Dr. Dre released his second album 2001 November 16, 1999
Today marks the 21st anniversary of Dr. Dre’s maybe last solo album '2001' – you read that right today, November 16 2020, is 21 years since '2001' hit the shelves worldwide.
For those of you who were born around that time, you will remember the incredible hype and suspense around this record.
Back in the late 90s, with the death of 2Pac, West Coast hip hop had fallen out of favor with the mainstream as the flashy-suit, synth-heavy era of Puffy set in stone. Subsequently, with the rise of Southern hip hop and re-emergence of East Coast hardcore rap, the once mighty West Coast had been the odd man out.
All eyes were on Dre as he prepared his comeback initially entitled The Chronic 2001 as an indication of the new era for West Coast gangsta rap and G-Funk. It had been six years since the famed producer released his groundbreaking solo album, The Chronic, and many wondered whether Dre could match the high standards of the predecessor with his new album.
Long story short: he did. The album received “classic” status from a bunch of reviewers like XXL and The Source and sold millions and millions of records while establishing Eminem as the superstar of the genre for years to come.
Not only did it spawn countless hits like 'Still D.R.E.', 'Forgot About Dre', 'The Next Episode' and reunite the westcoast for the next few years – it has mapped much of the musical landscape of the past decade across all genres.
The album debuted at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 550,000 copies in its first week. It produced 3 singles that attained chart success and has been certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA; as of August 2015 the album has sold 7,800,000 copies in the United States.
'2001' sounds as fresh today as it did 20 years ago when it first graced our CD Players.
Listen to 2001 below.