The Chronic is the debut solo studio album by #DrDre, released on December 15, 1992. Issued through Death Row Records in partnership with Interscope Records and distributed by Priority Records, the project marked Dre’s first solo release following his departure from N.W.A. and Ruthless Records amid a financial dispute. The album debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in its first week and went on to sell 5.7 million copies in the United States by 2015. With its polished sound and heavy funk influence, Dr. Dre’s production helped popularize the G-funk subgenre within gangsta rap. Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential hip-hop albums of the 1990s and among the best-produced rap albums ever. The Chronic received further recognition in 2019, when it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”