2001 (Dr. Dre album) The album primarily featured co-production between Dr. Dre and Mel-Man and was generally well received by critics. AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that Dr. Dre had expanded on the G-funk beats on his previous album, "The Chronic", and stated, "He's pushed himself hard, finding new variations in the formula by adding ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae, resulting in fairly interesting recontextualizations" and went on to say, "Sonically, this is first-rate, straight-up gangsta." "Entertainment Weekly"s Tom Sinclair depicted the album as "Chilly keyboard motifs gliding across gut-punching bass lines, strings and synths swooping in and out of the mix,
Dr. Dre critics – revived the label's commercial ambitions and viability. Dr. Dre's second solo album, "2001", released on November 16, 1999, was considered an ostentatious return to his gangsta rap roots. It was initially titled "The Chronic 2000" to imply being a sequel to his debut solo effort "The Chronic" but was re-titled "2001" after Death Row Records released an unrelated compilation album with the title "" in May 1999. Other tentative titles included "The Chronic 2001" and "Dr. Dre". The album featured numerous collaborators, including Devin the Dude, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Xzibit, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Knoc-turn'al, King T, Defari, Kokane,