What was the hype like then? What were people thinking and saying (about a Dr. Dre solo album?) especially since Dr. Dre had left Ruthless Records right after finishing up recording N.W.A's platinum Niggaz4Life album; and having Straight Outta Comtpon, Eazy Duz It, No One Can Do It Better and Michell'e's album attached to his name. Did people not even second guess that The Chronic wouldn't be a classic? Was it immediately when people heard Nuthin But a G Thang and or Let Me Ride that they knew Dre would deliver a classic album?

If you can remember exactly what it was like leading up too and after the release of Dr. Dre's classic album please discuss and speak on it.

barely any hype from what i recall. it sort of came out and spoke for itself. it was actually confusing to me musically at the time. i'd not particularly liked the early G Funk stylings employed on Nigaz4life and was a tad resistant to an entire album based around that whistle keyboard sound.


that lasted about one or two days then i fell in line.

>barely any hype from what i recall. it sort of came out and
>spoke for itself. it was actually confusing to me musically
>at the time. i'd not particularly liked the early G Funk
>stylings employed on Nigaz4life and was a tad resistant to an
>entire album based around that whistle keyboard sound.
>
>
>that lasted about one or two days then i fell in line.

Which single was it that drew you in, Nuthin But a G Thang or Let Me Ride?

i'm telling you back then I thought that Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre were going to be the Hip Hop version of Michael Jackson adn Quincy Jones.


deep cover was the cut, while the movie was wack.

nothin but a g thang truly had heads bopping.

that was the album were the burbs lost there mind on the sho nuff and the hood was equal over it as well.

that album felt so good that i bet Burl ives got a Buzz.

suge and dr dre were looking so green and got rejected by all the labels.

John Mcclain the same Brother who runs Michael Jackson's estate helped get the chronic out there and at one time he had a minor stake in interscope records.


all them labels told me now until Jimmy "I own you" Iovine and Ted Fields said green light.


i remember the release part and how fresh and green everybody was.

seeing RBX, the D.O.C. and others on board was something else back then.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

That Hip Hop was about to change with the album that would follow? Like you could you just already tell something epic was about to go down?


Great feedback though. Always insighful post, Maxxx.

this cat named Snoop and that nasal sound which was working the crowd.

yeah it felt fresh and remember when i said how dre had to feel kinda old after the way Ice cube up and left and carved out his thing, and though dre hit with that last NWA album he didn't have no what i call new fire on those tracks, they moved in name alot, but when he got Snoop he got not only his Power back@Michael Jordan in space jam

but also he bought himself a new idenity and kept it moving.

he bought him a road to survive for a decade with that situation.

i remember it all like yesterday. a fun time back then and we rocked so hard.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

>this cat named Snoop and that nasal sound which was working
>the crowd.
>
>yeah it felt fresh and remember when i said how dre had to
>feel kinda old after the way Ice cube up and left and carved
>out his thing, and though dre hit with that last NWA album he
>didn't have no what i call new fire on those tracks, they
>moved in name alot, but when he got Snoop he got not only his
>Power back@Michael Jordan in space jam
>
>but also he bought himself a new idenity and kept it moving.
>
>he bought him a road to survive for a decade with that
>situation.
>
>i remember it all like yesterday. a fun time back then and we
>rocked so hard.

Wow, I can only imagine, especially given how music specfically Hip Hop is now. Its so different now and there's nothing new and creative or groundbreaking coming out.

I think its interesting how you said Cube one upped Dre but then Dre flipped the coin and one upped Cube with The Chronic. Because as much as I think the Niggaz4Life album is something else, I'd have to agree it was business as usual with that album especially with no Cube, they had the masses so the goal was just to keep it moving.

I can imagine only how it was to hear Snoop flowing so effortlessly the first time with the coldest/smoothest flow known to Hip Hop! The brother is just too cool.

he was like a rappers version of Stevie wonder folks were quoating every and anything he dropped and he went there.

but the thing with Cube was while he was a talented Artist and Charismatic on the Mic he didn't have that kind of Awe and cross over laid down vibe that Snoop had and then Suge Knight put it all together with getting a version of both of them into one in 2Pac

but that is a different thread, but that is how much things went from after Cube left NWA til Death Row was running thangs.

Snoop though had that soul in his voice which it didn't matter if he wrote anything or not because he was so soulful and he knew he had that "IT" nobody else sounded like him then or now when you think about it.he sounded like a soul singer who happen to rap.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

And yeah, Snoop is very much like a singer in a way. His voice is one of a kind.

you can see a trajectory where you go from Cube breaking solo to the arrival of a 2pac and in a 6 year period where things change and back then talk about things turning and quickly?

tunlike now you can drag a career out for 5 years back then you better had brought it or be done quickly.

you notice how Cube joined up with West side Connection ride? he wanted to get that hood edge back because he had gotten formulated and predictable by the end of 93 and he was already showing signs of being played out.

Snoop was on the pulse, problem with snoop he didn't have that aura that Pac had. and Suge wanted to create his own Pt Barnum and he did for a while.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

As you said, back in the day if an artist showed any signs of being tired they'd better hurry up and bring it or else just get left behind.

Where nowadays an artist can seem to linger and hang around even after their few minutes of fame is up.

very quickly. don't let what you see with snoop, jay z, nas, ll cool j, scarface,the roots, dj quik,ice cube, will smith, fool you because acts are lucky to put out 3-4 albums and a 5 year run tops or less and be done. back in the day the audience was like next if you didn't have the goods.

the 90's era was just like the 80's until pac and biggie died and then things slowed down after that.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

I agree. I'm in North Caolina and was in high school. I remember thinking one of the best LP's ever was about to drop after hearing Deep Cover, G-Thang and Let me Ride. I was right. Legendary LP & impact on the culture.

I remember one of my homeys recorded Rap City the day it premiered and bought the tape to my house. Me, him and one of my other patna's rewound and rewatched that video at least 20 times in a row.

Deep Cover dropped and a lot of people were curious for more Snoop but a lot of people were looking at Dre like can you do this without Cube, Eazy and NWA and with this new crew of dudes from Long Beach?? Who the fuck is from Long Beach? Deep Cover had people interested but no one knew the Chronic would be the pop crossover monster that it was. He was in a lot of trouble with the law and quite a few people were still salty towards him for beating up Dee Barnes. G Thang hit and then I remember a bunch of people at the swapmeet bumping different songs on the album and it was like wow...Dre has outdone himself.

