Woke up, didn't choke up Saw my AK, it was broke up Put it together like a jigsaw Got my nine and my Rambo knife off the floor Went to the bathroom, and beat the rush Yo, who the fuck used my toothbrush? Went to my sister's room, yo bitch, wake up You stupid ass, dirty ass, nasty ass slut Shot her in the leg, shot her in the thigh Kicked her in the pussy and punched her in the eye Slapped her in the head, stepped on her corns Don't fuck with mine bitch, word is bond Went downstairs to eat wit' my folks Ma, you broke my fuckin' egg yolk! Punched her in the chest, cut on her cheek Then I did a sweep, knocked the bitch off her feet Knee to the pussy, kick to the skull AK y'all, shot that bitch in the temple Pop got mad 'cause mom got licked I didn't give a fuck so I shot him in the dick Hungry as fuck, said my grace Pop kept screamin' so I shot him in the face Ate my food, found my coat Mailman came so I cut his motherfuckin' throat Waitin' for the motherfuckin' school bus!! - Black Sheep / A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing (Intro) --------------------------- Within a week of The Chronic being released every kid I knew turned into a weed-smoking gangster. This, from the streets of Salisbury, a white-collar neighborhood in afflutent Virginia. The Chronic played well for plenty of awkward suburban teens looking to find confidence in themselves. There was an effortless gravitation toward an identity that used strong words and threats of conflict by rapping about AKs, UZIs, hollow-tips, dicks too big for your mouth etc. It all provided a great act to hide behind. Now, nearly 20 years removed from this, I assumed I would listen to it with new ears and find something that I enjoyed. And, I did --- the beats --- those dope beats behind tracks like Let Me Ride, Fuck Wit Dre Day, "G" Thang, etc. are amazing. I'm gettin' into it, bobbin' and weavin', thumpin' my chest and consuming those yummy hardcore lyrics signing "...I'm callin' 1-8-7 with my dick in ya mouth..." [record skips] Wait. What?! In addition to the beats, and possibly moreso, the popularity of this album is predicated on the attitude and strong persona it conveyed to those kids in Salisbury. And it's not such a far cry from recent tactics used by a former U.S. president. Both employ chest-thumping, direct FU conflict attitudes to up the ante. They both change the game, and normalize violence and confrontation to instill confidence in a people unsecure in the world around them. This album, for all of its regurgitated funk beats, deep bass and good grooves, does not outweigh its detriment on society and the mainstream acceptance of gangster rap. The Chronic killed hip-hop. Tribe / De La / Eric B. and Rakim / BDP / PE etc. groups with real messages and a good time dried up overnight for this shit. The Black Sheep track "Intro," cited at the top ends by waking up ... it was all a dream... he dreamed he was 'hard.' In reality, the popularity of this style rap lasted for years. So yeah, twenty years on, this album is worse than I remember. It has new meaning based on the times we live in and for that, I'm allocating a BIG FAT zero stars. Sorry, Dre and Co., the content of this shit sucks. You are better than this. But it's not all bad news, I'm doling out a bonus star for those dope funktastic beats that got me movin' and shakin'.