Was there any buzz for Helter Skelter or Chronic II in the mid-nineties?

[sweetdudejim]

For the people who were around back then and paying attention to the hip-hop scene, was there any word on the street (MTV, magazines, etc) that Dre would be releasing a new album, whether it be Helter Skelter (with Ice Cube) or Chronic II? I was around back then, somewhat paying attention to Dre, having heard "Keep Their Heads Ringin'"

At the same time, do we really have much proof Dre ever got very far in recording either album? As far as Helter Skelter we've got what? "Gimme Fifty Feet", "Natural Born Killaz", "Can't C Me", "Endonesia" and "Game Over"? Is that right? And as far as Chronic II what do we truly know was recorded ostensibly for that album? "California Love"? "Blunt Time"? "Been There Done That"? When is "My Life" from? It sounds like it'd probably be from like 1992 through 1997, but the presence of The D.O.C. on the cut means it'd have to have been done by probably early '94, right? Wasn't D.O.C. out of the picture by late '94 or was it '95?

[goodyoung]

My Life was done around early '98, you can tell this by the way Dre's voice sounds, as well as the beat. I have no idea how someone could get an impression it was from the Chronic era.

[DEKO]

[abusive]

I remember the talk of a cube/Dre album. Don't remember how tho. For some reason I want to say i heard about it around the time ren's kiss my black azz dropped.

The d.o.c. spoke on the album Helter skelter in a allhiphop interview when he had beef with Dre. He said that Dre had him read William Cooper's behold a pale horse and other apocalyptic type books and then write an album for him based on it. That pic above mentioning the new world order makes perfect sense because that is partly the subject matter of that book. It came out in '91.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

I think that pic is fan made but it still looks dope as fucc.... wow... makes me wish some shit like that would've come out and then abusive saying inspired by DOC reading some shit like Behold the Pale Horse...damn that's pretty epic..but possible if you think of 96' "Been There Done That" featuring lyrics like "Ain't tryna stick around for Illuminati" and "East/West Killaz" having that New World Order, martial law lockdown vibe (which ironically actually happened in 2020 and of course all rappers that were spittin that shit in the 90's had nothing to say about it, lol...  but that shit was the buzz in the prison systems and word on the streetz in the mid-90's and I know this cause I actually hung with the Muslims in LA after I converted in the early 2000's

...but anyway, I was around in those days.  And the most that ever came in the way of buzz for Heltah Skeltah and Chronic 2 was just only the album liner notes.  That shit was dope back in the day--then Master P fucced that up because he watered it down by shamelessly advertising a dozen projects through his liner notes it started to become corner.  But Death Row was really like an innovator when it came to advertising like that in the liner notes and they did it in a classy way.

But that was it.. in my opinion from what I remember.  There wasn't even a lot of talk or word of mouth.. but everyone definitely checked for the liner notes to see what was coming from Death Row.  So that was hype enough in those days.  Of course Dre mentioned it every now and then like the interview at the Murder Was the Case movie shoot he talked about Chronic 2, and a couple other spots but don't remember interviews with mention of Heltah Skeltah

[sweetdudejim]

I think a major problem of Dre's might be that he's a bit bi-polar. I'm not saying he is, but that he may get very hyped up on a proposed project, like Helter Skelter, Chronic II, Detox or The Planets. In regards to The Planets it almost seems to me like it was an idea Dre had thought of recently and got excited about and wanted to announce to the world, but perhaps had never even recorded music for. Now of course we know that the other three projects we have musical proof that Dre got decently far into the projects and then either got bored or lost his confidence. My feeling is that the man probably gets bored easily, not wanting to do the release the same material over and over, and then also at the same time getting really low or really high on a project. When he's feeling a high, you get 2001, Compton and The Contract. When he's not feeling it, well we get something we are quite used to with Dre: nothing.

My Life was done around early '98, you can tell this by the way Dre's voice sounds, as well as the beat. I have no idea how someone could get an impression it was from the Chronic era.

I had considered the idea that "My Life" could be from around then, but honestly I find it hard to believe Dre would be doing a beat like that in '98. That to me sounds like a '94/'95 beat if I ever heard one.

And no, I didn't think it was from the Chronic era, but the the appearance by Doc on the song really kinda narrows what years it could have been, which is '92 thru '94 and then the 2001 sessions, which I would assume started in '98.

[DEKO]

Here's another cover:


I remember rockin' this cover on a black t-shirt in the 90's. I bought it in an official t-shirt store in Amsterdam.

[Sccit]

[D-TalkX]

There was for me as soon as I got the Murder Was The Case OST and with the "ad" in Doggystyle. That was one of the first time's being disappointed from a project not being finished or released ha.

[topdogg188]

There was for me as soon as I got the Murder Was The Case OST and with the "ad" in Doggystyle. That was one of the first time's being disappointed from a project not being finished or released ha.

I remember being buzzed about it over here in the UK- saw the forthcoming albums ad in the doggystlye or chronic CD booklet can't remember now. Back then there was no internet and no word if it was ever released especially in the UK, even The source only used to review a handful of released albums- I remember around 96/97 I used to go and ask the HMV staff about Cube and dre's Helter Skelter album if it was released thinking whatever was in the booklet was gospel. They also said it was and that there was a US import process I could do and fill out the paperwork. I remember at the time it was something like £25 and I was horrified but i did it anyway - i was 13 and only used to get £2 a week pocked money (cd's then used to be about £8-10 in the UK(. Anyhow, it was never released and they probably were thinking of another album or something so i cancelled my order.

[Sccit]

I remember being buzzed about it over here in the UK- saw the forthcoming albums ad in the doggystlye or chronic CD booklet can't remember now. Back then there was no internet and no word if it was ever released especially in the UK, even The source only used to review a handful of released albums- I remember around 96/97 I used to go and ask the HMV staff about Cube and dre's Helter Skelter album if it was released thinking whatever was in the booklet was gospel. They also said it was and that there was a US import process I could do and fill out the paperwork. I remember at the time it was something like £25 and I was horrified but i did it anyway - i was 13 and only used to get £2 a week pocked money (cd's then used to be about £8-10 in the UK(. Anyhow, it was never released and they probably were thinking of another album or something so i cancelled my order.

it was probably this-

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_Skelter_(The_D.O.C._album)

[Okka]

You do realize that picture is made by a fan, right?

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

nice find.. those were the dayz I came up in

[DEKO]

You do realize that picture is made by a fan, right?

Proof?¿

[Okka]

Proof?¿

What proof do you need? You can't see it's fan made? Somebody just used this picture.