I can imagine after his success with Ruthless and then leaving, would leave people thinking could he go on his way and be successful without Ruthless.

i mean his idenity was there and the word was he can't do much without Eazy E.

Dre was the dude who watched everybpdy else and then threw his spin on things that would be his genius and he waited to see what stuck and what didn't.

he obviously watched Shock G and Digital Underground there nod to Parliament Funkadelic and also Cypress Hill and there nod to the Green Leaf and he combined those two elements which were happening on the west coast and then he took a cue from the world of R&B and smoothed his sound out.

he had a RUn DMC type of attack in the delievery but yet slowed down.

he was channeling alot of folks and then worked that stew as one.


of course 70's samples was still a fresh idea and concept and it worked like a charm.

he was doubted for being seen as a cat that while talented, that was a satisfied as a Hired hand under whomever was calling the shots.

from Eazy E to Suge Knight.

but he was motivated to get up from under eazy and yet he came to sorta regret that because Suge was a far more worse tyrant, but they worked and created history but at a huge price.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

>i mean his idenity was there and the word was he can't do
>much without Eazy E.
>
>Dre was the dude who watched everybpdy else and then threw his
>spin on things that would be his genius and he waited to see
>what stuck and what didn't.
>
>he obviously watched Shock G and Digital Underground there nod
>to Parliament Funkadelic and also Cypress Hill and there nod
>to the Green Leaf and he combined those two elements which
>were happening on the west coast and then he took a cue from
>the world of R&B and smoothed his sound out.
>
>he had a RUn DMC type of attack in the delievery but yet
>slowed down.
>
>he was channeling alot of folks and then worked that stew as
>one.
>
>
>of course 70's samples was still a fresh idea and concept and
>it worked like a charm.
>
>he was doubted for being seen as a cat that while talented,
>that was a satisfied as a Hired hand under whomever was
>calling the shots.
>
>from Eazy E to Suge Knight.
>
>but he was motivated to get up from under eazy and yet he came
>to sorta regret that because Suge was a far more worse tyrant,
>but they worked and created history but at a huge price.

Ah, I see, I see. Dre really did have a point to prove. And I continue to see the genius of Dre with his vision of great music and the timing he had on his side. Looking back and thinking of how music and the culture changed, Dre helped with that, just in the course of a year from that last N.W.A to The Chronic. Only a year between those albums and both are two different distinct eras.

there wasn't nearly as many acts out and the majors and hip hop were still green and naive. i mean stickered albums and serious content was fresh.

edited version was fresh.

dre had both coasts and regions feeling him like that.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

And to see just how much has change. Hip Hop seemed to be at one of if not the most exciting point ever around this time.

and back then the white executives didn't know how to control the Brothers and it was wildin 101.

a different time fo sho and alot of trial and error, but the music was on point and cats still had there own idenity.that in itself is a lost art.

today Drake is seen as a standard back in 92 he was PRince Be and He would be PM Dawn level with his sound and styling shows you the mind set has changed as well. not dissing him, because i liked some of PM Dawn and whatnot, but to show the contrast and difference.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

but in my world....Dre was kinda passe at that time which was foolish in retrospect. But hip hop had a lotta new sounds and even the backwords titled album wasn't really a big thing for me other than seeing it hit #1.

Foolishly, I had kinda written Dre off cause my appreciation for him had peaked around 4 or 5 years earlier. There was alot of other stuff within that time period in hip hop going other ways.

My first impressions was that some of the songs sounded like Parliament remakes but sounding more flat. "Nothing but a G thing" great on first listen though. But it always sounded good in souped-up car stereos. In retrospect...the reason that album is so important is cause of the sound. Our 2nd generation cassette tapes in cheesy little home stereo units was not gonna show what made it special.

That album expanded the frequency range of not only the final mix....but each instrument itself. The bass drum had presence....the snare drum had body.....Almost ALL hip hop of that time had very contained frequency ranges for each instrument/drum part. Mostly due to all the low-pass, high-pass and shelf eqs. A necessity when picking apart samples and also for a general aesthetic that became popular.

Dre's 'Chronic' was the first hip hop album to break-through that aesthetic. Opened hip hop to the audiophile crowd. No dusty grooves...no sax samples played back only above 2000K so the accompanying bassline can't be heard. No transient hats over the 'real' hat cause they happen to fit and they accompany the string sample.

Pure, clean, full range sound. No accidents. Everything deliberate without the incidental genuis of sample-based hip hop.

>That album expanded the frequency range of not only the final
>mix....but each instrument itself. The bass drum had
>presence....the snare drum had body.....Almost ALL hip hop of
>that time had very contained frequency ranges for each
>instrument/drum part. Mostly due to all the low-pass,
>high-pass and shelf eqs. A necessity when picking apart
>samples and also for a general aesthetic that became popular.
>
>Dre's 'Chronic' was the first hip hop album to break-through
>that aesthetic. Opened hip hop to the audiophile crowd. No
>dusty grooves...no sax samples played back only above 2000K so
>the accompanying bassline can't be heard. No transient hats
>over the 'real' hat cause they happen to fit and they
>accompany the string sample.
>
>Pure, clean, full range sound. No accidents. Everything
>deliberate without the incidental genuis of sample-based hip
>hop.

As a beatmaker constantly balancin between dusty and clean to find the perfect mix, this certainly made me think...

Low End Theory brought hip hop into the audiophile world

a year earlier!

not to jack the post, but I remember somewhere in an interview Tip dropped that Dre was somewhat influenced by The Low End Theory when he made The Chronic. Probably more by the overall 'sound' of the album fitting what people would identify with jazz and the attention paid to the technical aspect of the sound coming thru the speakers.

The Chronic was an R&B Rap album aesthetically in that the sound quality was so smooth and clean and the cleanness was a positive trait to have by the aims of the album. I can't really remember an album having sound quality that clean like the poster above mentioned.

__________________________________________

http://www.twitter.com/chriscjamison/

People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.

Peter Drucker

"Nuthin' But a G Thing" was absolutely HUGE. It was all over the radio and all over TV, especially the Box and Yo! MTV Raps. Plus, when people heard "Deep Cover" a few months before, there was the general feeling he was going to be something special. Plus, you had the whole "Dre leaving NWA to go solo" thing going on, and the last person to leave that crew was one of the biggest rappers in the game at the time. And even back then Dre's production was seen as the power driving the NWA engine, especially post-Ice Cube.

I remember the day I bought that tape. It was after Mid-Terms Finals senior year of High School. After taking my second final of the day I drove to Leopold's in Berkeley to cop the tape. Walking back to my parking place, it seemed like every car that passed by was blasting the Snoop intro to the album.

