Today, April 20th, 2020, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic will finally be available on all music streaming platforms, and MERRY JANE is celebrating with a special livestream at 4:20pm PST featuring a DJ set by Snoop Dogg himself. To support the historic occasion, MERRY JANE is diving deep into the legacy of the infamous record that changed music forever.
When Dr. Dre assembled a crew of young MCs to compose his 1992 masterpiece The Chronic, most of them were either fresh faces or — in the case of one contributor — had voluntarily fallen off. For example, RBX officially quit rapping before Snoop asked him to return to the game and contribute some verses to the album. And Snoop himself had previously only been featured once before on the soundtrack for Deep Cover, which Dre also produced. The Chronic introduced the D-O double-G to the world properly, featuring the young MC on 13 of the record’s 17 tracks.
Similarly, Lady of Rage had already achieved some success as part of the LA Posse, but her inclusion on The Chronic catapulted her to international fame and then to Hollywood. Nate Dogg got his start forming the group 213 with Snoop and Warren G, but the globe first got to taste Nate’s baritone serenades on The Chronic.
In short, The Chronic was a milestone for many soon-to-be timeless artists, and we couldn’t be more excited about its re-release. Since we’ve been bumping the album all 4/20 long, we’re refreshing ourselves on some of its finer moments. To wit, we’ve gathered up a small sampling of some of the LP’s best and most infamous verses.
From “The Chronic (Intro)”
Snoop Dogg:
“I want y'all to put these bizzalls in your jizzaws
And work them like a strizzaw, tell me what you sizzaw”
From “Nuthin' But a G Thang”
Snoop Dogg:
"Gimme the microphone first, so I can bust like a bubble
Compton and Long Beach together, now you know you in trouble"
Dr. Dre:
"Well, I'm peepin' and I'm creepin' and I'm creepin'
But I damn near got caught ‘cause my beeper kept beepin'
Now it's time for me to make my impression felt
So sit back, relax, and strap on your seat belt
You never been on a ride like this befo'
With a producer who can rap and control the maestro
At the same time with the dope rhyme that I kick
You know and I know, I flow some old funky shit"
Snoop Dogg:
"Fallin' back on that ass with a hellafied gangsta lean
Gettin' funky on the mic like a old batch of collard greens
It's the capital S, oh yes, I'm fresh, N double-O, P
D, O, double-G, Y, D, O, double-G, you see"
From “Let Me Ride”
Dr. Dre:
"But before I hit the dope spot
Gotta get the chronic,
The Remy Martin, and my soda pop"
Dr. Dre:
"Why don't you let me roll on?
I remember back in the days when I used to have to get my stroll on
Didn't nobody wanna speak
Now everybody peeping out they window
When they hear me beating up the street
Is it Dre? Is it Dre?
That's what they say
Every single motherfucking day"
From “Deeez Nuuuts”
Daz Dillinger:
"Starting static with Dre, make way for the AK
That I bring as I slang like cavi
Not from Kris Kross but they call me Mac Daddy!"
Daz Dillinger:
“God damn, I ripped up, flipped up, and skipped up
On top of things as they swing towards my ding-a-ling”
Snoop Dogg:
"But could you raise up off his nuts?
Cause Dr. Drizze's about to rizzip shit up"
From “Lil Ghetto Boy”
Snoop Dogg:
"Wake up, jumped out my bed
I'm in a two-man cell with my homie Lil 1/2 Dead
Murder was the case that they gave me
Dear God, I wonder can you save me"
Dr. Dre:
"I'm back up on my feet with my mind on the money
That I'll be making soon as I touch the streets
Things done changed on this side
Remember they used to thump but now they blast, right?"
Dr. Dre:
“I fell to the ground with blood on my hands
I didn't understand
How a n**** so young could bust a cap
I used to be the same way back
I guess that's what I get
For trying to jack them little homies for they grip”
Snoop Dogg:
"Some think it's wrong but we tend to think it's right
So make all them ends you can make
'Cause when you're broke, you break, check it out"
From “Lyrical Gangbang”
Lady of Rage:
"Now what you wanna do, ya wanna battle, uh?
Send you up shit creek without a motherfucking paddle
Rattle that brain, I'm not that same ol' plain Jane
Roll on you like a boulder, you're nothin' more than a grain
Or a pebble, take it from the real rap rebel
Not Bushwick Bill but I can take it to that other level"
Kurupt:
“They say I'm bad so you'll find none worse than this
Chewing motherfuckers up like a Hershey Kiss
Put to sleep, loving the lyrics I leave in the minds of each
Rough when flex, too complex, wrecks your mental piece
Kurupt:
"Yo, I breaks 'em off, I breaks 'em off, chief
Deadly as Jason on Friday the 13th"
RBX:
“Black soldier, here to teach and mold ya
The innovator, dominator, narrator
R-B to the mothafuckin' X, flex wicked”
RBX:
“On the concrete, here comes the white sheet
Mr. Coroner, caught with some yellow tape
But the murderers escape
Audi like 5 G's
Lyrical Gangbang but it's just a G thang”
From “The Roach (Outro)”
RBX:
"Cannabis sativa, or in the heart of LA, known as the Chronic
Not to be confused with the Bionic
Even though, it does cost six million dollars
Man, understand?"
From “Bitches Ain’t Shit”
Dr. Dre:
"I used to know a bitch named Eric Wright
We used to roll around and fuck the hoes at night
Tighter than a motherfucka with the gangsta beats
And we was balling on the motherfucking Compton streets
Peep, the shit got deep and it was on
Number 1 song after number 1 song
Long as my motherfucking pockets was fat
I didn't give a fuck where the bitch was at"
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