc.). Musicially, the album was able to make a powerful impact because of its unique presentation of music, including the infamous installment of "skits", and sound quality.  It helped shine light on West Coast hip-hop which at the time wasn't really respected by other coasts, same as the recent Down South movement a couple years ago.  It took Dr. Dre's talents as a producer and the emergence of a young Snoop Dogg, Daz, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg to re-introduce a new musical movement to the masses and mainstream.  The Chronic was able to bring forth a new style and version to the (at the time) dated genre of gangsta-rap and helped in popularizing the genre further past the West Coast niche to throughout the country.   


Ladies and Gentlemen, The Chronic...

Compton, California...1992


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Compton and Long Beach