Dr Dre is well known as a great producer who gave life to Eminem and many others who were big names in the Rap industry. Aside from that, he was one of the members of the infamous N.W.A. group and also has had a very successful solo music career. This is his second album release and is often seen as a solid gold Rap classic. Let’s take a listen to this historic album, and hear where it takes us.

Lolo – Intro features Xzibit and Tray Dee. It begins with a sort of Dolby Digital Surround Sound sort of thing before the guests start speaking as Dr Dre comes up as a mutant in a robot suit of sorts. Pretty cool, it quickly segues into the next track.

The Watcher features Knoc-Turn’al. It launches into a really awesome and interesting piece of music that gives the world an update on things that have been going on since Dr Dre began his career as a Rapper. A nice and straightforward tune and the instrumentation here is amazing sounding. Both the beats and sounds are really top. Dr Dre makes some super impressive tunes here, and he paints himself as a menace to society and lets us know that all aren’t on his side. A wonderful track, and definitely worth hearing. A wonderful listen and a great start to such a monumental album. Great to hear.

Fuck You is very direct and to the point. It features Devin The Dude and Snoop Dogg. It begins with a mock phone call with a lady missing Dr Dre. Soon enough, this tune gets kicking and it launches into a scathing attack on a lover that Dr Dre has. Interesting listening, and very profane, this music is very good and clever. Sure, some Rap fans may say that this is “old” music, but it still sounds as amazing and fresh as it was back in 1999. Devin The Dude raps very well, as does Snoop Dogg, and their contributions make this song come alive. An interesting listening experience, and a very excellent lyrical tune here. A great three-and-a-half minutes of music.

Still D.R.E. is the biggest hit here of the album, with over a billion listens on Spotify. It features Snoop Dogg, again. It begins with an electric piano sound, strings and a very melancholy feel to the music at hand. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful tune to hear and it is very anthemic, fantastic and moving. Dr Dre proves his worth in the world of Rap music and he has an agenda and appeal that is not to be matched by anyone out there. An awesome piece of music that is easily recognisable and memorable, this should definitely be heard by more people. A passionate musical piece, straight from the heart of Dr Dre. A wonderful tune to hear and this sounds like something to smoke a bit of weed to. The outro has the piano part with Snoop Dogg finishing up by talking about wanting to get some green. Excellent tune, fantastic.

Big Ego’s features Hittman. It begins with a helicopter sound and radio talk about landing in Compton, LA. Some moody piano enters, and we are underway. This is a very good song from the start. Dr Dre begins rapping about guns and other similar ongoings in the neighbourhood he lives in. It’s a very hardcore and explicit tune with some gorgeous instrumentation. This is A Grade weed smoking music, and it is designed to be for that purpose. There is a section with fake screams and gunfire, to illuminate the point better in this song, listen and you’ll find out why. A good tune, even though this isn’t the best tune from this album. There is an interesting phone answering machine message at the end, which is very funny and weird simultaneously, with Hittman making a statement here. Great stuff.

Xxplosive features Hittman, Six-Two, Nate Dogg and Kurupt. It begins with a melancholy guitar riff, pounding drum beats and has the usual Rap talk (weed, women, etc…) and it does sound fantastic for what it is. In any case, the music here is okay but obviously isn’t a real standout piece of music on this album. Anyway, it is okay and is about lust driven romance, and very explicitly, hitting the bong. An interesting listening experience, with lyrics like: “Now that I’m sober, you ain’t that hot,” which are profane and interesting. A very good song to listen to, this album changed the way music and songs were made. An excellent tune to hear. The outro sounds very reminiscent of the effects used in the first film of The Matrix series. Excellent stuff.

