Dr. Dre is one of the most influential rappers to ever touch the mic. Dre’s time in the music industry spans over 40 years. Dre began DJing at clubs until he met DJ Yella. In their first recording session, they recorded a song entitled “Surgery” in 1984. In 1985, Dre joined the World Class Wreckin’ Cru. They became stars of the electro-hop scene that dominated early mid 1980s West Coast hip-hop. In 1986, Dre met up with who we know now as Ice Cube. Eazy-E was running Ruthless Records, which was a small label at the time. They got together to form N.W.A., and Fuck the Police was their big hit off Straight Outta Compton. Dre began to craft his sound for Eazy-E, N.W.A., D.O.C. and J.J. Fad. After a dispute over money, Dre left the group and met Suge Knight.
Suge Knight was a bodyguard and was able to get Dr. Dre out of his contract with Ruthless Records. In 1992, Dre released his first single, the title track to the film Deep Cover, a collaboration with Snoop Dogg. Later in the same year, Dr. Dre would drop his debut solo album called The Chronic. The Chronic has sold over seven million copies since its release. The album has been called one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Three years later, Dre had a dispute with Suge Knight and eventually left Death Row Records. Suge was running Death Row Records like a mob boss and Dr. Dre wanted no parts of it. Later that year, Dre formed Aftermath Entertainment and released a compilation album with newly signed artists. The compilation dropped in November of 1996, and it received mixed reviews while going platinum.
Three years after the compilation album, Dr. Dre returned to his roots by releasing another Chronic album. 2001 was the named of it and it has also been referred to The Chronic 2001 or The Chronic II. In 1995, the original successor to The Chronic was to be titled The Chronic II: A New World Odor (Poppa’s Got A Brand New Funk). However, this version of the album was scrapped after Dre departed from Death Row Records. The Chronic 2001 would sell a little under eight million copies. Many have called it one of the best hip hop albums ever. There are others who’ve said it’s one of the best produced projects also. Still D.R.E. was the first single from the album and it’s my featured Throwback Thursday joint of the week. Still D.R.E.” was the final song written and recorded for Chronic 2001.
The song reunited Snoop and Dre, which is always a great thing. The song has been performed live numerous times by both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Notable performances include the 2000 Up in Smoke Tour and as the final song in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show on February 13, 2022. The song has been talked about because Jay-Z wrote the entire song. Check out the video for Still D.R.E. up above. Below, you can check the track listing and stream link for the Chronic 2001 album.
The Chronic 2001 Track Listing
- Lolo (Intro) ft. Xzibit & Tray Deee
- The Watcher
- Fuck You ft. Devin the Dude & Snoop Dogg
- Still D.R.E. ft. Snoop Dogg
- Big Ego’s ft. Hittman
- Xxplosive ft. Hittman, Kurupt, Nate Dogg & Six-Two
- What’s the Difference ft. Eminem & Xzibit
- Bar One (Skit) ft. Traci Nelson, Ms. Roq & Eddie Griffin
- Light Speed ft. Hittman
- Forgot About Dre ft. Eminem
- The Next Episode ft. Snoop Dogg
- Let’s Get High ft. Hittman, Kurupt & Ms. Roq
- Bitch Niggaz ft. Snoop Dogg, Hittman, & Six-Two
- The Car Bomb (Skit)
- Murder Ink ft. Hittman & Ms. Roq
- Ed-Ucation ft Eddie Griffin
- Some L.A. Niggaz ft. Defari, Xzibit, Knoc-Turnal, Time Bomb, King T, MC Ren & Kokane
- Pause 4 Porno (Skit) ft. Jake Steed
- Housewife ft. Kurupt & Hittman
- Ackrite ft. Hittman
- Bang Bang ft. Knoc-Turnal & Hittman
- The Message ft. Mary J. Blige & Rell
- Outro (Spoken by Tommy Chong)
