No one wants to rate Jesus' miracles, but I mean, c'mon, making the blind guy see was more meaningful than water-to-wine, wasn't it? His Death Row tracks are his most iconic, without question, but feel more about purpose and personality than sonic clarity. Still, Dre has mastered so many styles over the years, from N.W.A.'s soul-laced nihilism to Eminem's carnival-barking circus themes to 50 Cent's megalomaniacal street semantics to the ultra-sheen of Gwen Stefani r&b. The major hits, especially "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang", hold up, but the Leon Haywood-sampling skeleton reveals a song that rode to prominence on the strength of Snoop's elegant discourse ("But, uhh, back to the lecture at hand/ Perfection is perfected, so I'ma let 'em understand") more than originality of production. Elsewhere, "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" and Lady of Rage's "Afro Puffs" sound aggressive as ever, where Dre and the Lady spit invective over that signature West Coast ping and kicking-a-dead-body snare.
Rank misogyny in hip-hop wasn't news at this point, but damn, did Nate Dogg take it to romantic extremes on that track. Snoop's a cipher nowadays, awash in product placement's goop, but the armchair funk of "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" is as funny and flagrant as ever. This one, however, leans far more heavily on Snoop, eliciting four tracks from Doggystyle and one from the underestimated Tha Doggfather. Dre compilation this decade, following 2002's similarly titled Chronicles: Best of the Works, and it struggles to match the comprehensive assemblage of 1996's Death Row Greatest Hits.
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