![]() And even beyond hip-hop, these records deepened my love of R&B and jazz as I hunted down the sources of the samples and interpolations used throughout.Īnd yet still, nothing quite sounds like the Doctor’s music. Going back in time from 2001 to The Chronic, and finally, Straight Outta Compton gave me a true appreciation for the genre I now listen to the most. Dre’s music to be legitimately mind-expanding in a way the works of seldom few other artists are. But the rest of me wisely decided to respect and appreciate the musicianship that was there in abundance, even if it didn’t match the erroneous standards I had at the time. Somewhere in me, the rock “purist” wanted to cry foul about the lack of live instrumentation or flowery lyrics or some such ridiculousness. Dre project at this point, it’s also one of the most measured and purposeful albums I’ve ever heard the tone of every last note, the delivery of every last bar, it’s all deliberately constructed to make the trunk-rattlingest, head-bobbingest album imaginable. Even though 2001 is probably my least favorite Dr. There was expert craftsmanship on display, pure and simple. I couldn’t care less which parts were sampled or interpolated, which parts were written by Dre or one of his collaborators. The way you think the music was made, the level of skill or instrumental proficiency you presume went into making it - that’s all petty compared to the feelings it gives and the worlds it shows you.Īnd that’s what finally hit me when I sat back to listen to 2001 for the first time. Even if the songs that result don’t speak to you, they have value, and they are worthy of listening to if you have the time. Of all forms of popular media, music provides perhaps the most direct pathway there is into other’s beliefs and experiences. ![]() It’s sort of amazing that I could listen to this line so many times and not truly understand what it meant. In his own immortal words - and in what is one of my favorite lyrics in all of music - you “don’t have to bump this, but please respect it.” Tupac was pretty much the only rapper I had any appreciation for before being enlightened - after all, you’d basically have to be a heartless monster to listen to Pac and not be moved in some way. And moreover, the performers didn’t hit any notes, they just said words to a beat. They were made on machines, relied heavily on loops, and most abhorrently, sampled the work of true musicians who actually put effort into learning and playing an instrument. ![]() Like a lot of misguided suburbanite youths, I clung tightly to the unbelievably stupid view that “classic rock” (whatever that fucking means) was the only form of popular music with any worth. I still vividly remember listening to 2001 - my West Coast hip-hop gateway drug - in high school, not yet particularly well-versed in rap music. Those records are foundational to my love of rap music without them, I don’t know if I’d be as big a fan of the genre as I am today. The latter two in particular are some of my favorite albums across any genre, hands-down. That may sound strange considering the fact that I’m a white college student who doesn’t even smoke weed, much less do anything more mischievous, but 2001, The Chronic, and Straight Outta Compton are all records I hold dear.
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