In a shrewd move of legacy-minded marketing, Dr. Dre's revered debut album The Chronic will be available worldwide on all digital platforms on exactly the date you might have guessed.
As announced by Entertainment One (eOne) on Thursday, the 1992 Death Row Records-released album will hit digital service providers on April 20, i.e. 4/20.
"Fans now have another reason to celebrate on what has become a national holiday, celebrating all things cannabis-related—where legally allowed and in moderation of course," Chris Taylor, global president of eOne's music and live division, said in a press release. "Working with the Death Row catalog is like working with the legendary recordings of Elvis, Chuck Berry, and the Beatles. These historic artifacts should be heard by all music lovers and we are so happy Dr. Dre has opened this door so everyone can experience the brilliance of this seminal work."
Dre's debut, roundly considered one of the all-time greats, was recently chosen to be inducted into the National Recording Registry after a selection process at the hands of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
"We received over 800 nominations this year for culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant recordings to add to the registry," Hayden explained of the process last month. "As genres and formats continue to expand, the Library of Congress is committed to working with our many partners to preserve the sounds that have touched our hearts and shaped our culture."
The album's development and eventual cultural impact was also prominently featured in HBO's The Defiant Ones series, which I hope to fuck you've already seen by now. If not, fix that while we're all inside-the-housing for social distancing.
