2001 (德瑞医生专辑)
“2001”（有时被称为The Chronic 2001、Chronic 2001、或The Chronic 2），是美国说唱歌手兼制作人德瑞医生（Dr.Dre）的第二张录音室专辑。它于1999年11月16日由新视镜唱片发行，作为他1992年首张专辑“The Chronic”的后续专辑。唱片主要由德瑞医生、Mel-Man及Lord Finesse制作，另外還有几位客串演出的美国嘻哈歌手如The D.O.C.、Hittman、史努比狗狗、Kurupt、艾勒比、Eminem和已故的奈特·道格。“2001”表现出Dr.Dre继第一张专辑“The Chronic”出版之后声音的扩张，并且包含了暴力、滥交、吸毒、街头帮派、性别和犯罪等匪帮说唱主题。
这张专辑在美国“公告牌二百强专辑榜”排行榜上排在第2位，第一周销售了516,000张。它在排行榜上产生了三张单曲，并被RIAA认证为6白金。截至2015年8月，这张专辑在美国已售出7,800,000份。“2001”收到评论家普遍肯定的评论，其中许多人赞扬这张专辑，与此同时有些人认为歌词令人反感。
“Chronic 2000”是新视镜唱片的Dr. Dre最初考虑作为他第二张专辑的名称，但是歌手Suge Knight率先采用了这个名称并且用在他的专辑上，迫使Dr. Dre将名称改为《2001》。
在接受《纽约时报》采访时，Dr. Dre谈到了他录制专辑的动机，在外人对他的制作和说唱能力产生疑虑之后，这个现象来自他自从“The Chronic”（1992）以来就没有发行过独唱录音室专辑的事实。他不得不再次向粉丝和媒体证明自己。他表示：
这张专辑打算作为混音带发行; 通过插曲和转盘效果将曲目串联起来，但后来改为像电影一样形式制作。Dr. Dre说：“你聽到的一切都在計劃中。這是一部電影，但有著不同的情況。所以你會得到積累、感動的時刻與積極的時刻。你甚至會“Pause for Porno”。它擁有電影所有的一切。 ”谈到他没有为夜总会或电台播放录制专辑，并且他计划专辑只是为了娱乐节目的滑稽表演，他评论说：“我不想发出任何信息或任何与此唱片有关的东西。我只是基本上做了硬核嘻哈，并尝试添加一些黑色幽默在这里。媒体很多时候都会采取这种做法，并在所有娱乐活动都是第一时间尝试将其变成其他内容。你不应该太认真。”
专辑中标明Dr. Dre撰写的一些歌词，被注意到是由几位代笔人撰写。传言是一位参与代撰的人。 他被指出写的是最后一首曲目"The Message"， 但是他的正式名称或化名并没有出现在专辑文案中。 , originally named "The Way I Be Pimpin'", was later retouched as "Xxplosive"; this version has Dr. Dre rapping penned verses by Royce and featured Royce's vocals on the chorus. Royce wrote several tracks such as "The Throne Is Mine" and "Stay in Your Place" which were later cut from the final track list. The tracks have been leaked later on several mixtapes, including "Pretox".
The album's production expanded on that of "The Chronic", with new, sparse beats and reduced use of samples which were prominent on his debut album. Co-producer Scott Storch talked of how Dr. Dre used his collaborators during recording sessions: "At the time, I saw Dr. Dre desperately needed something. He needed a fuel injection, and Dre utilized me as the nitrous oxide. He threw me into the mix, and I sort of tapped on a new flavor with my whole piano sound and the strings and orchestration. So I'd be on the keyboards, and Mike [Elizondo] was on the bass guitar, and Dre was on the drum machine." Josh Tyrangiel of "Time" has described the recording process which Dr. Dre employs, stating "Every Dre track begins the same way, with Dre behind a drum machine in a room full of trusted musicians. (They carry beepers. When he wants to work, they work.) He'll program a beat, then ask the musicians to play along; when Dre hears something he likes, he isolates the player and tells him how to refine the sound."