-----------------

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Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

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>"Nuthin' But a G Thing" was absolutely HUGE. It was all over
>the radio and all over TV, especially the Box and Yo! MTV
>Raps.

Pretty sure I saw the video first. BLOW AWAY. This was the feel good song of 92-93. I was a junior in high school and every 5.0 with a system had this bumpin





lurkin since 1999. werd.

Hip-Hop was still a whole. There wasn't any division between coasts or sounds. If you're shit got released and made it to radio and TV, we bought it.

"What was the hype like then?"

The M.O. back then was release a single, get radio play, release a video, create an image.
You could get some hype in the hip-hop mags, but most of the times it backfired to put a release date on a hyped up project if it was just going to get pushed back.
All the hype he needed was the first few secs of that vid when ol girl said "heard your new album, it's the bomb."

"What were people thinking and saying (about a Dr. Dre solo album?) especially since Dr. Dre had left Ruthless Records right after finishing up recording N.W.A's platinum Niggaz4Life album; and having Straight Outta Comtpon, Eazy Duz It, No One Can Do It Better and Michell'e's album attached to his name. Did people not even second guess that The Chronic wouldn't be a classic?"

In 1992, the people who were buying hip-hop records and/or were the first generation born into the genre were just becoming teenagers.
We didn't care about any of that shit.
We were too busy trying to get laid and being cool.
Dre had a name and an image.
NWA was HUGE, and he didn't have much of a rep on the mic, but everyone knew he was the music in that group, so he already had a fanbase for whatever he decided to do solo.
Same with Cube.
He had a rep for killin mics, so we were checking for whatever he decided to do solo as well.
It was kind of accepted that a Dre solo album would have a lot of guest appearances.
The DOC's accident and ghost writing for Dre was something that never got questioned.
It just seemed to make sense.
Dre was the Oz pulling the strings behind the curtain, so it just made sense that he was looking for a new crew.
Snoop, Rage, Dogg Pound, etc...

"Was it immediately when people heard Nuthin But a G Thang and or Let Me Ride that they knew Dre would deliver a classic album?"

It's already been mentioned that Deep Cover laid the groundwork for the Snoop/Dre combo.
That song got major play in the East.
The beat and the vibe of the song are some straight east coast staples at the time, combined with the imagery of the movie and the West coast lyrics was probably the perfect way for them to put folks on notice of what was to come.
G Thang was just a phenomena.
Everybody was bangin that jawn.
EVERYBODY.
Think about how your mama knows the words to Juicy...like that
And there was no hate, like oh that shit is wack, it's on the radio all day, etc...
It was more like people wanted to hear it more.
Like it was championing the validity of hip-hop.
Look at us, we're on Kasey Kasem radio now, etc...

"If you can remember exactly what it was like leading up too and after the release of Dr. Dre's classic album please discuss and speak on it."

Leading up too...
The world was mad, hating what NWA stood for, what they said, what they looked like...
Sheeeiiiitt, we were wearing Raiders gear because they did.
All the censorship talk, etc...just gave it more impact
I think a lot of people were scared.
On some this music is going to make our children gang band and sell drugs, which most of us were anyway, just not so blatantly.
Now that I think about, it's kind of amazing that it even got released.
I mean folks were talking about boycotting Coke or Pepsi, I can't remember, because they had Luda in an advertisement.
This was the solo record from the producer of America's most hated/feared group, and the theme was smoking weed. HAHA
After G-Thang dropped it was a rap.
He's probably still eating off of the success of that album.
I mean let's say Dre never dropped the Chronic, would he even be relevant based off of subsequent work?

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

and remember Dr Dre on that source cover with the gun to his head and as has been mentioned the whole dee barnes fallout and situation.

it was a big time gamble that paid off.

some folks might laugh and think oh no biggie with Dr.Dre And Suge doing there thing but back then it was high stakes poker.

fast forward some years later and you had Puffy getting that 75 million start up credit for Bad Boy, then Master P with No limit, then Cash Money and there deal with Universal, to X Raided doing his thing, then of course rap alot, also murder inc...,etc....


and while rutheless got the ball rolling, it was Death Row that while at first a boutique label it stayed that way only for a short time, because the music was banging no pun itended and also the artists were big time and they did it up there big.

but nobody saw things blowing up like they did and that is what made it so special.

watching those humble begginging on death row was something else. everybody eating out of 2 buckets of a KFC bucket and just winging it and making things happen.

wallmart wasn't stocking that CD back then. that is another thing to remember the sticker scared folks.

that tape/cd got played a whole lot like crazy. i don't care what nobody says because i was there as were others, that to me was the last universal Hip-Hop release that it seemed everybody was on the same vibe with and then when Snoop dropped his debut it was a wrap and to me i still say that Dre and Snoop got robbed out of making magic because they were unfadeable for a good minute.

in truth i could make another thread on that, but Dr Dre and Snoop were everything that Kayne and Jay Z will never be as MC's and also Producer to Artist. you can't create that kind of chemistry at all that is what made it a beautiful thang.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

None of this shit really registered at the time

"and remember Dr Dre on that source cover with the gun to his head and as has been mentioned the whole dee barnes fallout and situation.

it was a big time gamble that paid off.

some folks might laugh and think oh no biggie with Dr.Dre And Suge doing there thing but back then it was high stakes poker.

fast forward some years later and you had Puffy getting that 75 million start up credit for Bad Boy, then Master P with No limit, then Cash Money and there deal with Universal, to X Raided doing his thing, then of course rap alot, also murder inc...,etc....


and while rutheless got the ball rolling, it was Death Row that while at first a boutique label it stayed that way only for a short time, because the music was banging no pun itended and also the artists were big time and they did it up there big."

I remember the Dee Barnes situation and the mag cover (I think it was Vibe), but like I said, I was still a youngin, chasin panties, and worried about how tight my fade was.
The inner workings of business relations wasn't really interesting to me at the time.
It's a CRAZY story now.
Youngins might think that way.
Oh Dre started a record label, what's the big deal.
But back then, Dre had the co-sign.
He had beef with Dee Barnes, then Dee Barnes was corny.
He had beef with Eazy, then Eazy was wack.
He' puttin Snoop on, then Snoop must be nice.


"wallmart wasn't stocking that CD back then. that is another thing to remember the sticker scared folks.

that tape/cd got played a whole lot like crazy. i don't care what nobody says because i was there as were others, that to me was the last universal Hip-Hop release that it seemed everybody was on the same vibe with and then when Snoop dropped his debut it was a wrap and to me i still say that Dre and Snoop got robbed out of making magic because they were unfadeable for a good minute."

