This feature was originally published on February 18, 2015.
Dr. Dre is a hip-hop titan—the genre's first true super-producer. He’s the first whose uncompromising production aesthetic was as much a pop phenomenon as a hip-hop one. He maintained viability in the music industry as long as it was flourishing, and transitioned to electronics sales when the music business softened. Now known to a generation as the guy behind the world's most popular headphones, Dre's catalog as an artist has arguably become a bit underrated. What Kanye West was to the 2000s, Dre was to the 1990s: A rapping producer who changed the sound, style, and values of popular hip-hop.
But Dre's career transcends The Chronic—by far his most influential singular moment. From his early days in the World Class Wreckin' Cru to N.W.A, from The Chronic to 2001, Dre's career as a recording artist in his own right deserves to be celebrated. Even though he was never considered to be the greatest rapper—after all, his work has long been rumored to have incorporated co-writers, from Ice Cube to Jay Z to Eminem—he was always a great rap artist with a uniquely bold, uncompromising approach.
Without further ado, here are The Best Dr. Dre Songs.