10th Anniversary Of Dr. Dre's "Chronic 2001" Album

Posted over 2 years ago

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Dr. Dre

November 16th marked the 10 year anniversary of the release of Dr. Dre's "Chronic 2001" album. Over the last decade the LP has reached classic status amongst hip hop fans, and of course fueled the anticipation for the follow up album "Detox", that has yet to surface. Let's take a look back on Dre's sophomore opus....

The Setup

After Dr. Dre chose to leave the dominant Death Row Records to create Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, the following projects he involved himself with failed to garner the type of praise typically reserved for a Dre production. "Dr. Dre Presents The Aftermath", a compilation album introducing new artists under Dre's wing, was commercially successful but really didn't live up to expectations of either fans or critics. One year later in 1997, Dre took the reigns and executive produced a debut album from the supergroup "The Firm" (Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ & Nature) which was also considered somewhat of a disappointment. More than two years after Dre's exit from Death Row Records, his lone successful project was the monster success of Eminem and his "Slim Shady LP". The meteoric rise of Eminem created great momentum for Dre as far as the public was concerned and also helped Dre win over an entirely new audience (the TRL crowd), which could only be described as a commercial behemoth at the time.

The Album

"For the last couple of years, there's been a lot of talk out on the streets about whether or not I can still hold my own, whether or not I'm still good at producing. That was the ultimate motivation for me. Magazines, word of mouth and rap tabloids were saying I didn't have it any more. What more do I need to do? How many platinum records have I made? O.K., here's the album -- now what do you have to say?" - Dr. Dre on his motivation this album

"2001", the official politically correct title of the album, (but referred to as "The Chronic 2001" by hip hop fans & Dre himself) could almost be described as "couture" gangsta rap. On the surface it can easily be mixed in with run of the mill "guns & bitches" albums that litter the hip hop landscape. However, if you know your hip hop then you also know Dre brings an entirely new level of musicianship to the genre. Although Dre didn't re-invent the wheel as far as production goes on this album, he did expand upon the G-Funk style that he helped create.

2001 follows much of the same formula as The Chronic, including pairing up Dre & Snoop on the first single. It's hard to hear that duo on "Still D.R.E." and not think of "Ain't Nothin But A G Thang". Or how about hearing Nate Dogg on "Xxplosive" or "The Next Episode" and not think of "Deez Nuuuts", it's virtually impossible. Eminem, Hittman, Xzibit and Devin The Dude helped create a fresh face and helped the album not seemed like a failed attempt to re-create The Chronic. Aside from the aforementioned "Still D.R.E." the doctor uses two more songs (The Watcher & Forgot About Dre) to lash out at critics as if to say "How DARE you mutherfuckers doubt me", and if this album didn't turn out so damned good it just might have seemed like he was whining. Sonically speaking 2001 is really an expansion of the sound Dre started with The Chronic, and matured on Snoop's Doggystyle LP.

The Reaction

Although 2001 did garner praise from most critics and fans right out of the gate, the true appreciation was a slow build over the months and years since it hit the street. Sure, the album sold zillions of copies and was a huge commercial success, but it took years for fans to really include it in the coveted "is it a classic?" argument. Songs that surely turned the collective stomachs of critics like "Xxplosive" have grown into timeless rap classics. "Let's Get High" would and could not be played anywhere near TV airwaves, yet can still ignite the crowd at any club or party in the country. We're ten years removed from the release of this album and the music has not even begun to grow old. It didn't cater to any of rap's trends at the time in the late 90s, and therefore does not sound as dated as other LP's in the same time period. Seriously, throw on an album from the heydey of No Limit Records or Cash Money and you'll see what I'm talking about.

The Future

Just a couple of years after the release of this album Dr. Dre announced "Detox", which would be his last solo album before riding off into the sunset. I don't need to go into detail about the incredible anticipation that surrounds the mythical album that may or may not ever see the light of day. But the two best examples we've received this decade as to what Dre can do with a gangsta rap project are 50 Cent's debut "Get Rich Or Die Tryin", and The Game's debut "The Documentary", which were both amazing albums.

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Instrumentals

Download The Chronic 2001 Instrumentals - They're great... but of course we all know this

Listen to samples used on The Chronic 2001 - Youtube links to all the samples used in the instrumentals above.

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Track 4 - Still D.R.E.

Sampled Track - "Maybe Tomorrow" by Grant Green (listen at the 1:25 section)

Track 5 - Big Ego's

Sampled Track - "Theme from The Persuaders!" by John Barry

Sampled Track - "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Rose Royce

Track 6 - Xxplosive

Sampled Track - "Bumpy's Lament" by Soul Mann & the Brothers