The Best of Dre

Dr. Dre is a hip-hop beast—rap’s true illest-producer. He’s the first whose hard-core creations were as much a pop sensation as a hip-hop one. He maintained growth in the music industry and transitioned to headphones sales when the music business weakened.

Dre’s career transformed once he dropped “The Chronic”—by far his most influential music to date. From his World Class Wreckin’ Cru, N.W.A, “The Chronic” to “2001” days, Dre’s career as a recording artist calls for a “Dre Day.”

Even though he was never considered to be the greatest rapper—after all, rumor has it he used co-writers, from Ice Cube, Jay Z, Eminem—he was always a great artist with a unique “g funk.”

Here are five of Dr. Dre’s best songs.

5. Dr. Dre “Keep Their Heads Ringin’”

For the soundtrack to the film “Friday,” Dre definitely kept people’s “heads ringin” with the mind-blowing chorus, “Ring ding dong, ring a ding ding ding dong. Keep their heads ringin’” that made people want to get up out of their chairs, and get their groove on. Dre shoved the infamous G-Funk sound into the song, to add another hit under his producing belt. Even though the rest of the lyrics weren’t the best, the song ended up as a massive hit.

4. Dr. Dre f/ Ice Cube “Natural Born Killaz”

With Dre and Cube reunited, they hyped up the sound of horror core- a sub-genre of hip hop music based on horror-themed lyrical content. This record appeared on the “Murder Was the Case” soundtrack. Dre created a spine chilling beat that sounds like it was made from chainsaws, while creating a remake of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” with Ice Cube. “Natural Born Killaz” caused the two N.W.A veterans to bring out their most demonic lyrics. Examples: Everything from Cube’s “Terror illustrates my era!” opener and Charles Manson threat (“I snatch him out his truck, hit him with a brick and I’m dancin’!”), to Dre’s “Born to be a killer since I came out the ***sack!” and “It’s like a deadly game of freeze tag, I touch you with the .44 mag and you’re frozen inside a body bag.” This track brought the demons out of Dr. Dre, causing him to not only make a sick beat, but be a lyrical murder.

3. Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Dogg “Deep Cover”

“Deep Cover” didn’t just introduce one of hip hop’s biggest superstars to the world, it declared the arrival of March 3— a new artist of Death Row Records. Dre’s attitude was as combative as it’d ever been, the dangerous touch of “Deep Cover” came from it’s corkscrewed threat. This dangerous mood, brand-new protégé with a game-changing style—Dre blessed the track with a bass line worthy for a Raymond Chandler flick, displaying Snoop’s major-league narrative talents. The violence off screen, as Snoop haunts the small fine points that lead to his targets’ gruesome extinction.

2. Dr. Dre “F*** Wit Dre Day (and Everybody’s Celebratin’)”

“F*** Wit Dre Day” became one of the most well-remembered diss tracks in rap history. In remembrance, it’s maniacal that Dre had everyone across the country rapping the lines about unspeakable things, while having one of the fattest bass lines to ever hit rap music. As a fan of Dre, I was in awe with the beef between Death Row, Ruthless, and Luke Campbell. But if the battle was about artistic taste, there’s no question about who won. Nothing in hip-hop at the time was touching the gangstaness of Snoop and Dre. Once that track was out, everyone respected Snoop’s and Dre’s gangsta ways.

1. 2Pac f/ Dr. Dre “California Love”

Though Pac and Dre fell out soon after recording—Pac impressively found Dre’s slow pace Joe Cocker sampled beat to his own heartfelt potency—it’s tough to think of a more well-respected song. Dre and Pac equally showed appreciation for their home state. Both artists’’ verses are strikingly quotable, Dre spitting as many classic lines (“pack a vest for your Jimmy in the city of s**!” and “lookin’ like I robbed Liberace!”) as Pac. If the record failed in any way, it’s only that, burnt up the charts, identically adding hits to both artists’ discographies.