audio review : The Chronic ( album ) … Dr Dre

audio review : The Chronic ( album ) ... Dr Dre

“Welcome to Death Row,” a voice says as you enter a room filled with weed smoke thick enough to make you choke. It’s The Chronic; a westcoast (Californian) celebration where all “niggas” want to do is get “fucked-up” and ride around blasting their own records. The bulk of that music features hardcore rap vocals over 1970s-style P-funk; soul samples by George Clinton and others interlaced with original hip-hop tracks; dubbed G-funk for the gangstas.

Despite this solo venture, it’s still NWA. It’s just that Dr Dre is no longer a member of the group, so verbal gunfire goes to former homies like Eazy E, along with casual shit-talkers like Luke Campbell and Tim Dog. Though Dr Dre is only alone on the album cover, he has his own Dogg; a smooth-flowing youngster who goes by the name of Snoop; among plenty of others. They have his back thru whatever, deadly drama and random song features included.

The beats bang, the synths blaze and the rhymes are decent enough for the genre. “I write a rhyme hard as concrete,” RBX declares, “Step to the heat and get burned like mesquite.” The best song is the one with the deepest hook; a politically driven street anthem dedicated to the Lil Ghetto Boy. It begins with heartfelt testimony about a poor African kid, presumably real audio from the LA riots, and features a magnificent jazz flute that is sure to enhance your high.

my rating : 4 of 5

1992

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

random posts :

new posts