Dr. Dre’s Greatest Hits

While it’s easy to select dozens of innovative Dre productions for their banging beats and scintillating arrangements, it’s important to note how Dre, the rapper, tailored his deep voice to meet the dramatic nuance or opulent bombast of the music he produced. Never mind that he’s historically had assistance writing his lyrics; it’s how he’s translated those words and married them to forward-thinking instrumentation that’s etched him in the hip-hop history books. Each of Variety’s best-of selections includes Dre behind the wheel of the mixing board and behind the mic.

1 Express Yourself 1988 N.W.A

The gangster rap mob’s debut, “Straight Outta Compton,” was notorious for its fullfrontal, socio-political attacks on cops and breathtaking ghetto travelogues such as “Fuck tha Police” and the album’s title track — both featuring the fierce vocals of Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-e and Dre’s pioneering production. But “Express Yourself” is Dre’s big solo rap moment on “Straight Outta Compton.” It’s a winner as his cocksure voice rides the brassy contours of Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s “Express Yourself” and lyrics such as “My technique is very necessary.”

2 Niggaz 4 Life 1991 N.W.A

With Ice Cube out of N.W.A before its sophomore album, Dre became a stronger force as part of MC Ren and Eazy-e’s inner circle and fashioned a Moebius strip of historic samples to tell the title track’s tale of misogynistic, machismo-driven unity. To that end, Dre’s deep voice sticks out amidst the tapestry of clips of the Last Poets, Kool & the Gang, the Meters, Little Feet, Curtis Mayfield and Parliament’s rump-shaking classic “Flashlight.”

3 Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang 1992 DR. DRE FEATURING SNOOP DOGG

There are several “Chronic” classics and its West Coast-defining G-funk sound. Still, no track defines that sound more than Dre and Snoop Dogg joining forces for the syrupy smooth “Nuthin’.” Hearing the rumble of Dre’s flow — then-fresh to a solo career after leaving N.W.A — paired with Snoop’s new school slither for the first time was breathtaking.

4 Natural Born Killaz 1994 DR. DRE & ICE CUBE

Listen to the instrumental tone of Dre’s dense, ominous intro — a mean growl. This is the notso-laidback flipside of “The Chronic” and its mellow vibe. Cube’s pointed rap and Dre’s menacing rhymes showed that the chemistry hadn’t been lost on their first collaboration since their time in N.W.A.

5 California Love 1995 2PAC FEATURING DR. DRE AND ROGER TROUTMAN

There were only two Dre-produced songs on Tupac Shakur’s 1996 set “All Eyez on Me,” and “California Love” may be Shakur’s shining moment … and possibly Dre’s, too. “California Love” sets a haunting mood at a time of continued unrest in L.A. “Let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west, a state that’s untouchable like Eliot Ness / The track hits your eardrum like a slug in the chest.”

6 Been There, Done That 1996 DR. DRE

This rare Dre-only song appears on “Dr. Dre Presents: The Aftermath,” the first album for his Aftermath label. This compilation of Dre-related artists finds him poking at his old gangster rap image, making light of hard-talking gun-toters at a time when rap was under fire for violent lyrics and influence on the youth. Initially criticized for walking away from his past street cred, “Been There,” in retrospect, is a handsome new approach to the next phase of Dre-dom.

7 Guilty Conscience 1999 EMINEM FEATURING DR. DRE

On the cusp of the 2000s, Dre hitched his wagon to the comically violent Eminem and created another sonic revolution, similar to what he did with Snoop a decade earlier. Only this time, Dre’s production sensibilities (to say nothing of his raps) were more dramatic, theatrical and even humorous to align with Em’s nasal raps and cutting punctuation.

8 Forgot About Dre 2000 DR. DRE FEATURING EMINEM AND HITTMAN

A plinking guitar sampled from No Doubt and a puckering sequencer line borrowed from his heroes in Kraftwerk introduce this response to diss tracks that filled the “Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000” compilation. Rarely has Dre sounded as aggressive as he does here: “Y’all are gonna keep fucking around with me, and turn me back to the old me.”

9 Genocide 2015 DR. DRE FEATURING KENDRICK LAMAR, MARSHA AMBROSIUS AND CANDICE PILLAY

Updating his West Coast vibe for the 21st century on his “Compton” solo album meant replacing its more laid-back elements with steely, industrial noise, some house music breaks and more caustic lyricism. South African singer-songwriter Pillay, Liverpool’s soulful Ambrosius and Dre’s spiritual son and fellow Comptonian, Lamar, contribute to a bracing track that pushes Dre into the future.

10 ETA 2022 DR. DRE WITH SNOOP DOGG, BUSTA RHYMES & ANDERSON .PAAK

For the “GTA Online: The Contract” EP, Dre not only appears as himself in the game, but recorded a handful of tracks with rapping friends old and new. What’s most compelling about this song is that its wheezing organs and background vocals hark back to the first soul samples — Roy Ayers, Marvin Gaye — he used on “Straight Outta Compton.” The adage “what goes around comes around” works well here.