Exactly.
It's crazy too that this album had such a big impact without the internet.
The stickers, censorship, Tipper Gore, C Deleores, Cop Killer, FBI surveillance etc...
How could a major budget for an album centered around smoking weed by a member of NWA?
Looking back, it doesn't seem possible.

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

>in truth i could make another thread on that, but Dr Dre and
>Snoop were everything that Kayne and Jay Z will never be as
>MC's and also Producer to Artist. you can't create that kind
>of chemistry at all that is what made it a beautiful thang.

You should make that thread.

----------------------------------------

"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

>He's probably still eating off of the success of that album.
>I mean let's say Dre never dropped the Chronic, would he even
>be relevant based off of subsequent work?

What albums post Chronic would have had the same affect on his career?

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

If he did not have his identity as an artist, would he eventually gain that identity otherwise?

It's like asking
"If Iron Man hadn't been made, would Iron Man 2 have ever been as relevant?"
"If Kelly Clarkson wasn't on American Idol, would she have been known to tens of millions of people by the time she dropped her debut single?"
"If Michael Jordan had played for a team other than the Bulls, could the Bulls possibly have won six championships?"

Pure nonsense.

everything post Chronic was an attempt to capture that success

and he never did

the endorsements he's getting now, the cars, the headphones, etc...they go to him because he was Dre from the Chronic

sheeiitt, cats like Em and 50 got co-signs from Dre
not because he's the Dre that's been working on Detox for decades, but because he's the Dre that made the Chronic.
he's the Dre that made Snoop.

Would you agree that on a quality level, his post Chronic releases have been meh?
I'm saying the reason those meh projects were even successful is because he's the Dre that made the Chronic.

Here's an analogy;

Brett Favre
He's won one ring
One
And yet NFL teams keep signing this cat, hoping to capture that success.
If he doesn't win a chip with the Pac, he goes down as a reckless QB who would lose you a game just as easily as he could win it for you.
The chip validates his status as one of the GOATS

What would his legacy be if his first solo release was 2001
He'd be Goldie Loc from the Eastsidaz.

Why are cats still waiting for Detox?
Because he's the Dre that made the Chronic.

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

..."2001" was more successful than "The Chronic." It probably sold twice as much worldwide, it was released on Dr. Dre's own imprint, and it wasn't as dependent on derivative interpolations and samples of hit records.

I feel like culturally, "The Chronic" was more important. Business wise, I think "2001" was far more successful. Additionally, Dr. Dre brought his career back to life with "2001," following the modest (at best) performance of his work of the few/several years prior to its release. "The Chronic" came out relatively soon after "Efil4Zaggin."

"..."2001" was more successful than "The Chronic." It probably sold twice as much worldwide, it was released on Dr. Dre's own imprint, and it wasn't as dependent on derivative interpolations and samples of hit records."

and without the Chronic this doesn't happen

"I feel like culturally, "The Chronic" was more important."

exactly. and to go further, nothing else he did comes close

"Business wise, I think "2001" was far more successful."

you can miss me with business talk, cuz i could care less

"Additionally, Dr. Dre brought his career back to life with "2001," following the modest (at best) performance of his work of the few/several years prior to its release."

which is what i said about his post Chronic releases being meh

Think Nas tryin to recapture Illmatic

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

Dr. Dre was easily already one of the most successful producers in the history of hip hop by the time "The Chronic" came out. His career had already spanned almost a decade, which was extraordinary in those days.

"Illmatic" was Nas's debut album.



.....


Bottom line, for you to ask if Dr. Dre's career could possibly be the same without "The Chronic"... NO, of course it couldn't or wouldn't be the same. It's the most simplistic and obvious question you could've possibly asked, and you could say the same thing about his career and "Straight Outta Compton"... or "2001."

I tried to explain it to you

I feel like you're getting caught up on specifics and not seeing the big picture

Illmatic was Nas' debut...no shit

I'm sayin, without Illmatic, what's his impact on hip-hop, a handful of not quite as good albums, which probably sold more than Illmatic, were probably more successful business wise (whatever that means), but were never close to the impact that Illmatic had

but you'll probably look up record sales and try to argue what I just said

KIM

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

Just don't ask stupid hypothetical questions, and try not to think too hard in terms of 'relevance', and you'll be alright.

>Hip-Hop was still a whole. There wasn't any division between
>coasts or sounds. If you're shit got released and made it to
>radio and TV, we bought it.

No division between coasts or sounds? Are you serious? Cypress Hill got some play and so did Cube but in general the Chronic the first West Coast album to break through and get radio play and overall acceptance on the East Coast. Hip Hop was all about NYC..they ran shit and everyone else was hoping to get their approval or support with very little success. The Chronic came out less than a year after Tim Dog dropped Fuck Compton and the East was loving that wack ass shit. The Midwest didn't exist, the South was barely a blip on the radar screen...hell even Philly's Hip Hop scene was dead in 92. The whole East vs West, Bad Boy vs Death Row, Pac vs Biggie shit didn't just pop up and happen in 95...a lot had happened to build up to that point. Hip Hop is much less divided today than it was in 92.

we (we meaning the group of friends i grew up with)

we bought: mc eight, compton's most wanted, too short, 2pac, king t, the alcaholics, del, souls of mischief, the pharcyde, mc breed, ice cube, the lynch mob, ice t, cypress hill, def jef, hammer, dj quik, sir mix a lot, saafir, kam, spice 1, the coup

we bought everything

"the Chronic the first West Coast album to break through and get radio play and overall acceptance on the East Coast"

are you saying that NWA didn't get any play on the east coast?

because i could tell you a story about riding around in a stolen car with 100 miles and runnin in the deck

the division i'm speaking of is from a consumer's perspective.

you want to speak on the business side, speak on it

you want to detail some beef, go for it

i can only speak for myself

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

>we (we meaning the group of friends i grew up with)
>
>we bought: mc eight, compton's most wanted, too short, 2pac,
>king t, the alcaholics, del, souls of mischief, the pharcyde,
>mc breed, ice cube, the lynch mob, ice t, cypress hill, def
>jef, hammer, dj quik, sir mix a lot, saafir, kam, spice 1, the
>coup
>
>we bought everything

