![]() The videos from 36 Chambers were resolutely bad-weather affairs, dilapidated rooftops and stairwells, hoodies, vests and rain gear, dark and chilly desolation.ģ6 Chambers changed rap in countless ways, but among the most important was its explosion of a conventional and increasingly constrictive authenticity. ![]() And then there were the videos: Gone were the low-riders and sun-soaked barbecues of Los Angeles. The Chronic’s cover had boasted a regally framed photo of Dre the cover of 36 Chambers featured a blurry image of a figure whose face was covered by a stocking, slinking menacingly toward the camera. Next to the P-Funk samples and ornate synths of The Chronic, RZA’s detuned pianos, spartan drum loops, and haunting ’60s soul drops seemed to come from another planet. Dre’s multiplatinum smash The Chronic in late 1992, which monopolized radio and MTV for much of the following year. In the early ’90s, rap had been dominated by LA, culminating with the release of Dr. But 36 Chambers came first, an avant-garde album in the most literal sense. Mid-1990s New York hip-hop boasted an embarrassment of riches: The period between 19 alone saw the release of Gang Starr’s Hard to Earn, Nas’ Illmatic, Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die, Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, and Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt. The album’s impact was so seismic that it reshifted the geography of rap.
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