2001

ドクター・ドレーのセカンド・アルバム『2001』がカセットテープで発売!

『2001』は、1999年11月16日にオリジナル・リリースされたドクター・ドレーのセカンド・スタジオ・アルバム。1992年デビュー・アルバム『ザ・クロニック』に続く作品で、ドクター・ドレー、メル・マン、ロード・フィネッセ他のプロデュースの元、ザ・D.O.C.、ヒットマン、スヌープ・ドッグ、クラプト、イグジビット、エミネム、ネイト・ドッグなどの盟友ラッパー陣がゲスト参加。ドレーが生み出したG-ファンク・サウンドとヴァイオレンス/ドラッグ/ストリート・ギャング/犯罪などのギャングスタ・ラップ的テーマが結びついて誕生した、時代を代表する傑作。リリース初週で55万枚のセールスを記録し、全米アルバム・チャート初登場2位を記録。

The Slim Shady LP announced not only Eminem's arrival, but it established that his producer Dr. Dre was anything but passe, thereby raising expectations for 2001, the long-anticipated sequel to The Chronic. It suggested that 2001 wouldn't simply be recycled Chronic, and, musically speaking, that's more or less true. He's pushed himself hard, finding new variations in the formula by adding ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae, resulting in fairly interesting recontextualizations. Padded out to 22 tracks, 2001 isn't as consistent or striking as Slim Shady, but the music is always brimming with character. If only the same could be said about the rappers! Why does a producer as original as Dre work with such pedestrian rappers? Perhaps it's to ensure his control over the project, or to mask his own shortcomings as an MC, but the album suffers considerably as a result. Out of all the other rappers on 2001, only Snoop and Eminem -- Dre's two great proteges -- have character and while Eminem's jokiness still is unpredictable, Snoop sounds nearly as tired as the second-rate rappers. The only difference is, there's pleasure in hearing Snoop's style, while the rest sound staid. That's the major problem with 2001: lyrically and thematically, it's nothing but gangsta cliches. Scratch that, it's uber-gangsta, blown up so large that it feels like a parody. Song after song, there's a never-ending litany of violence, drugs, pussy, bitches, dope, guns, and gangsters. After a full decade of this, it takes real effort to get outraged at this stuff, so chances are, you'll shut out the words and groove along since, sonically, this is first-rate, straight-up gangsta. Still, no matter how much fun you may have, it's hard not to shake the feeling that this is cheap, not lasting, fun. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine