Like we always do about this time
Symbolizes dope, take a toke, but don't choke
If you do, you'll have no clue
On what me and my homey Snoop Dogg came to do
It's like this, and like that, and like this, and uh
It's like that, and like this, and like that, and uh
It's like this, and who gives a fuck about those?
So just chill, 'til the next episode
The Chronic is the debut solo studio album recorded by Hip-Hop rapper/producer Dr. Dre, and his first album after departing the rap group N.W.A and its label Ruthless Records over a financial dispute. It was released through Death Row Records in the United States, and Interscope Records globally, on December 15, 1992.
With the end of N.W.A, Dr. Dre connected with record executive Suge Knight to create the label Death Row Records. With his first solo effort, he wanted to carve out a new hip-hop sound he called G-Funk, which has been described as a combination of soulful backing vocals, funkadelic beats, synthesizers and rolling bass lines. Naturally, the lyrics involved would be controversial, with claims of misogyny and gratuitous violence thrown about, but that was already commonplace in connection with the "Attitude" alum. The title of the album was derived from a slang term for high-grade cannabis, and its iconic cover is an homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers.
In spite of the controversies, the critical acclaim for The Chronic was nigh-universal. It got an A+ from Entertainment Weekly, and 4 out of 5 stars from Rolling Stone, with their Album Guide raising it to 5 stars. Steve Huey of AllMusic (who gave the album another 5-star rating) stated that Dr. Dre's production was as "impeccable as ever" on the album, while Jon Pareles of The New York Times hailed that Dre and his protége Snoop Doggy Dogg, featured extensively on the album, had "decisively expanded the hip-hop audience into the suburbs". In addition to Snoop Dogg — who would release his own successful debut album, Doggystyle, the next year — the entire Death Row roster would see career launches from this album, including Warren G, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, and Daz Dillinger.
The album also served as a definitive launchpad for the G-funk sound to become not only a prominent subgenre within Gangsta Rap but perhaps the most popular sound in rap music for years to come. It is additionally credited for re-defining West Coast hip hop by demonstrating the commercial viability of gangsta rap in the mainstream, done in part by its success helping to establish Death Row Records as a dominant force in 1990s hip-hop.
Commercially, the album went triple Platinum within a year, and has sold nearly 6 million copies total in the United States. It also went Gold in the United Kingdom, falling just a few thousand copies short of Platinum there. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and reached #6 on the year-end Billboard 200 for 1993.
The album spawned three singles: "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thing", "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", and "Let Me Ride". All three were hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with "G" peaking at #2 on the pop chart, and topping the Billboard Rap chart.
The Chronic would see multiple nominations at the 36th Grammy Awards, with "Let Me Ride" winning Best Rap Solo Performance for Dre. It was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2019.
Tracklist
- "The Chronic" (Intro) (1:57)
- "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" (4:52)
- "Let Me Ride" (4:21)
- "The Day the Niggaz Took Over" (4:33)
- "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thing" (3:58)
- "Deeez Nuuuts" (5:06)
- "Lil' Ghetto Boy" (5:27)
- "A Nigga Witta Gun" (3:52)
- "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat" (3:48)
- "The $20 Sack Pyramid" (Skit) (2:53)
- "Lyrical Gangbang" (4:04)
- "High Powered" (2:44)
- "The Doctor's Office" (Skit) (1:04)
- "Stranded on Death Row" (4:47)
- "The Roach" (The Chronic Outro) (4:36)
- "Bitches Ain't Shit" (4:48)note
"On a tropin' spree, a straight G":
- Battle Rapping: After "No Vaseline", Dre had recorded "Fuck With Dre Day" aimed at nearly everyone who dissed or wronged him (see below)... except Ice Cube, who Dre knew could still torch him on record, even with Snoop as a ghostwriter. Because of that, any references to Ice Cube on the album didn't mention him by name.
- The Diss Track: "Fuck wit Dre Day" is a diss track aimed at former NWA compatriots Eazy-E and Ice Cube, and east coast rappers Luke Campbell and Tim Dog. Eazy would respond with a whole EP of disses, while Cube and Dre were on friendlier terms by the time the song was released as a single, with Cube even appearing in the video for "Let Me Ride".
- Finger on Lips: In the MTV edit/radio version of "Nuthin' but a G Thang," at the line "You know and I know/I'll throw some old funky shit," the "shit" is replaced with Snoop Dogg putting a finger to his lips and saying "Shhhhhh!"
- G-Funk: While not the earliest example, the album as a whole is undeniably the
Genre Popularizer. - Hidden Track: "Bitches Ain't Shit" was originally this, but later pressings put it on the tracklist after it grew in popularity.
- Insult Backfire: The insults to Eazy-E were plentiful across the entire album, most notoriously on "Fuck wit Dre Day". But, as Eazy himself would later point out, "'Dre Day' only meant Eazy's payday!". Thanks to winning a lawsuit over Dre violating his Ruthless contract via forming Death Row, Eazy was entitled to 20% of any record Dre touched at Death Row for six years, which netted him a nice $1.5 million
just from the sales of The Chronic and its diss records. - Ode to Intoxication: Given it's title, most of the album is a celebration of getting high on weed.
- Packaged as Other Medium: The album cover is designed to resemble a box of rolling papers.
- Special Guest: Most of Death Row's charter roster debuted on this album (Jewell, Daz, Nate Dogg, etc.), but Snoop Dogg is the standout, appearing on almost the entire album.
- Title Track: "The Chronic", which is also helpfully labeled on the tracklist as the "intro".