What’s The Difference features both Eminem and Xzibit. It begins with an Edvard Grieg sounding piece of music, but with horns and electronic sounds to boot. Dr Dre quickly gets into the Rap at the time. In any case, this is another wonderful and listenable tune about gang life and similar ongoings in Dr Dre’s world. An awesome piece of music and the guest appearances are just as good here. Dr Dre, yet again, has nailed the sound here and makes a great impression on the listener. It is very clear that Dr Dre is a great composer of tunes. Eminem’s part is likely the standout on this tune, and he raps about murdering his ex-partner Kim. A very good listen all the same, and the In The Hall Of The Mountain King vibe on this song is really cool. It ends with a gunshot. Very, very good tune.

Bar One is a short and funny skit, featuring Traci Nelson, Ms Roq and Eddie Griffin. It has a good set of twists and turns in the less than a minute long tune that this is. Worth hearing, and an essential part of this album. Nice humour here Dr Dre dude.

Light Speed features Hittman. It begins with a spacey intro leading from the previous tune, and this song sounds like a science fiction piece for those who smoke a ton of weed. This is a sort of tune that is great for waking and baking, for those who enjoy it. Although this isn’t the greatest tune from this album, it is still an excellent listening experience and it largely works. A really interesting tune, and the calm before on this album. Excellent tune. The outro is wack.

Forgot About Dre is the legendary song featuring Eminem. It begins with some string patches on the keyboard, some liquid guitar and hi-hats galore. Dr Dre raps in one of his finest moments ever on record on this song, without question. Sure, this is quite old musically by this point to hear, but Dr Dre’s Rap music has an incredible amount of soul and passion in it. A wonderful, wonderful tune that sounds really decent and great, Eminem’s voice sounds really fantastic and direct lyrically here. Hopefully, nobody has forgotten about Dr Dre today, a great tune to hear on this album. A fantastic piece of music, and a great listen. One of the highlights of this album.

The Next Episode features Snoop Dogg. This is an instantly recognisable song and has had more arrests at house parties over the years for it being played there (note that this may be a good tip for you not to do so) than any other track in the history of music. It begins with some symphonic sections, before launching straight into a glorious piece of stoner Rap music. Snoop Dogg raps nicely over the top of the spacey, weed inspired song that makes an impression to this day. Really cool, this song is an absolutely legendary tune that sounds really fantastic. Awesome tune, the ending has another spacey breakdown. The chanting at the end is fantastic, and is quickly shut off, before stating simply: “Smoke weed every day”. A true classic.

Let’s Get High features Hittman, Ms Roq and Kurupt. It is a shorter piece that is designed to be played at a really good house party. An awesome tune nonetheless, although this album heavily features Hittman, as though this is his solo record. Dr Dre’s lyrics are funny, “Yeah. I just took some ecstasy, ain’t no telling what the side effects could be, all these fine bitches equal sex to me…” is a clear example of some of the lyricism on this album. Another very good tune that deserves listening and praise for what it is. Enjoyable tune, Ms Roq’s section is quite good as well, concluding this interesting track which is very simple listening.

Bitch Niggaz features Hittman, Six-Two and Snoop Dogg. This begins with a statement: “Some good ass weed!” before launching into a rather ordinary tune from this album. It’s not outright bad but it sounds very ordinary musically and suffers as a result. Also, it is a little too long as well. Dr Dre eventually enters and makes an impression on this tune, although this tune is rather ordinary. It has a scratched section in the middle stating, “Stop scheming and looking hard”. A decent enough tune for what this song is, this sounds quite intellectual for Rap music. A very unusual take on Rap music, this song sounds really cool. An imperfect listen that is ultimately rewarding.

The Car Bomb features Mel-Man and Charis Henry. It’s a basic skit about said car bomb. It is fairly humourous and unusual and adds a bit of flavour to the record. An interesting one-minute-long piece, with a great conclusion.

Murder Ink features Hittman and Ms Roq. It begins with a nice piano patch and is quickly followed by a Rap tirade that makes this album come across as a bit of a Hittman solo album, which it shouldn’t have been. Fortunately, this is a relatively short piece of music that makes up for impact instead of quality. A very interesting tune, even if this isn’t the most pleasant listening experience about being Gangsta Rapper and a serial killer. Good, but by no means great.