That's great that you and your crew were that open minded and bought everything but that just wasn't the general consensus. From print, radio, shows booked etc it was a very New York centered Hip Hop world back then. That doesn't mean that every single person on the East Coast didn't listen to any West Coast but to act as if the lines of division weren't there is just inaccurate.
>
>"the Chronic the first West Coast album to break through and
>get radio play and overall acceptance on the East Coast"
>
>are you saying that NWA didn't get any play on the east
>coast?
>
>because i could tell you a story about riding around in a
>stolen car with 100 miles and runnin in the deck

A few kids liking an album does not equal Hip Hop unification during those times. That's just not the case. NWA in general got no radio play back then and certainly didn't get the type of attention on the East Coast that they did in the West or South. It was extremely rare back then for a Hip Hop group from the West to even play venues in NY.
>
>the division i'm speaking of is from a consumer's perspective.
>
>
>you want to speak on the business side, speak on it
>
>you want to detail some beef, go for it
>
>i can only speak for myself
>
>

"From print, radio, shows booked etc it was a very New York centered Hip Hop world back then.That doesn't mean that every single person on the East Coast didn't listen to any West Coast but to act as if the lines of division weren't there is just inaccurate."

I feel like you bought that East/West bullshit.

I'm speaking from a consumer's perspective

Do you think all those acts I named get deals, videos, etc...if they aren't going to sell any records in half the country?

Take the Geto Boyz for example

When my minds playin tricks broke, nobody was like, oh wait a minute, these boyz aren't from around here, they might be from that other coast, let's not buy their stuff

HELL NO. That shit was dope, and that's all it had to be

My bol had a DJ Magic Mike tape, i can still hear the

Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, Bass, Bass

"A few kids liking an album does not equal Hip Hop unification during those times. That's just not the case. NWA in general got no radio play back then and certainly didn't get the type of attention on the East Coast that they did in the West or South. It was extremely rare back then for a Hip Hop group from the West to even play venues in NY."

And I'm telling you you're wrong.

NWA DID get play out here.

I can't speak on what the West and the South was playing to compare so I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with about who gave them more attention.

I still remember this girl gettin dissed because everytime she came around my bol would start singin...I got a fat girl on my jock

Everybody was rocking Raiders gear.

Don't even get me started on 2 Live Crew

As far as getting booked at venues, media, and print etc...there was a stigma over the entire genre

Folks thought going to a hip-hop show was like going to Vietnam

Couple that with the imagery of west coast videos, and I think it might be easy to infer the reason why a club owner might be hesitant to book them

You act like acts other than RUN DMC were getting booked for arena shows

Hip-hop shows were done in hole in the wall clubs, and an act flyin out to the east from the west would definitely be losing money

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

>I feel like you bought that East/West bullshit.
>
>I'm speaking from a consumer's perspective
>
>Do you think all those acts I named get deals, videos,
>etc...if they aren't going to sell any records in half the
>country?

Selling records to half of the country would be a dream for any record label. That's millions of people! That's the majority of the damn country. NY bias was very real so it's not about buying East vs West bullshit. Hip Hop started in NY and they were very protective of it for a long time. You actually think Compton's most wanted sold a lot of records East of the Mississippi? Those artists didn't need to because there are plenty of people out West in the Midwest and in the South to support those artists. The same is true in reverse nowadays. You weren't about to hear Mobb Deep or Jeru down South. You think every artist that gets signed to a deal sells everywhere? All artists have markets they do well in and markets that they don't do well in...that doesn't mean they can't have a career.
>
>Take the Geto Boyz for example
>
>When my minds playin tricks broke, nobody was like, oh wait a
>minute, these boyz aren't from around here, they might be from
>that other coast, let's not buy their stuff

You do realize that the song you are using as an example was from their FOURTH album. You want to honestly argue that "Read These Nikes" and "Mind Of A Lunatic" were getting major attention in New York back then? Mind Playing Tricks was a hit song that crossed over and got played everywhere eventually but all you need to do to realize the point I'm making is actually listen to early Geto Boy records like Do It Like It G.O. where they are complaining about the lack of respect and play they get on the East Coast.

>HELL NO. That shit was dope, and that's all it had to be
>
>My bol had a DJ Magic Mike tape, i can still hear the
>
>Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, Bass, Bass
>
>"A few kids liking an album does not equal Hip Hop unification
>during those times. That's just not the case. NWA in general
>got no radio play back then and certainly didn't get the type
>of attention on the East Coast that they did in the West or
>South. It was extremely rare back then for a Hip Hop group
>from the West to even play venues in NY."
>
>And I'm telling you you're wrong.
>
>NWA DID get play out here.
>
>I can't speak on what the West and the South was playing to
>compare so I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with
>about who gave them more attention.
>
>I still remember this girl gettin dissed because everytime she
>came around my bol would start singin...I got a fat girl on my
>jock
>
>Everybody was rocking Raiders gear.
>
>Don't even get me started on 2 Live Crew
>
>As far as getting booked at venues, media, and print
>etc...there was a stigma over the entire genre
>
>Folks thought going to a hip-hop show was like going to
>Vietnam
>
>Couple that with the imagery of west coast videos, and I think
>it might be easy to infer the reason why a club owner might be
>hesitant to book them
>
>You act like acts other than RUN DMC were getting booked for
>arena shows

Whodini, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, Beastie Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, PE, Fresh Fest...I could on and on. Plenty of Hip Hop acts played big venues.
>
>Hip-hop shows were done in hole in the wall clubs, and an act
>flyin out to the east from the west would definitely be losing
>money

Lose money? By 1992? Come on man. Look I'm not talking about all of the hype about East or West but the reality is in general NY Radio, press, etc were not fucking with West Coast or Southern artists back then. There was not this unified Hip Hop nation where region didn't matter. Of course their are always going to be pockets of people who go against that and eventually those barriers came down but don't act as if they weren't there. Shit New York used to give shit to Philly and even other areas of New York like Long Island so they certainly weren't fucking with people they perceived to be country and rocking jeri curls especially when they were coming with what was seen as negative records back then when most NY artists were promoting unity and some sense of Black pride. NWA, Geto Boys, Too Short, were perceived as taking Hip Hop back lyrically and socially. Tim Dog's only hit was Fuck Compton a song basically dissing the entire West Coast. There's a reason for that...he wasn't alone in how he felt. The shit came up all the time at the New Music Seminar, in interviews and magazines. You ask any Southern or West Coast artist who was around then about how hard it was to break into that NY East Coast fan base and they will tell you. Quik, Cube, Dre, Too Short, Scarface will all tell you how hard it was back then.
>
>

You make it seem that the second an artist was found out to be originally from outside of the East Coast it was the death knell. NYC had a very specific ethos that if you didn't follow they weren't really feeling you, but more then a few regional acts got played who had more 'universal' sounds, from DOC to Pharcyde.

