Dre - The Chronic Label: Interscope Records - P2 57128, Death Row Records (2) - P2 57128, Priority Records - P2 5712 What's impressive is that Dre crafts tighter singles than his inspiration, George. Dre's 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, transformed the entire sound of West Coast rap.Here Dre established his patented G-funk sound: fat, blunted Parliament-Funkadelic beats, soulful backing vocals, and live instruments in the rolling basslines and whiny synths.
split acrimoniously in 1991, Eazy was especially hard on Dre, referring to him as “f-g with a stethoscope” on the 1993 diss track “ It’s On.”Īlmost three decades later, Dre is a music mogul. “I think there was a lot of shame attached to him because the genre was so based on street credibility.” When N.W.A. “It became a homophobic punchline because they wore mascara and those sorts of things,” says Kennedy. He rarely comments on the group in general, and in HBO’s 2017 documentary series, “ The Defiant Ones,” he refers to the 1984 track “Surgery” as “corny.”
Their albums “Straight Outta Compton” (1988) and “N-z4Life” (1991) were both released on Ruthless.īut Dre seems mildly embarrassed about the Cru these days. That trade-off would lead to a huge shift in music culture: Eazy, Dre and Yella would eventually joined forces with Ice Cube and MC Ren to form the classic N.W.A. In exchange for bail money, Dre agreed to work on beats for his friend Ruthless Eric “Eazy-E” Wright’s fledgling label. He needed a fresh outlet - and he found it, thanks to a trip to jail. “You can get the sense that Dre had an ear for sampling and scratching.”Īs hip-hop slowly rose to prominence during the decade, Dre was feeling suffocated by the group and its music. “Some of the music is a little silly looking back, but it’s cool to see how Dre is beginning to express his talent,” Kennedy tells The Post. Everybody was in a rush back then - it was more about quantity than quality.” For his fellow Cru-mates, DJ Yella and Dre, “it would be nothing to have three or four women in a night,” he adds.Īlthough he enjoyed the fringe benefits of being in the group, Dre was still eager to make a name for himself, and used the Cru to hone his skills. “People would take a room and come out a few minutes later. After a World Class Wreckin’ Cru show, his pad was the place to be. “Being the group leader, having my own house and owning nightclubs in Los Angeles kind of gave me Hugh Hefner status,” vocalist Alonzo Williams tells The Post. They toured extensively, and even signed to Epic for their 1986 album “ Rapped in Romance.”īut their biggest successes were with the ladies. Kennedy dives into the group, who were active between 19 and enjoyed a reasonable amount of success on the West Coast. and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap,” journalist Gerrick D.
In his new book “ Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A. He was simply a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru, a hip-hop/R&B group that performed Morris Day and the Time-style dance routines in shimmery jackets.įor his part, Dre rocked less-than-intimidating mock overalls - and even a comic stethoscope, to fit his doctor persona. The black-clad, scowling members of the group created a moral panic with their gritty tales about gang life in Compton, Calif.īut just a few years before, Dre wasn’t so scary. Dre first took the music world by storm in the ’80s as part of the legendary gangster rap group N.W.A. Kevin Liles tells Jalen Rose the 'truth' behind Milli Vanilliĭr. Jay-Z and Kanye West were the highest paid hip-hop artists of 2021 Life after death: How the Notorious B.I.G. Jalen Rose talks Wu-Tang and retirement plans with RZA
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