CULTURE
The 10 Most Crucial Covers and Rippin’ Remixes of Songs From “The Chronic”
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From a cappella remixes, to a rendition of "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, these covers of "The Chronic" pay homage to the one album you should be bumping all 4/20 long.
Published on April 20, 2020

In March 2020, the Library of Congress announced that it would preserve The Chronic by Dr. Dre in the National Recording Registry to forever honor its “cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance.”

Now, as a pitch-perfect highlight of this year’s 4/20, The Chronic by Dr. Dre is smoking up all major streaming services for the first time ever — and MERRY JANE is celebrating with a special Instagram Live DJ set by none other than Snoop Dogg himself. After all, Snoop’s artistry was introduced to the world on the landmark record, where the D-O double-G appeared on 13 of the album’s 17 tracks. 

Dre’s planet-upending 1992 masterpiece will now be flowing forth on Spotify, Amazon, Tidal, and essentially everywhere you stream music to listen to, most likely through your Beats headphones co-created by — who else? — Dr. Dre.

The impact and influence of The Chronic on music, marijuana, and the entirety of society simply cannot be understated. Dre’s defining statement, released in the apocalyptic wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the Rodney King verdict, permanently codified West Coast hip-hop and introduced a murderer’s row of talents that includes Snoop Dogg (of course), Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Lady of Rage, D.O.C, and RBX.

As Compton native The Game told LA Weekly, “The Chronic captured the reality that was with us — the black cloud over LA that existed after the riots. Robberies were at an all-time high. The National Guard was still in Compton. People were either very timid or very violent. Even if you were from Nebraska, all you had to do was listen to The Chronic and you could feel like a gangsta."

Pulitzer-Prize-winning Dre disciple Kendrick Lamar told Variety that The Chronic’s first single “Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang,” contains the greatest single verse of all time.

Summing it up for Rolling Stone, Kanye West wrote, “Do hip-hop producers hold Dr. Dre in high esteem? It's like asking a Christian if he believes Christ died for his sins… The Chronic is still 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.” 

Of course, a consciousness-cracking sonic boom like The Chronic reshapes and inspires more than just artists of the same genre, whether they’re professionals or amateurs, deeply dedicated to their craft, or just tapping into Dre for a good time.

With 4/20 at hand and The Chronic by Dr. Dre streaming everywhere, check out these ten covers of songs from the album. They range from rock star one-offs and multi-instrumental reimaginings, to hallucinatory electronic exercises and the palest posse you could ever imagine throwing down about “hoes and tricks.” Cheers to The Chronic, and a happy 4/20 to all music and marijuana fans across the globe!

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Mike McPadden
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Mike McPadden is the author of "Heavy Metal Movies" and the upcoming "Last American Virgins." He writes about movies, music, and crime in Chicago. Twitter @mcbeardo
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