Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg
1992

I think this is three straight weeks with a rap song in the J100 - who said my musical palate isn't diverse enough?  And we're not done yet!

This one is a biggie (not to be confused with Biggie); look, I am far from being the resident rap/hip-hop historian in this or any other group, but I think you can look to this song and this album as kind of the BC/AD demarcation line in the history of the genre.  Yes, you had groups like A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, LL Cool J, and others in the '80s that pushed it forward.  But I don't think we had heard beats like *these* before 1992.  Or I'll put it another way - I certainly had not heard beats like these before 1992.  This was like the Revolver of rap.

And so it was that teenagers everywhere grabbed hold of this one as it completely crossed over into the mainstream.  Who among us hasn't been a Mormon kid from the privileged suburbs in the early '90s singing about G life and the chronic??  I distinctly remember that most days in the summer of '92 were spent going to the beach with my boys DLD (that's Dave Lee, aka Davey Lee Daddy) and Loomis who had their licenses with a two-song playlist:  this, and No Rain by Blind Melon.  (Maybe throw in a third for Loomis, Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day").  Nothing more was needed.  Nothing more was wanted.

I also need to give a shoutout here to the featured artist on this track, the man himself, Calvin Cordozar (what the bejeebers is a Cordozar?) Broadus Jr., known professionally as Snoop Dogg.  This cat was just 20 years old when this song was released.  Can you even remember a world in which Snoop hasn't been on the scene in one form or another?  I can, but I don't want to.  May this national treasure live forever.

Other Songs Considered:
I also loved Dre Day but nothing compared to this one.