>Shit New York used to give shit to Philly and
>even other areas of New York like Long Island so they
>certainly weren't fucking with people they perceived to be
>country and rocking jeri curls especially when they were
>coming with what was seen as negative records back then when
>most NY artists were promoting unity and some sense of Black
>pride. NWA, Geto Boys, Too Short, were perceived as taking Hip
>Hop back lyrically and socially. Tim Dog's only hit was Fuck
>Compton a song basically dissing the entire West Coast.

Depends on the time to. In the mid to late 80's I would agree with you, but with the early 90's there was a def. shift in that perception simply because hip-hop was becoming to big at a large rate. It's a bit hard for a Bronx MC to hate on a Long Island one if they are continually playing the same venues.

You have a point that it was hard for a 'pure' West Coast artist to break, like you said, it's a bit hard for someone who could barely stomach the D.A.I.S.Y. age to suddenly accept Too Short. But it wasn't a bias based on region however, just on sound. The acts that were able to stay West Coast but appeal to the East aesthetic did well(Deep Cover , Ice Cube's hardcore rapping w jeri curls and all). Tim Dog wasn't that big of a hit on NYC radio at all, I won't say it never got play, but compared to anything Cypress Hill dropped or even other classic NYC diss records? Not even close. You make it look like there was this active anti-west movement when there was anything but; dudes just felt what they felt and didn't want to get out of their lane -=SONICALLY=-. Its why a fraud mc like Boss could do well.

>You make it seem that the second an artist was found out to
>be originally from outside of the East Coast it was the death
>knell. NYC had a very specific ethos that if you didn't
>follow they weren't really feeling you, but more then a few
>regional acts got played who had more 'universal' sounds, from
>DOC to Pharcyde.
>

I'm born and raised in philly and have been listening to hip hop since the early 80's. I was a junior in high school when the chronic came out, and I can tell you that up until that point, the only west coast shit we had memorized and in the decks was NWA Niggaz4Life. we all knew of and had heard classic's from too short, quick, shit, even del (mr dobolina), but none of us were really bumpin that shit in our rides.... until the chronic. That definitely opened some doors as too... what the fuck is going on out there?


lurkin since 1999. werd.

>You make it seem that the second an artist was found out to
>be originally from outside of the East Coast it was the death
>knell. NYC had a very specific ethos that if you didn't
>follow they weren't really feeling you, but more then a few
>regional acts got played who had more 'universal' sounds, from
>DOC to Pharcyde.

If you weren't from NYC you got shitted on. Of course a lot of it had to do with the sound but plenty of Philly acts had an east coast sound but still couldn't get any respect. I remember reading about one of PE's early shows and how Melle Mel was in the crowd booing the shit out of them because they were from Long Island.

>
>>Shit New York used to give shit to Philly and
>>even other areas of New York like Long Island so they
>>certainly weren't fucking with people they perceived to be
>>country and rocking jeri curls especially when they were
>>coming with what was seen as negative records back then when
>>most NY artists were promoting unity and some sense of Black
>>pride. NWA, Geto Boys, Too Short, were perceived as taking
>Hip
>>Hop back lyrically and socially. Tim Dog's only hit was Fuck
>>Compton a song basically dissing the entire West Coast.
>
>Depends on the time to. In the mid to late 80's I would agree
>with you, but with the early 90's there was a def. shift in
>that perception simply because hip-hop was becoming to big at
>a large rate. It's a bit hard for a Bronx MC to hate on a
>Long Island one if they are continually playing the same
>venues.

Right that was my point that The Chronic was basically the first West Coast album to bust through big time on the east. That was the early 90's and things were changing and the Chronic was that big record that kicked the door in.
>
>You have a point that it was hard for a 'pure' West Coast
>artist to break, like you said, it's a bit hard for someone
>who could barely stomach the D.A.I.S.Y. age to suddenly accept
>Too Short. But it wasn't a bias based on region however, just
>on sound. The acts that were able to stay West Coast but
>appeal to the East aesthetic did well(Deep Cover , Ice Cube's
>hardcore rapping w jeri curls and all). Tim Dog wasn't that
>big of a hit on NYC radio at all, I won't say it never got
>play, but compared to anything Cypress Hill dropped or even
>other classic NYC diss records? Not even close. You make it
>look like there was this active anti-west movement when there
>was anything but; dudes just felt what they felt and didn't
>want to get out of their lane -=SONICALLY=-. Its why a fraud
>mc like Boss could do well.

Tim Dog's record was incredibly wack but it still sold relatively well and a big reason for that was that their was a good amount of hardcore old school NYC heads who were glad that someone was standing up and saying that the West was wack. It didn't last because Tim was utterly unlistenable but the sentiment was still there around 91 and early 92.

to make your point

"If you weren't from NYC you got shitted on. Of course a lot of it had to do with the sound but plenty of Philly acts had an east coast sound but still couldn't get any respect. I remember reading about one of PE's early shows and how Melle Mel was in the crowd booing the shit out of them because they were from Long Island."

we're talking about 91'-92. and the same to your comments about arena shows. fresh fest started in 84'?, and all the artists you listed were on some reincarnation of that tour with RUN DMC headlining

and when you think about it logically, with hip-hop being born in NYC, and coming to the public's attention in the early 80's, it was going to take time for the culture to spread to the west, and it was going to take some time for the west to cultivate it's own sound, so just dismissing everything as NYC bias seems a little naive.

and I'm not from NYC, so I can't really speak on what the mindset was. I'm assuming you're from LA and/or the west which is why I'm interested in your perspective.

"Right that was my point that The Chronic was basically the first West Coast album to bust through big time on the east. That was the early 90's and things were changing and the Chronic was that big record that kicked the door in."

Hammer? Let's get it started was big in the east, sheeeiitt, we were wearing Hammer pants. And U can't touch this was out before the chronic, too legit to quit was out before the chronic too, so...

"Tim Dog's record was incredibly wack but it still sold relatively well and a big reason for that was that their was a good amount of hardcore old school NYC heads who were glad that someone was standing up and saying that the West was wack. It didn't last because Tim was utterly unlistenable but the sentiment was still there around 91 and early 92."

The Tim Dog reference is actually proving my point. He made a diss record about west coast artists because NWA and other west coast artists were winning fans in the late 80's. After NWA went platinum, record companies started signing imitations, and I think that's what might spark some resentment. This was in 91'. If the west coast artists aren't selling records in the east, would you even know who Tim Dog's wack ass is?

