I couldn't stop myself from ardently hoping that this album would see Dre return to the throne of Hip-Hop superproducer that he occupied in the days of NWA and 1992's classic "Chronic" album. Unfortunately the "Chronic 2001" left me a bit disappointed. Not that "2001" is a bad album - the production is on point (although maybe a bit uninventive at times), and there are enough banging guest appearances to keep one interested. The weakest point is the lyrics which are firmly routed in the bitches, hoes, drugs, violence and excessive cusswords mentality who's novelty wore off a good 5 years ago. While "2001" is not the redefining opus that it's predecessor was, it is still one of the better albums that Dre has worked on since his Death Row days. [8/10]