Kenny G (album)
Kenny G is the debut studio album by American jazz saxophonist Kenny G, released in 1982. It was released by Arista Records in 1982 and reached number 10 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.
Dr. Dre
After a dispute with Eazy-E, Dre left the group at the peak of its popularity in 1991 under the advice of friend, and N.W.A lyricist, The D.O.C. and his bodyguard at the time, Suge Knight. Knight, a notorious strongman and intimidator, was able to have Eazy-E release Young from his contract and, using Dr. Dre as his flagship artist, founded Death Row Records. In 1992 Young released his first single, the title track to the film "Deep Cover", a collaboration with rapper Snoop Dogg, whom he met through Warren G. Dr. Dre's debut solo album was "The Chronic", released under Death Row Records with Suge Knight as executive producer. Young ushered in a new style of rap, both in terms of musical style and lyrical content, including introducing a number of artists to the industry including Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, RBX, The Lady of Rage, Nate Dogg and Jewell.
On the strength of singles such as "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", "Let Me Ride", and "Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')" (known as "Dre Day" for radio and television play), all of which featured Snoop Dogg as guest vocalist, "The Chronic" became a cultural phenomenon, its G-funk sound dominating much of hip hop music for the early 1990s. In 1993 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album triple platinum, and Dr. Dre also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for his performance on "Let Me Ride". For that year, "Billboard" magazine also ranked Dr. Dre as the eighth best-selling musical artist, "The Chronic" as the sixth best-selling album, and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" as the 11th best-selling single.
Besides working on his own material, Dr. Dre produced Snoop Dogg's debut album "Doggystyle", which became the first debut album for an artist to enter the "Billboard" 200 album charts at number one. In 1994 Dr. Dre produced some songs on the soundtracks to the films "Above the Rim" and "Murder Was the Case". He collaborated with fellow N.W.A member Ice Cube for the song "Natural Born Killaz" in 1995. For the film "Friday", Dre recorded "Keep Their Heads Ringin'", which reached number ten on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 1 on the Hot Rap Singles (now Hot Rap Tracks) charts.