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"Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')"
Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')
Single by Dr. Dre from the album "The Chronic"

Released

May 20, 1993

Format

12" vinyl, CD single

Recorded

1992

Genre

West Coast hip hop, G-Funk, Gangsta Rap

Length

4:52

Label

Death Row, Interscope, Priority

Songwriter(s)

Calvin Broadus, Colin Wolfe, David Spradley, Garry Shider, George Clinton

Producer(s)

Dr. Dre

"Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", titled on the single as simply "Dre Day," is a hip-hop diss track by American artist and producer Dr. Dre, with a guest appearance from fellow rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was the second single from Dre's debut solo album, The Chronic, released via Death Row Records. The song was released as a single on May 20, 1993.

Background[]

Though not quite matching the popularity of Dre's earlier hit, "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", the single still did well commercially managing to reach number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1993 and number six, counting the 12 weeks spent, on the rap and hip-hop chart of that year's overall ranking. The song features a slowed-down interpolation of Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep" as its bassline and features Jewell on vocals and RBX on chorus. The song also contains a sample and an interpolation from George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog”. An accompanying music video was directed by Dre himself.

The song was a diss track towards rappers Eazy-E, Dre's former accomplice from the group N.W.A; Tim Dog, an East Coast rapper who slighted the whole West Coast rap scene and released an incendiary diss track towards N.W.A titled "Fuck Compton"; and Luther (Luke) Campbell from 2 Live Crew, whose track "Fakin' Like Gangstas" from his debut solo album I Got Shit On My Mind, featuring JT Money from the group Poison Clan, was taken personally for making references to some of the popular rappers in the "gangsta" category (specifically referring to N.W.A). There were also some lyrics alluding to former N.W.A rapper Ice Cube, who departed acrimoniously from the group in 1989 and ridiculed Dre on the track "No Vaseline", off his 1991 Death Certificate album. The lyrics: "Then we gon creep to South Central, On a Street Knowledge mission, as I steps in the temple, Spot him, got him, as I pulls out my strap, Got my chrome to the side of his White Sox hat, You tryin to check my homey, you best check yo self, Cause when you diss Dre you diss yourself" had references to Cube's production operation Street Knowledge Productions (now Lench Mob Records), the lyrics "steps in the temple" referring to Ice Cube's affiliation with the Nation of Islam and his hit single "Check Yo Self" from third album The Predator. However, by the album's release, Ice Cube was on friendlier terms with Dr. Dre, even having a cameo appearance in "Let Me Ride", so unlike Eazy-E and Luke, he was not parodied in the music video.

Music video[]

The premise of the video concerns a parody character of Eazy-E called "Sleazy-E", complete with a Jheri Curl hairstyle and wearing dark sunglasses, played by A.J. Johnson, getting a new contract from a man depicted as a fat, money-grubbing record producer of "Useless Records" (based on Eazy-E's manager Jerry Heller and his record label Ruthless Records), played by a real life executive producer from Interscope Records, Steve Berman (who was later featured on three Eminem skits and one D12 skit). The story features Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg walking around and gaining a following from others around them. There is an interlude in the middle of the video, where Sleazy-E introduces his two new grotesque protégés, played by Bushwick Bill and Warren G, to his new manager. Sleazy appears in a number of situations, including being shot, becoming homeless, being chased by armed men, and finally, on the Pasadena Freeway with a sign: "Will Rap for Food". The same character appeared in the video for Eazy E's response, "Real Muthaphuckkin G's". The video also parodies Luther Campbell as a gap-toothed rapper performing on a stage. In April 2005 the video was 12th on MTV2 and XXL magazine's survey of the "25 Greatest West Coast Videos".

Reception[]

In addition to "Dre Day" the b-side to the single "Puffin' on Blunts and Drankin' Tanqueray" (featuring The Lady of Rage and Tha Dogg Pound) contains disses from Dr. Dre taking shots at Eazy-E, Tim Dog and Luke Campbell, while Kurupt in his verse takes shots at Eazy-E's artists Above the Law and Kokane. Eazy-E retaliated with a hate EP It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa which contained the song's "Exxtra Special Thankz", "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" (featuring Eazy-E's new protégés BG Knocc Out and Dresta), "It's On" and "Still a ga", responding to disses made to him by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on The Chronic, calling them "studio gangstas", while at the same time Kokane (with Cold 187um from Above The Law) responds to the disses made by Dr. Dre and Kurupt on "Puffin' on Blunts and Drankin" Tanqueray" with "Don't Bite the Funk" from his second album Funk Upon a Rhyme. The video for Eazy-E's "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" video contains a parody of a pre-N.W.A Dr. Dre with mascara and lipstick along with photos of him in his World Class Wreckin' Cru days with a tight doctors outfit and a stethoscope. In addition to containing scenes of the Eazy-E look-alike (Sleazy-E) played by Compton-native comedian Anthony Johnson, that appeared in the "Dre Day" music video, being assaulted and shot by Eazy-E and a mob of people until he falls dead after passing a traffic sign reading "Leaving Compton." In response to song and video, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound respond with "What Would You Do?" from the Murder Was the Case soundtrack, with a music video of their own parodying Eazy-E's proteges BG Knocc Out and Dresta being chased and beaten by members of Tha Dogg Pound.

Tim Dog responded with an EP titled Bitch With a Perm containing two tracks called "Dog Baby" and "Bitch with a Perm" directed at both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg — with the video for "Dog Baby" containing a parody of a perm-wearing Snoop Dogg dancing around.

Luther Campbell along with JT Money and then-upcoming artist Clayvoisie responded with the song "Cowards in Compton", from Luke's second solo LP, In The Nude, and its accompanying video that parodied Dre's original premise as a member of the mid-1980s electro group World Class Wreckin' Cru and as well parodying and mocking the music video for "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg lookalikes being ridiculed throughout the video. In addition to "Cowards in Compton", In The Nude also included a skit called "Dre's Momma Needs a Haircut" dissing Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg responded on "Tha Shiznit" off his debut LP Doggystyle. In addition Compton and Los Angeles rappers, including Tweedy Bird Loc responded with "Fucc Miami" off his second album No Holds Barred, in addition with a response from his Bangin' on Wax female protégé Nini X with "Fuck Luke" off her debut LP She's Dangerous. King Tee responded with "Advertisement" off his fourth album IV Life and Rodney O & Joe Cooley responded on "Sounds of the Underground" off their fourth album Fuck New York.

"Fuck Wit Dre Day" was included on the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos.