The Doctor is in with release of Chronic 2001
By BRIAN KORNMANN
Scene Music Critic
Dr. Dre is one of the most influential individuals in rap music today, however over the last few years there hasn't been much heard from him. Dr. Dre (a.k.a. Andre Young) has always been known within the rap industry as a genius music producer, but with the debut of NWA Dre rose to prominence as a rapper.
Labeled the "Most Dangerous Band In America" by Tipper Gore's rightwing Parents Music Resource Center, NWA achieved incredible success while it was together. Besides selling millions of albums, NWA ws one of the first rap groups to achieve great success within white America. In addition, it brought much needed attention to the troubles that exist within the inner-cities of America.
The early '90s saw the end of NWA and the subsequent rise of Dr. Dre as a solo artist. Dre's solo career peaked with the 1992 release of The Chronic. Although widely criticized for its harsh description of women and glorification of violence, the album was an instant success. It combined the hard-edged lyrics of NWA and the P-Funk beats of Dr. Dre and introduced the world to Snoop Doggy Dogg. Snoop went on to great success after the album, while Dr. Dre seemed to slowly fade away.
In 1996 Dr. Dre released Aftermath in an attempt to remove his former "gangster rapper" image. Although the album was musically more diverse than The Chronic, it did not grab listeners' attention and make them want to listen like The Chronic did. As such, the album met bad reviews and poor sales.
That was the last anyone really heard from Dr. Dre until this summer. In the midst of the No-Limit and Wu-Tang era of rap, Dr. Dre recently found fame again with the discovery of Eminem. Dre returned to his former gangster rap style as the producer of Eminem's album, Slim Shady.
Dre followed up on this success with the highly anticipated release of The Chronic 2001. Much like the first Chronic album, this album is filled with obscene lyrics and glorifies violence to no end. And much like the original Chronic, this album is a must-own..
The album features the reunion of Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg. Eminem, MC Ren, Hittman and Kurupt appear multiple times on the album as well, adding to its depth. Dre varies from his usual deep bass-heavy synthesizer beats several times on this album with great success. The most notable of these songs is "Murder Ink," which features a sped up sample of the theme song from the Halloween horror series.
The album is strong from beginning to end, but a few tracks stand out as great even upon a first listen. "D.R.E." (Dre and Snoop), "What's the Difference" (Dre, Eminem and Xzibit), "Forgot About Dre" (Dre and Eminem), and "Some L.A. N****z" (Dre, Mc Ren, Time Bomb and Kokane) are all excellent. The album will probably be considered offensive by many, and there is good reason for that. However, fans of rap music — particularly of NWA, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Eminem — will find this album a must-own.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, November 23, 1999
