USA TODAY US Edition

Dr. Dre’s landmark ‘The Chronic’ turns 25

Dr. Dre’s The Chronic was released Dec. 15, 1992. Twentyfive years later, we look back on things you may not have known about the rap icon’s seminal solo debut.

- Patrick Ryan

1

The cover art nods to the logo for Zig Zag Rolling Papers — fitting, given the album’s cannabis-inspired title.

2

The album spent eight months in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at No. 3.

3

The Chronic is regarded as one of the best-selling rap albums of all time, with 7.5 million copies sold worldwide to date. It was bested by Dr. Dre’s

1999 follow-up, 2001, with

9.3 million.

4

It notched two hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart: Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang, which peaked at No. 2, and Let Me Ride, which reached No. 34.

5

Let Me Ride won a Grammy Award for best rap solo performanc­e. The album also earned a nod for rap performanc­e by a duo or group, for Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang.

6

Dr. Dre discovered Snoop Dogg after the latter freestyled over En Vogue’s Hold On. As Snoop recalled to LA Weekly,

Dre called him and said, “‘Man, that (expletive) was dope. I want to get with you. Come to the studio Monday.’ ”

7

The Chronic helped launch the career of Snoop, who had appeared on Dr. Dre’s Deep Cover but made an unforgetta­ble showing on 11 of the album’s 16 tracks — most memorably, Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang.

8

The album also introduced the world to rapper/producer Warren G, who broke out with his own hit, Regulate, featuring Nate Dogg in 1994.

9

The opening drums of Led Zeppelin’s bluesy 1971 single When the Levee Breaks are sampled on Lyrical Gangbang.

10

11

James Brown’s Funky Drummer also is sam

pled on Let Me Ride. Kanye West touted the album’s influence on his music in an interview with Rolling Stone, calling it “the hip-hop equivalent to Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. It’s the benchmark you measure your album against if you’re serious.”

12

Dr. Dre and his producers are credited with pioneering a new sound known as “G-funk” on The Chronic, whose live instrument­s and synth-laden melodies were “a sharp departure from the darker, sample-heavy East Coastbased sound that dominated hip-hop at the time,” according to BET.

13

Although N.W.A had since disbanded, Eazy-E still received 25 to 50 cents for every copy sold of The Chronic because of his deal with Ruthless Records.

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 ??  ?? Dr. Dre’s solo debut set the rap standard for years to come. DAVE MANGELS/GETTY IMAGES FOR COACHELLA
Dr. Dre’s solo debut set the rap standard for years to come. DAVE MANGELS/GETTY IMAGES FOR COACHELLA

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