Project 365 Day #257
“Forgot About Dre” from the album 2001, released in 1999
Dr. Dre makes hits and drops beats like no other. If his time in NWA doesn’t prove it to you, if his first solo album, The Chronic, doesn’t prove it to you, this absolute banger that celebrates and presages the ending of gangsta rap, (“Give me one more platinum plaque then fuck rap, you can have it back”), won’t.
But it should. Not only does it showcase Dr. Dre’s musical talents, but his business acumen and pop culture knowledge too. Eminem was the moneymaker at the time, so Eminem appears on “Forgot About Dre.” Sure, he’s skilled, but the pragmatist in me says he would appear on songs across 2001 even if he wasn’t skilled… as long as he was popular.
It’s genius.