Ed-Ucation is a short piece of music that is simply a piece of music aimed at gold digging ladies. It’s not entirely necessary on this album and comes across as a rant. Not worth hearing, to be honest. Pretty stupid and a sexist piece of music.

Some L.A. Niggaz features Hittman, Ms Roq, Knoc-Turn’al, The Time Bomb, Koka Kambon, DEFARI and MC Ren. Basically, a lot of guests are on this tune. It begins with some decent bleeps and beats, with some good Rapping over the top. Again, this is a little weaker than expected, but it still sounds decent and interesting enough to hear today. The guests present make this a bit more interesting than usual. A good tune, even if it is not a great tune. Los Angeles has had its fair share of awesome Rap musicians, and Dr Dre and crew are no different here. Decent for what it is, although this could have been cut down in length a bit. Regardless, this minimal tune has a good feel to it. In any case, this is worth your time, even if it drags on a bit. The harmonies in the chorus are really weird. The long outro should have been cut down in length, too.

Pause 4 Porno features Jake Steed. It’s the most mental recorded fake sex you will ever hear. It’s best not to spoil the surprise, but it is hilariously weird. An enjoyable piece of skit worthiness, it is really hilarious. A great addition to the album that is really weird throughout.

Housewife features Hittman (for the trillionth time) and Kurupt. It begins with some funky bass, muted electric guitar and some decent rapping with the chorus. This is about avoiding a sort of woman who just loves sex, not love or anything serious. A really awesome and underrated piece of music and the whole tune sounds really cool. Enjoyable and interesting, Kurupt’s rapping here is a welcome change from Hittman and Dr Dre rapping it out. A good tune about avoiding the wrong woman to have a relationship with, this would be considered hugely sexist if released today. A memorable and interesting listen nonetheless, this sounds very pretty. Nice work. It ends with an amusing little recorded skit, thrown onto the album for good measure.

Ackrite features Hittman again. Yes, again. This is likely the worst track on the whole album, and it doesn’t sound very good. It is the same three notes on piano repeated again and again, with a boring Rap section and some guitar to match. This would have been better if it wasn’t so dull and repetitive. In any case, the music present sounds dull and the Rap itself seems like a chore to listen to. Anyway, if you have to avoid one track on this album, then this is it. A very terrible piece of music that has not aged well at all. The skit section at the end is different, however.

Bang Bang features Hittman (honestly, again, why?) and Knoc-Turn’al. It is a better cut than what came previously and has gunshots and some good rapping by Dr Dre. A good addition to an album that gets a little weaker towards the end, this is a good Gangsta Rap tune. Anyway, decent enough to hear this today, the music sounds good for what it is. A fresh and good listen regardless, the music on this song is good. A bit repetitive, but good to hear all the same. Dr Dre knows his stuff musically, and this is no different here. It ends with the looped high-pitched vocals and the backing instrumental track.

The Message features Mary J. Blige and Rell. This is one of the saddest and most depressing songs made in the history of Rap music. It’s a homage to a close friend of Dr Dre’s. A real tearjerker piece of music, this is a wonderful piece of music that deserves to be heard. “Listen, listen, listen…” is sung in the chorus. A very moving, deep and emotional listen throughout, this sounds really dramatic. If you ever need to cry, try this song. Depressing as hell to listen to, but definitely worth it. The super long outro is worth it. Emotional pain is something everyone experiences, and this is a good song to break down in tears to.

Outro features Thomas Chong of Cheech and Chong which was one of the original stoner comedian series. It’s short and amusing, and it makes an impression here. Good finish to the album.

This is a monumental album, one of the greatest Rap albums of the 1990s, and all time. Dr Dre really had talent at this time, and he made some thrilling songs during his time. Do check out this album if you love weed and some decent music and humour to go with it. This was the last Dr Dre album for 16 years. Nonetheless, Dr Dre’s legacy was confirmed with this album release. Great music. The only possible flaw here is Hittman being on almost every single song. Still, this is Dr Dre’s album, not his.

Awesome.

9/10