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

>we're talking about 91'-92. and the same to your comments
>about arena shows. fresh fest started in 84'?, and all the
>artists you listed were on some reincarnation of that tour
>with RUN DMC headlining

In 84 Hip Hop outside of NY was non existent and a joke to most New York Hip Hop heads. By 92 things were getting better by comparison and the Chronic was the main record that helped to change that.
>
>and when you think about it logically, with hip-hop being born
>in NYC, and coming to the public's attention in the early
>80's, it was going to take time for the culture to spread to
>the west, and it was going to take some time for the west to
>cultivate it's own sound, so just dismissing everything as NYC
>bias seems a little naive.

The culture was out West for a long time. It just wasn't respected. LA, The Bay, The South, etc were all viewed as country and wack and not being real Hip Hop.

>and I'm not from NYC, so I can't really speak on what the
>mindset was. I'm assuming you're from LA and/or the west which
>is why I'm interested in your perspective.

Yep I'm from LA and anyone from LA knows just how testy and territorial New Yorkers were back in the days about Hip Hop. It's not a secret. Times have changed big time but you were not about to hear CMW, Spice 1 or DJ Quik on Stretch & Bobbitto for example. It just wasn't gonna happen. If you were going to hear any gangster type shit back then you would hear Just Ice or BDP's first record. You weren't about to hear 6 in the morning.
>
>"Right that was my point that The Chronic was basically the
>first West Coast album to bust through big time on the east.
>That was the early 90's and things were changing and the
>Chronic was that big record that kicked the door in."
>
>Hammer? Let's get it started was big in the east, sheeeiitt,
>we were wearing Hammer pants. And U can't touch this was out
>before the chronic, too legit to quit was out before the
>chronic too, so...

You can't seriously be bringing up MC Hammer in a discussion about hardcore Hip Hop. Hammer was a pop rap dancer dude from Oakland who dissed Run DMC. Any self respecting New York Hip Hop head hated his ass with a passion. He was the most vilified man in Hip Hop! You have to be aware of that. Hammer big in the East? Apparently you don't remember the Turn This Mutha Out video when Hammer's homie gets off the phone to tell him "You aint' hiting in New York hammer!! what you gon doing that??".
>
>"Tim Dog's record was incredibly wack but it still sold
>relatively well and a big reason for that was that their was a
>good amount of hardcore old school NYC heads who were glad
>that someone was standing up and saying that the West was
>wack. It didn't last because Tim was utterly unlistenable but
>the sentiment was still there around 91 and early 92."
>
>The Tim Dog reference is actually proving my point. He made a
>diss record about west coast artists because NWA and other
>west coast artists were winning fans in the late 80's. After
>NWA went platinum, record companies started signing
>imitations, and I think that's what might spark some
>resentment. This was in 91'. If the west coast artists aren't
>selling records in the east, would you even know who Tim Dog's
>wack ass is?

Tim Dog sold some records and even got a deal based on his diss because he not only attacked what was hot and selling records but he went after the West and what was perceived as wrong with Hip Hop. There were several people who felt the same way he was just the one who put it out there like that. Again you didn't have to sell records in the East to go platinum back then. If you sold everywhere but NY you could still get a gold or platinum record. That was basically Too Short's entire career. Big sales in Cali, Texas, Tenn, Miss, Bama and the rest of the South. He never needed the East or radio support to sell his shit and neither did many of the West Coast artists like Spice 1 and DJ Quik.
>
>

the East Coast is not NYC

like I said in my original post, the MO was release a single, make a video

i have a YO MTV! raps compilation album from 89', and Life Is Too Short was on there along with Ice-T's High Roller
2 of my favorite songs on that CD actually
also Fresh Prince and Steady B had cuts on there, so that's 4 out of 11 cuts that are from acts outside of NYC

yeah, i remember the "Hammer, you ain't hittin in NY" line, FROM THE VIDEO
he was on YO, so he was getting played nationally
and there are East Coast cities that resent NY, so that probably gained him fans
and let's not act like Hammer was pop from day #1
turn this motha out was big out here
we're all in the same gang, the final verses are him passing the mic to Eazy E
which reminds me

Tone Loc, wild thing, funky cold medina, big records out here
Digital Underground, the humpty dance, huge record
Young MC, bust a move, uh huh

the Chronic didn't break down that barrier, the Chronic took the #1 spot from NY
followed by Doggystyle, the West had the crown for a minute

if that was what was going on in LA, i'll have to take your word for it
but out here, everything was definitely coming out of NY, in the beginning
but by the end of the 80s, you have groups breaking nationally from every region
and from someone who is NOT from NYC, we bought it, we weren't threatened and/or hating on it
WE WERE FANS

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

>the East Coast is not NYC

I thought we were all clear that we were speaking about NYC's bias towards Hip Hop (not pop) outside of New York. No we aren't talking about Maine or Rhode Island we are talking about New York and HIP HOP.
>
>like I said in my original post, the MO was release a single,
>make a video
>
>i have a YO MTV! raps compilation album from 89', and Life Is
>Too Short was on there along with Ice-T's High Roller
>2 of my favorite songs on that CD actually
>also Fresh Prince and Steady B had cuts on there, so that's 4
>out of 11 cuts that are from acts outside of NYC

Those are compilations put together by record labels. Steady B and the Fresh Prince had NY styles so in many ways they got a bit of a pass.
>
>yeah, i remember the "Hammer, you ain't hittin in NY" line,
>FROM THE VIDEO
>he was on YO, so he was getting played nationally
>and there are East Coast cities that resent NY, so that
>probably gained him fans
>and let's not act like Hammer was pop from day #1
>turn this motha out was big out here
>we're all in the same gang, the final verses are him passing
>the mic to Eazy E
>which reminds me

Yes he was pop from the get go. He was never embraced by Hardcore NY fans of lyrics because that is completely not what he was. We're all in the same gang was to most NYC fans a bad watered down version of Self Destruction.
>
>Tone Loc, wild thing, funky cold medina, big records out here
>Digital Underground, the humpty dance, huge record
>Young MC, bust a move, uh huh

No Tone Loc and Young MC were not big with HIP HOP fans. I keep saying Hip Hop because you seem to not be clear on that. I'm not talking about people who had New Kids on the Block and Milli vanilli records to go with their Tone Loc and Vanilla Ice records. That's a different community and not what I'm talking about.
>
>the Chronic didn't break down that barrier, the Chronic took
>the #1 spot from NY
>followed by Doggystyle, the West had the crown for a minute

All you need to do is look at a playlist from any NY station that played Hip Hop on a regular basis to see what was getting played back then on your typical Hip Hop based radio station in NY.
>
>if that was what was going on in LA, i'll have to take your
>word for it
>but out here, everything was definitely coming out of NY, in
>the beginning
>but by the end of the 80s, you have groups breaking nationally
>from every region
>and from someone who is NOT from NYC, we bought it, we weren't
>threatened and/or hating on it
>WE WERE FANS

Again I am speaking about New York city. Not Baltimore or any of those other cities or states on the East Coast. NY was the mecca of Hip Hop and that's what I'm talking about. And not Vanilla Ice or MC Hammer.

