It is a damn shame this album has features from legends like Scarface, E-40 and Treach from Naughty By Nature. Besides one or two good tracks made up of 2pac leftovers and whatever Kurupt and Daz contributed, this album has zero of the artistry and innovation the real Chronic and Chronic 2001 showcases. Rather a petty dig at Dr Dre who was planning on releasing his own sequel, which of course, would become the classic Chronic 2001.Ĭhronic 2000 is trash, just ask Daz Dillinger who had to work on the project but was off the label by the time of its release. No, not a true sequel to the classic The Chronic which was released earlier in the decade and helped launch Death Row Records. Tasteless disses aside, it was clear what the label was trying to do, especially when they dropped Suge Knight Presents: The Chronic 2000 in 1999. Possibly even worse, the project has a Biggie diss (who was killed months prior to the release of this soundtrack) over “ Going Back To Cali” by another new Death Row signee YGD Tha Top Dogg, a Snoop Dogg clone since he was officially off the label by 1998. The project also featured the Death Row debut of Tenkamenin aka Tha Realest, a Texas born rapper who has a striking and problematic resemblance to the late Tupac. Gang Related was the first project released by the label that we saw signs of the complete lack of direction Suge Knight had for Death Row Records. However, this soundtrack is no Murder Was The Case.
Gang Related still had DPG, 2pac and Tha Outlawz but it is noteworthy that this is the project that introduced a young Tech N9ne to a national audience. Despite the lackluster single, this soundtrack still feels like a classic Death Row project, featuring artists 2pac, Snoop, Danny Boy, O.F.T.B, and Daz who continued to produce as well as rap. However, like many sequels, Wanted Dead or Alive failed to gain the success the original had achieved. Gridlock’d released first in January 1997 with the single being a sequel to the classic 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted. Despite Gridlock’d being a criminally underrated film starring Tupac and Tim Roth, the soundtrack was no Above the Rim. The Gridlock’d and Gang Related soundtracks were released in 1997, both films starred the late Shakur so it made sense for the soundtrack to feature him. Instead of building toward the future, Suge Knight had his label stuck in the past. Sadly the second generation of Tha Row relied too heavily on all the unreleased 2pac, and trying to recreate 1996. The label finally released the debut album from Lady of Rage in 1997, and Daz Dillinger’s solo album in 1998. The only saving grace for the label was Daz Dillinger in the lab with the likes of Soopafly, creating music with rappers the caliber of Kurupt and Lady of Rage. All that was left was raw gangster shit and no real innovation or artistry. Gone was the fun of Nothin But A G Thang and California Love. There was a tonal shift following all this, which was evident in the sound the label was producing. There had been a falling out between Snoop and Pac, hence why you did not see any collaboration between 2pac’s Outlawz and DPG with the exception of a Bad Azz feature on the 7-Day Theory track “ Krazy.” Bad Azz was the only one who had written a verse by Pac’s strict deadline. Notedly, Dr Dre had left the label he created to establish Aftermath Entertainment, followed by Kurupt, who signed with A&M Records, and founded his own Antra Records. However, a lot had happened since February 1996 when the label dropped the classic All Eyez On Me. The two albums were released two weeks apart in November 1996. They dropped the posthumous Makaveli album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, and Snoop finally followed up his classic debut album with his sophomore project Tha Doggfather. This would make the studio a toxic environment, seeing how Daz Dillinger, one half of the Dogg Pound with Kurupt, was still DPG-4-Life with Snoop but producing for Suge and his second generation.įollowing 2pac’s death in September 1996, the label did have some continued success. Snoop’s continued success off of Death Row would keep him the target of Suge Knight’s resentment and jealousy. After that, the label’s Big 3 Dr Dre, 2pac, and Snoop Dogg, would all be gone.
The prime run of the infamous label objectively stretches from December 1992 with the release of The Chronic, until November 1996. This era consisted of 2pac and Snoop clones, and beef between the legendary Dogg Pound. Their once all-star lineup of innovative G-Funk artists slowly, but surely, left the problematic label led by Suge Knight. After the tragic murder of Tupac Shakur, the infamous Death Row Records fell into disarray.
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