Although a solo album, it features many appearances by then-emerging American rapper Snoop Dogg, who used the album as a launch pad for his own solo career. On The Chronic, he included both subtle and direct insults at Ruthless and its owner, former N.W.A member Eazy-E. Dre's first solo album after he had departed from hip hop group N.W.A and its label Ruthless Records over a financial dispute. The album is named after a slang term for high-grade cannabis, and its cover is an homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his own record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. The Chronic is the debut studio album by American hip hop producer and rapper Dr.
