Thirty years after his 1992 hit album “The Chronic” made him a superstar and established Los Angeles as a rap music capital to rival New York, Dr. Dre will lead a hip-hop dream team in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.
Scheduled for February 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, not far from where he grew up in Compton, the performance will reunite the producer, rapper and former NWA member with four artists who span much of his long career: Snoop Dogg, who helped Dre creating the Southern California sound known as G-funk; Eminem, whom Dre signed to his Aftermath label; Mary J. Blige, the R&B singer and Oscar-nominated actress; and Kendrick Lamar, whose rise to voice-of-a-generation status involved an early co-signer of Dre. In anticipation of the show, here’s a playlist compiling three essential songs from each act: a smash hit everyone is sure to know, a second song beloved by fans, and a deep cut to study further.
DR. DRE
The big hit
“Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang”, colaboración. Snoop-Dog (1992)
A No. 2 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, in an era when the only rap songs topping the chart included Kris Kross’s “Jump” and Snow’s “Informer”—the defining song of G-funk established lyrics. unflinching about sex and gang violence against a beautiful laid-back beat that few pop fans could resist.
The fan favorite
“Still DRE”, collaboration Snoop Dogg (1999)
Dre hired Jay-Z to write his comeback single after a few years in which he did more producing than rapping. He chose well: “Haters say Dre fell / How, n—? My last album was ‘The Chronic,’” Dre asks, chewing on Jay’s words with cold precision. “They want to know if he still has it.”
the deep cut
“Animals”, with Anderson Paak (2015)
Produced by DJ Premier, one of the architects of New York hip-hop, this duel between East Coast and West Coast showcases a surprisingly fiery verse from Dre that harkens back to the NWA era of “F— Tha Police.”
SNOOP DOGG
The big hit
“Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” (1993)
Given his starring role on “The Chronic,” Snoop hardly needed an introduction for his first solo single. But the one he delivered, set amid a spirited interpolation of George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog,” cemented his place as an iconic voice of ’90s hip-hop.
fan favorite
“Drop It Like It’s Hot,” featuring Pharrell (2004)
Snoop’s creative collaboration with Pharrell has been almost as fruitful as his partnership with Dre. This slinky slide-whistle tune earned him his first No. 1 on the Hot 100.
the deep cut
“California Roll”, con Stevie Wonder (2015)
Another quirky Pharrell-produced set, this one from the overlooked duo’s “Bush” album, emphasizing Snoop’s flow of songs (not to mention his expansive Rolodex).
EMINEM
The big hit
“Lose Yourself” (2002)
Oscar-winning Eminem’s jam, give it your all sounds like it was made to be played at high-stakes sporting events. But it’s also a sneaky bit of self-mythologizing that has lasted far longer than his appearance in the rapper’s biopic “8 Mile”: Last year, Eminem opened a restaurant in his native Detroit named after his indelible catchphrase of “Lose Yourself” about mom’s life. spaghetti.
fan favorite
“Stan” (2000)
This vivid tale of a dangerously obsessed Eminem fan is somewhat less suited to the emotional demands of the Super Bowl. As a storyteller, however, Em has never gotten over the lines he wrote here about a haunting display of Dido.
the deep cut
“Going Through Changes” (2010)
Much of Eminem’s mid- to late-career work has swung between the unbearably maudlin and the unbearably smug. This tortured tale of addiction charts a middle path thanks in part to its use of Ozzy Osbourne’s blurry wail.
MARY J. BLIGE
The big hit
“Family Affair” (2001)
The funky, rippling beat lets you know right away that Dr. Dre was in the producer’s seat. But only Blige could sell this exuberant chart-topper’s adorably slang lyric about the need for “no hate, yell at this dance.”
fan favorite
“Real Love” (1992)
Blige’s single not only launched her career; it also heralded the luxurious yet streetwise sound of hip-hop-soul that changed R&B in ways that still resonate decades later.
the deep cut
“Therapy” (2014)
A witty, bluesy highlight of the singer’s underrated ‘The London Sessions’ LP, for which she teamed up with a team of young British record makers with interesting ideas about blending old and new.
KENDRICK LAMAR
The big hit
“Alright” (2015)
Inspired by a trip to South Africa, Lamar’s unofficial Black Lives Matter anthem contrasts visions of despair in the lines, “We hate the po-po / Wanna kill us dead in the street for sure,” with a chorus of defiant optimism.
fan favorite
“Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” (2012)
G-funk lives on in this spacious track low on the temptations of fame and the purpose of art.
the deep cut
“Duckworth” (2017)
The dizzying close of Lamar’s “Damn”. The album tells the unlikely story of a long-ago meeting between Lamar’s father and the head of his record label, a meeting, he says, that could easily have ended in the death of his father. Exciting yet densely detailed, it’s like a movie in four minutes.
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