The album primarily featured co-production between Dr. Dre and Mel-Man and was generally well received by critics. AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that Dr. Dre had expanded on the G-funk beats on his previous album, "The Chronic", and stated, "He's pushed himself hard, finding new variations in the formula by adding ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae, resulting in fairly interesting recontextualizations" and went on to say, "Sonically, this is first-rate, straight-up gangsta."
"Entertainment Weekly"s Tom Sinclair depicted the album as "Chilly keyboard motifs gliding across gut-punching bass lines, strings and synths swooping in and out of the mix, naggingly familiar guitar licks providing visceral punctuation". "NME" described the production as "patented tectonic funk beats and mournful atmospherics". "PopMatters" praised the production, stating that "the hip-hop rhythms are catchy, sometimes in your face, sometimes subtle, but always a fine backdrop for the power of Dre's voice." Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" mentioned that the beats were "lean and immaculate, each one a pithy combination of beat, rap, melody and strategic silences".
The album marked the beginning of Dr. Dre's collaboration with keyboardist Scott Storch, who had previously worked with The Roots and is credited as a co-writer on several of "2001"s tracks, including the hit single "Still D.R.E.". Storch would later go on to become a successful producer in his own right, and has been credited as a co-producer with Dr. Dre on some of his productions since.
The lyrics on the album received criticism and created some controversy. They include many themes associated with gangsta rap, such as violence, promiscuity, street gangs, drive-by shootings, crime and drug usage. Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the only subject matter on the album was "violence, drugs, pussy, bitches, dope, guns, and gangsters" and that these themes have become repetitive and unchanged in the last ten years. Critics noted that Dr. Dre had differed from his effort to "clean-up his act" which he tried to establish with his 1996 single, "Been There, Done That" from "Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath".
"NME" mentioned that the album was full of "pig-headed, punk-dicked, 'bitch'-dissing along with requisite dollops of ho-slapping violence, marijuana-addled bravado and penis-sucking wish fulfilment." Massey noted that the lyrics were overly explicit but praised his delivery and flow: "His rhymes are quick, his delivery laid back yet full of punch." The rhymes involve Dr. Dre's return to the forefront of hip hop, which is conveyed in the singles "Still D.R.E." and "Forgot About Dre". Many critics cited the last track, "The Message"; a song dedicated to Dr. Dre's deceased brother, as what the album could have been without the excessively explicit lyrics, with Massey calling it "downright beautiful" and "a classic of modern rap".
Three singles were released from the album: "Still D.R.E.", "Forgot About Dre" and "The Next Episode". Other tracks "Fuck You", "Let's Get High", "What's the Difference" and "Xxplosive" were not officially released as singles but received some radio airplay which resulted in them charting in the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. "Still D.R.E." was released as the lead single in October 1999. It peaked at number 93 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, number 32 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and reached number 11 on the Hot Rap Singles. It reached number six on the UK single charts in March 2000. The song was nominated at the 2000 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, but lost to The Roots and Erykah Badu's "You Got Me".
"Forgot About Dre" was released as the second single in 2000 and like the previous single, it was a hit on multiple charts. It reached number 25 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, number 14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number 3 on the Rhythmic Top 40. It reached number seven on the UK single charts in June 2000. The accompanying music video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video in 2000. The song won Dr. Dre and Eminem Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
"The Next Episode" was released as the third and final single in 2000. It peaked at number 23 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, number 11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number 2 on the Rhythmic Top 40. It peaked at number three on UK single charts in February 2001. It was nominated at the 2001 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, but the award went to another single from the same album to Dr. Dre and Eminem for "Forgot About Dre".
