JAY-Z’s ‘Vol. 3’ Was Influenced By Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’

JAY-Z’s ‘Vol. 3’ Was Influenced By Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’

The Alchemist and former Roc-A-Fella Records A&R Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua made an appearance on an episode of the New Rory & Mal podcast. The well-known hip-hop A&R shared a little-known story about his days working with JAY-Z. 


When the topic of hip-hop skits on rap albums came up in conversation, Joshua revealed that JAY-Z’s Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter was inspired by Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, especially in the album's ending. 


The hip-hop executive explained that the hidden track “Bitches Ain’t Shit” on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic inspired him and Hov to add two hidden tracks on his 1999 classic album. “I remember with The Chronic, ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’ was on the album, and it wasn’t on the credits,” Hip Hop said. “I remember a n-gga playing it in school and I’m like, ‘I can hear it, but I can never find it!’ They were like, ‘Nah, you just gotta let the album play.'"

 

 

 

When asked if The Chronic’s outro inspired the last tracks on Vol. 3, Joshua replied, “I did it strictly because of that, because of The Chronic.”


The original version of Vol. 3 ended with an 11-minute medley of songs including “Hova Song (Outro),” “Jigga My Nigga” and “Girl’s Best Friend,” while the European and versions available on streaming services featured the Oliver!-sampling “Anything” as the first track of the album’s closing run.


Make sure to check out the full interview below with appearances from Westside Boogie, Earl Sweatshirt, Hip Hop, and The Alchemist. 

 



image/svg+xml Back to blog