Sheeiiit, Juice came out before the Chronic, had Tupac in a featured role of a hip hop movie set IN NYC, and there were even a few West Coast acts on the soundtrack

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

As proof that Hip Hop was all lovey dovey and there was no coastal bias back in the days? Dre has talked in several interviews about how excited he was that the Chronic was able to blow up so big in NY because West Coast albums weren't doing that. You think Ras Kass recorded a song like "Sonset" just for shits and giggles? In fact just check out any response by My SP1200 Broke Again to see how a large amount of NY Hip Hop fans felt about most West Coast Hip Hop. You can scroll down in this very email to get a taste.

The anti-west coast bias soon started after Straight Outta Compton.

Fake gangsta this, studio gangsta that was all over the east coast. (Tribe, Main Source...prolly a few more if i were to look @ my crates)

To some extent it was anti-pop (and thankfully anti-R&B)

But 89-91 wasn't some Kum Buy Yah time in rap. There has never been a rap equilibria where everyone was invited to the part to get down.

one
k. orr

Deep cover had an impact for sure!

But when G Thang hit, it was a wrap.

I remember riding hard for Cube around this time cuz of No Vaseline.

But there was no denying Snoop and Dre's beats.

honestly, him, The Chronic, i could give a shit about either *shrugs*

V.

---
http://confessionsofacurlymind.com
https://soundcloud.com/confessionsofacurlymindredux
https://soundcloud.com/generic80sbadguy
https://soundcloud.com/miles_matheson

DROkayplayer™

you are in the minority though.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

a solo MC Ren jawn

Cube just went solo. Just like that, so there wasn't much build up.

But heads were geeked for a MC Ren solo album.

Moreso than a Dre solo album

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

>But heads were geeked for a MC Ren solo album.

"KIZZ MY *BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*"

I just wanted to buy it after that

i.e. someone born around the time Straight Outta Compton came out.

I always thought he was the most interesting rapper in the crew. All his verses on NWA shit were among my favorites.

If he ever did put out a solo, I'm yet to check for it, I'll google that some other time. I never knew it was actually something they talked about then though. Interesting.

>I always thought he was the most interesting rapper in the
>crew. All his verses on NWA shit were among my favorites.

I'll never forget the first time I heard, "since the stereotype is to kill and destruct, is one of the main reasons I DON'T GIVE A FUCK"

I thought then that they'd just be alright w/no Cube after hearing that verse.

Ren's best record is his EP, KIZZ MY BLACK AZZ... it kind of was obscured by the work of Dre, Cube, and Eazy in the time but it was real dope.

here man...

Everybody who had cable TV at the time should remember that, haha.

Man you guys are old!! lol

---------------------------------------
http://redesignyourmindmuzik.podomatic.com/

www.soundcloud.com/redesignyourmindmuzik

www.redesignyourmindmuzik.bandcamp.com/

www.youtube.com/user/thesirmittens

Then I paged a nigga all the lyrics

I swear, every car riding on the strip was playing that album

*
*
*

I was a child, but was old for my age and very observant. From what i can remember... and keep in my mind I lived in South Central Los Angeles for most of the '90s... that shit was audio gospel.

I heard Dre and Snoop everywhere I went pretty much. My mom had both The Chronic and Doggy Style on cassette and I would try to sneak and listen to them when i was home alone, even though my mom played them around me in the car all of the time.

Westcoast gangsta rap, particularly Dre and The Chronic was really the first hip-hop that grabbed me and made me pay attention to it and actively acknowledge it. I would say that it had a big impact on me, but ironically I turned out to be 180 from a gangsta, thug, or anything like that in adulthood.

It's an album that I listened to moreso several years after its release, as i approached my pre-teens. But I can't imagine 1993 in South Central without this album being it's official soundtrack.

Ironically, The Chronic is a huge part of my childhood.

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thing about that. I was probably busy learning to spell my name or something lol as I was four years old.

Always interesting to read about earlier eras, sometimes makes me feel I got gypped coming of age in generation free. Nowadays even the most anticipated album's buzz/conversation-piece status lasts about a month.

Everybody's doing a pretty good job of remember where they were and what was going on when they heard it, definitely a sign of an important album.

me and my friends.

i couldn't listen to rap in my parents' house, so i had to listen in cars. and that's how i first experienced The Chronic. riding around in cars full of 16 yr old brothers.

'This should be played at high volume. Preferably in a residential area.' LOL my homies loved to crank the shit right when we pulled into my parents' driveway, trying to get me in trouble. it never worked though.

anyway, the hype...'Deep Cover' and 'G Thang' had me pretty amped for The Chronic. those songs were inescapable at skating rinks and house parties.

fuck you.

...pretty disappointing album overall

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Still do.

I though the Chronic was too deriative and too smoothed out.

I wanted my life to be mellow and my music to be hectic. Still do.

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....Deep Cover was raw as fuck ...the songs on the Chronic? not so much , give me NWA over that shit anyway

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But I mean there were some darker songs on Chronic, such as The day the niggaz took over, but of course that was no Deep Cover.

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Lyrical Gangbang is the hardest song on The Chronic.

The 2nd side had all the hard cuts from Lyrical Gangbang and Stranded to Bitches Aint sh!t. The Chronic was last album were Dre had some boom bap within his music. From Snoop on it would be strickly G Funk and his style now.

>The day the niggaz took over

the airwaves

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Especially the second side of the album. Tracks like "N#$%a with a Gun," "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat,""Lyrical Gangbang," "High Powered," and "Stranded on Death Row," are solid beats and lyrics, blunted in the studio, almost boom-bap type shit. Throw in the "G-Thing" remix and "Blunts and Tanqueray," and there's a lot of straight-up hip-hop shit recorded for those sessions.

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