The album debuted at number 2 on the US "Billboard" 200, with first-week sales of 516,000 copies. It also entered at number one on "Billboard"s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was successful in Canada, where it reached number 2 on the charts. The record was mildly successful in Europe, reaching number 4 in the United Kingdom, number 7 in Ireland, number 15 in France, number 17 in the Netherlands and number 26 in Norway. It peaked at number 11 on the New Zealand album chart. Closing out the year of 2000, the album was number 5 on the "Billboard" Top Albums and number one on the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It re-entered the charts in 2003, peaking on the UK Albums Top 75 at number 61 and on the Ireland Albums Top 75 at number 30. The album was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 21, 2000. It is Dr. Dre's best selling album, as his previous album, "The Chronic", was certified three times platinum. As of August 2015, the album has sold 7,800,000 copies in the United States.
"2001" received generally positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated, ""2001" isn't as consistent or striking as "Slim Shady", but the music is always brimming with character." "Entertainment Weekly"s Tom Sinclair praised the production, calling it "uncharacteristically sparse sound" from Dr. Dre and that it was as "addictive as it was back when over 3 million record buyers got hooked on "The Chronic" and Snoop Dogg's Dre-produced "Doggystyle"" and went on to commend Dr. Dre, stating, "If any rap producer deserves the title "composer", it's he." "NME" mentioned that Dr. Dre didn't expand the genre, but it was "powerful enough in parts, but not clever enough to give Will Smith the fear". PopMatters writer Chris Massey declared that "Musically, "2001" is about as close to brilliant as any one gangsta rap album might possibly get." Christopher John Farley of "Time" stated that "The beats are fresh and involving, and Dre's collaborations with Eminem and Snoop Dogg have ferocity and wit." Although he was ambivalent towards the album's subject matter and guest rappers, Greg Tate of "Spin" was pleasantly surprised by "the most memorable MC'ing on this album com[ing] from Dre himself, Eminem notwithstanding" and stated, "Whatever one's opinion of the sexual politics and gun lust of Dre's canon, his ongoing commitment to formal excellence and sonic innovation in this art form may one day earn him a place next to George Clinton, if not Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, or Miles Davis."
In a negative review, Robert Christgau from "The Village Voice" found Dr. Dre's lyrics distastefully misogynistic, writing "it's a New Millennium, but he's Still S.L.I.M.E. ... For an hour, with time out for some memorable Eminem tracks, Dre degrades women every way he can think of, all of which involve his dick." "Chicago Tribune" critic Greg Kot said Dr. Dre's production boasted unique elements but "the endless gangsta babble, with its casual misogyny and flippant violence," sounded flagrantly trite. AllMusic's Erlewine spoke of how the number of guest rappers affected the album, and questioned his reasons for collaborating with "pedestrian rappers". He claimed that "the album suffers considerably as a result [of these collaborations]". Erlewine criticized the lyrics, which he said were repetitive and full of "gangsta clichés". Sinclair mentioned similar views of the lyrics, calling them "filthy", but noted "none of [this] should diminish Dre's achievement". "NME" spoke of how the lyrics were too explicit, stating, "As the graphic grooves stretch out, littered with gunfire, bombings and 'copters over Compton, and the bitch-beating baton is handed from Knock-Turnal to Kurupt, "2001" reaches gangsta-rap parody-level with too many tracks coming off like porno-Wu outtakes." Massey referred to the lyrics as a "caricature of an ethos [rather] than a reflection of any true prevailing beliefs."
In 2006, "Hip Hop Connection" ranked "2001" number 10 on its list of the 100 Best Albums (1995–2005) in hip hop. In a 2007's issue, "XXL" gave the album a retrospective rating of "XXL", their maximum score. In "Rolling Stone"s "The Immortals – The Greatest Artists of All Time", where Dr. Dre was listed at number 54, Kanye West talked of how the track "Xxplosive" inspired him: "'Xxplosive', off "2001", that's [where] I got my entire sound from—if you listen to the track, it's got a soul beat, but it's done with those heavy Dre drums. Listen to 'This Can't Be Life,' a track I did for Jay-Z's "" album, and then listen to 'Xxplosive'. It's a direct bite." 名单改编自唱片套上的说明文字
所有歌曲由Dr. Dre和Mel-Man制作，除了《The Message》由Lord Finesse制作。 备注
旋律參考!年 !榜单 !排名