Death Row Greatest Hits

Death Row Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Death Row Records
Released	November 26, 1996
Recorded	1992–1996
Studio	Dre's Crib (Los Angeles, CA) Encore Studios (Burbank, CA) Soundcastle (Los Angeles, CA) Pure Studios (San Diego, CA) G-Spot Studios (El Monte, CA)
Genre	West Coast hip hop gangsta rap g-funk R&B
Length	2:28:01
Label	Death Row Interscope
Producer	Suge Knight (exec.) Dr. Dre Dat Nigga Daz Kevyn "Cavi" Lewis 2Pac Damon Thomas DJ Daryl DJ Jam DJ Quik J-Flexx Johnny "J" Julio G. Kurt "Kobane" Couthon Reggie Lamb Sean "Barney" Thomas Sir Jinx Soulshock and Karlin Tommy D Tony G Tony Pizarro
Death Row Records chronology
Murder Was the Case (1994) Death Row Greatest Hits (1996) Christmas on Death Row (1996)
Singles from Death Row Greatest Hits
"Who Been There, Who Done That" Released: 1996

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Death Row Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album and second double album released by Death Row Records. Released on November 26, 1996, the thirty-three song compilation contains hits by former and then-current Death Row artists as well as previously unreleased tracks and remixes.^[2] The album peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200^[3] and was certified platinum on August 12, 1999.^[4]

Background

2Pac's inclusion

To counter cannibalising sales of other 1996 Death Row releases, no songs from 2Pac's All Eyez on Me and The 7 Day Theory and Snoop Dogg's Tha Doggfather were included on the compilation.^[5] From the seven tracks on the compilation that feature 2Pac, only two were recorded during his time spent at Death Row Records; "Hit 'Em Up" and "Smile For Me Now", which are both non-album tracks.^[6] Four of the other five tracks were songs previously released under Interscope Records before his signing to Death Row. The other track, "Pour Out a Little Liquor", was recorded before 2Pac's time at Death Row, however, it was originally released on the 1994 Death Row soundtrack, Above the Rim.^[7][8] The four songs not affiliated with Death Row were able to be included on the album because Interscope, at that time, was the parent company and distributor of Death Row Records. In 2003, tracks from the other 1996 Death Row albums were featured on the compilation's follow-up, Death Row Greatest Hits, Volume 2.^[9]

Rare and exclusive music

• "Dear Mama"—found on disc one of the compilation—although not listed as a remix, is a completely different mix than what is found on the 1995 single and original album release.^[10][11]

Disc two of the compilation is mostly made up of remixes and new tracks, notable inclusions being:

• "Let Me Ride (RMX)", a remix produced and featuring a verse by Daz Dillinger, not included in the original song.^[12]
• "Daydreaming", a new song by Michel'le and cover of the 1972 Aretha Franklin song, "Day Dreaming".^[13]
• "I Get Around (RMX)", a remix featuring a chilled jazz beat and an extra verse by 2Pac.^[14]
• "Hit 'Em Up", a non-album 2Pac track that could previously only be found on the B-side of "How Do U Want It".^[15]
• "Who Been There, Who Done That?", a new song by J-Flexx and parody of the Dr. Dre song "Been There, Done That".
• "Me in Your World", a new song by Tha Dogg Pound. This song was later remixed and included on the 2012 Dogg Pound compilation, Doggy Bag.^[16]
• "Smile For Me Now", a new song by 2Pac and Scarface which was released as a single in remix form three months later, retitled, "Smile".^[17][18]

Diss tracks aimed at Dr. Dre

Following suit with 2Pac's The 7 Day Theory,^[19] Death Row continues to show animosity towards former signee and co-founder, Dr. Dre, by including a diss track directed towards the rapper/producer on each disc of the release. The diss tracks included were:

• "No Vaseline" by Ice Cube; a 1991 diss track aimed at Dr. Dre and fellow N.W.A group members. Although the song had no association with Death Row Records before the release of the compilation, the song was able to be included because Priority Records, the song's distributor, and Interscope Records, the album's distributor, are both divisions of Universal Music Group.^[20][21][22]
• "Who Been There, Who Done That?", written and performed by one of Dr. Dre's former ghostwriters, J-Flexx, is an album exclusive and parody of Dr. Dre's post-Death Row single, "Been There, Done That"—which was also written by J-Flexx.^[23] The diss track, which takes shots at Dr. Dre for allegedly stealing songwriting and production credits and taking all of the royalties,^[24] was made into a music video and released as a single .^[25][26]

It is heavily rumoured that Suge Knight is responsible for casting the inklings of animosity towards Dr. Dre on the album, as he, CEO of Death Row Records and known instigator, served as executive producer on the album.

Artwork

The album's cover and insert artwork was designed by California based artist, Ronald "Riskie" Brent, a recurrent Death Row collaborator. Brent was also commissioned to create covers and inserts for albums such as All Eyez on Me, The 7 Day Theory, Tha Doggfather, Christmas on Death Row, and Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back.^[27]

Track listing

Sample credits^[28]

• Track 1 contains samples from "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" as recorded by Leon Haywood and interpolations from "Uphill Peace of Mind" written by Frederick Knight
• Track 2 contains samples from "I Get Lifted" as recorded by George McCrae and interpolations from "Watching You" written by Slave
• Track 3 contains samples from "Love That Will Not Die" as recorded by Johnny "Guitar" Watson
• Track 5 contains interpolations from "Atomic Dog" written by George Clinton, Garry Shider & David Spradley
• Track 6 contains interpolations from "Funk You Up" written by The Sequence and Sylvia Robinson
• Track 7 contains samples from "Dazz" as recorded by Brick
• Track 8 contains interpolations from "If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another" written by Richard "Dimples" Fields
• Track 9 contains samples from "Be Alright" as recorded by Roger Troutman and interpolations from "O-o-h Child" written by Stan Vincent
• Track 11 contains samples from "Little Getto Boy" as recorded by Donny Hathaway
• Track 13 contains interpolations from "La Di Da Di" written by Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh and "Sukiyaki" written by Rokusuke Ei & Hachidai Nakamura
• Track 14 contains samples from "If It Don't Turn You On" as recorded by B. T. Express and "Do Your Thang" as recorded by Isaac Hayes
• Track 16 contains samples from "In My Wildest Dreams" as recorded by Joe Sample and interpolations from "Sadie" written by Joseph B. Jefferson, Bruce Hawes & Charles Simmons
• Track 17 contains samples from "Inside My Love" as recorded by Minnie Riperton and "Walk on By" as recorded by Isaac Hayes
• Track 23 contains samples from "Computer Love" as recorded by Zapp
• Track 25 contains interpolations from "Don't Look Any Further" written by Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert & Duane Hitchings
• Track 26 contains samples from "Forget Me Nots" as recorded by Patrice Rushen
• Track 28 contains samples from "Cry Together" as recorded by The O'Jays
• Track 31 contains samples from "Let Me Love You" as recorded by Ray Parker Jr.

Personnel

Vocalists

Instrumentalists

Producers

Technical

Additional

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

• Death Row - Greatest Hits at Discogs (list of releases)

This page was last edited on 5 April 2024, at 18:32