Eminem had released The Slim Shady LP at the top of the year, and, despite Dre’s involvement on that album, their best-known collaborationswere yet to come. 2001 was integral to Eminem’s ascension and despite that memorable “What’s The Difference” appearance, it’s “Forgot About Dre” that most remember as the album’s defining track. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this track is the fact that Xzibit’s going toe-to-toe with the other guy who would skyrocket to stardom after 2001’s release… Marshall Mathers.Īs influential as Dre was for NWA and his own albums, he’s now just as famous for launching Eminem’s career. Xzibit appears on three 2001 songs: first on the opener “Lolo,” featuring Dre’s whole posse, and then on “What’s the Difference,” one of the album’s standout moments. The following year he would release Restless, the best-selling album of his career, and would continue a successful musical run before achieving massive crossover success when he became a household name as the host of MTV’s Pimp My Ride. Nate Dogg wasn’t the only star who’d follow in Snoop’s tracks, helping to cement Dre’s reputation as a kingmaker. In the years to follow, he’d deliver some of the most memorable hooks in hip-hop, before his untimely passing in 2011. Nate Dogg, too, has featured vocals all over 2001, en route to developing a reputation as one of the most respected crooners in the game. Kurupt is back for a few more verses and Hittman is all over the album. We should also thank Dre for introducing a whole generation of kids to the symphonic genius of the late David Axelrod, through his brilliant sampling of Axelrod’s “The Edge.”

2001 is a similarly collaboration-heavy album Snoop Dogg, now a superstar, is only on four songs this time around, but the reduced quantity is hardly noticeable because two of those songs are “Still DRE” and “The Next Episode,” two of the most definitive songs not only in Dre’s catalog but in the entire canon of West Coast hip-hop. The Chronic also features some of the most iconic songs of the decade – singles that are still in constant rotation on California radio, and on airwaves all over the world.īut for all The Chronic achieved, it also laid the groundwork for Dre’s stunning follow-up.

Daz Dillinger and Kurupt also appear on a handful of tracks, and they would go on to assist on Snoop’s Doggystyle before releasing their own debut albums. It’s billed as a solo album, but with Snoop on nearly every track, The Chronic feels like a collaborative album. Dre already had one culture-shifting album under his belt: The Chronic had not only cemented him as one of the most legendary hip-hop producers of all time, but it had also turned Snoop Dogg into a star.

Dr dre 2001 the chronic