Review #3: Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)

Alright, confession time. I've never listened to The Chronic. Confession number two; I've never enjoyed old school rap. So, I figured I'd take a stab at reviewing a classic I've never heard, in The Chronic. It was Dre's first album, and was apparently revolutionary back in '92. Let's see how it is!

1. The Chronic (intro) (Feat. Snoop Dogg)
Wow, I love the beat on here. Didn't expect that. Snoop is funny as hell on here too. Especially the singing at the end, hooooly fuck!

2. Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everyone's Celebratin) (Feat. Snoop Dogg, RBX & Jewell)
It's amazing how different Dre sounds now. He flows like water on here, and the beat's pretty cool too. And Snoop Lion makes a solid appearance here, passing the mic with Dre.

3. Let Me Ride (Feat. Snoop Dogg, Ruben & Jewell)
A solid track, Dre's flow is pretty decent, but im not too fond of the disco feel on here.

4. The Day The Niggaz Took Over (Feat. Dat Nigga Daz, Snoop Dogg & RBX)
Nice funky beat, cool old school feel, parts are kinda eerie, but it adds to it. Also Dat Nigga Daz is pretty dope on here with a Reggae type flow.

5. Nuthin But A G-Thang (Feat. Snoop Dogg)
The first song I've heard of so far, because Eminem freestyled over part of this beat, which is dope by the way. Snoop is awesome on here, I don't mind he's featured on fucking every song. This shit's like Bad Meets Evil, Death Row style. Best song so far.

6. Deeez Nuuuts (Feat. Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Dat Nigga Daz & Nate Dogg)
The beginning was funny as hell, and it's another solid beat. For whatever reason though, this track doesn't stick out as good to me.

7. Lil' Ghetto Boy (Feat. Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg)
This song's actually really funny, and Nate Dogg's hook makes me laugh every time. But for me this track's just comic relief.

8. A Nigga Witta Gun
WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? A SOLO TRACK!?!? No way. Kinda a funny intro, Dre has decent flow on here, but again nothing special. Catchy hook though.

9. Rat-tat-tat-tat (Feat. Snoop Dogg, RBX & BJ)
Well Dre obviously got separation anxiety from that last track and brought in his buddies. But seriously, who calls themself BJ? I love the beat on here, and Dre sounds energized on this track. Another catchy hook, and we've got a good song.

10. The $20 Stack Pyramid (skit) (Feat. Big Tittie Nicki, The D.O.C., Snoop Dogg & Samara)
Holy fuck this shit was funny as hell! This may be my favorite skit of all time. On any album. I may just put this skit on my iPod, and nothing else.  This one's deffinitely going in the skit hall of fame.

11. Lyrical Gangbang (Feat. The Lady Of Rage, RBX & Kurupt)
Dre was too busy to appear on this track, but Kurupt spits my favorite verse on the album so far. Also a pretty funny intro, I liked the "residential street" part. RBX kind of ruins the track at the end though.

12. High Powered (Feat. The Lady Of Rage, RBX & Dat Nigga Daz)
Dre doesn't actually spit a verse on here either, although he talks a bit at the beginning. This is pretty much a RBX solo track, although he carries it pretty well. Also, a solid bea

13. The Doctor's Office (skit) (Feat. Jewell & The Lady Of Rage)
Well, we've got some sex noises here, doesn't really contribute much to the album though in terms of humour or story.

14. Stranded On Death Row (Feat. Bushwick Bill, Kurupt, The Lady Rage, RBX & Snoop Dogg)
Everyone gets on this song except Dre. That means he hasn't even rapped in 5 tracks, on his own fucking album. Kurupt spits another great verse, RBX doesn't, The Lady Rage is great on here, and Snoop is pretty impressive. Actually, this is a pretty good track.

15. The Roach (outro) (Feat. Emmage, RBX, Jewell, The Lady Rage, Dat Nigga Daz & Ruben)
I'm not a fan of this. Random talking, and a chorus every now and then. Plus Dre doesn't appear here either. Maybe he left after the skit $2o Pyramid skit?

16. Bitches Ain't Shit (Feat. Snoop Dogg, Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt, Jewell)
The last track on the album, and only the second track I've heard of, also because Eminem freestyled on the beat. Dre's back which is a good sign, and he spits his dopest verse all album. Snoop is great again, and so is Kurupt, while Daz's verse is passable. A good track, overall.

Best Tracks: Nuthin But A G-Thang, Stranded On Death Row, and Bitches Ain't Shit

Grade: 6.5/10...but before you hate me forever, im not a fan of old school rap, and this is probably my favorite album of all time, pre-1995. So not bad at all, but I didn't enjoy it as much as some.

So yeah, that's the review. Kinda feel like I should't be giving an iconic album like The Chronic such a low grade, but I didn't see it was amazing. It was deffinitely a ground-breaking record when it came out, and some tracks are really great. Just most aren'y my taste.