The Chronic |
|
Released: December 15, 1992 Peak: 3 US, 18 RB, 43 UK, -- CN, 91 AU Sales (in millions): 5.7 US, 0.3 UK, 6.1 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rap |
Tracks:Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.
Total Running Time: 62:52 |
Rating: 4.245 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings)
Quotable:“One of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums of all time” – Steve Huey, All Music GuideAwards:(Click on award to learn more).
|
About the Album:“Without Dr. Dre, West Coast hip-hop wouldn’t be the same and the game would be eons worse for it.” PM “After helping write the book on gangsta rap with N.W.A, Andre ‘Dr. Dre’ Young started a smokin’ new chapter with his… solo debut.” BL We also have “The Chronic to thank for the burgeoning superstar careers of MCs like Snoop Doggy Dogg and 2Pac, as it effectively reinvented an entire generation of music.” PM “G-funk was vaulted into the mainstream, and gangsta rap became the prevalent mode of performance on the West Coast.” PM “With its stylish, sonically detailed production,” SH “The Chronic managed to be both dangerous and addictive at once.” BL On this album, we experience “Dre’s invention, not quite from scratch, of a sound that defined early ‘90s urban L.A. in the same way that Motown defined ‘60s Detroit…Dre delivers his verses with hypnotically intimidating ease,” TL “sampling everyone from Led Zeppelin to Jewel to Parliament-Funkadelic to Ohio Players and Gil Scott-Heron.” PM We also get “soulful backing vocals, and live instruments in the rolling basslines and whiny synths.” SH “Dr. Dre perfectly bridges the gap between old school and hip-hop, as one of the first artists to fully realize the commercial potential of rap.” RV “What’s impressive is that Dre crafts tighter singles than his inspiration George Clinton – he’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” SH with hits like “Let Me Ride and Nuthin’ But a G Thang [which] feel like dusk on a wide-open L.A. boulevard, full of possibility and menace.” TL The latter is “one of the greatest, most infectious jams in hip-hop history. RV “But none of The Chronic’s legions of imitators were as rich in personality, and that’s due in large part to Dre's monumental discovery, Snoop Doggy Dogg” SH “as his vocal foil.” BL “While it's debatable whether this was a net positive for the world, Snoop’s drawled-out Mississippi-ness (he was rap’s first country cousin) was just one more original element.” TL “Snoop livens up every track he touches, sometimes just by joining in the chorus – and if The Chronic has a flaw, it’s that his relative absence from the second half slows the momentum. There was nothing in rap quite like Snoop’s singsong, lazy drawl (as it’s invariably described), and since Dre’s true forte is the producer’s chair, Snoop is the signature voice. He sounds utterly unaffected by anything, no matter how extreme, which sets the tone for the album’s misogyny, homophobia, and violence. The Rodney King riots are unequivocally celebrated, but the war wasn’t just on the streets; Dre enlists his numerous guests in feuds with rivals and ex-bandmates.” SH “Yet The Chronic is first and foremost a party album, rooted…in ‘70s funk and soul.” SH “Its comic song intros and skits became prerequisites for rap albums seeking to duplicate its cinematic flow; plus, Snoop and Dre’s terrific chemistry ensures that even their foulest insults are cleverly turned.” SH “That framework makes The Chronic both unreal and all too real, a cartoon and a snapshot. No matter how controversial, it remains one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums of all time.” SH |
Resources and Related Links:
Other Related DMDB Pages:
First posted 3/20/2010; last updated 6/7/2024. |
No comments:
Post a Comment