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Let Me Ride

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"Let Me Ride"
Single by Dr. Dre
from the album The Chronic
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1993
Recorded1992
StudioDeath Row (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length4:21
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre singles chronology
"Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')"
(1993) 		"Let Me Ride"
(1993) 		"Natural Born Killaz"
(1994)
Snoop Doggy Dogg singles chronology
"Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')"
(1993) 		"Let Me Ride"
(1993) 		"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)"
(1993)
Music video
"Let Me Ride" on YouTube

"Let Me Ride" is a song by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre, released in September 1993 by Death Row, Interscope and Priority as the third and final single from his debut studio album, The Chronic (1992). It experienced moderate success on the charts, until it became a massive hit when Dre won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for the song during the Grammy Awards of 1994.[2] The song features singers Ruben and Jewell, and uncredited vocals by fellow rapper Snoop Dogg[3]

Dr. Dre's lyrics were written by RBX, originally intended for a different track.[4] Dr. Dre, RBX and Snoop Dogg share songwriting credits for the song.

"Let Me Ride"'s chorus involves both a sample and an interpolation of the chorus of the 1976 Parliament song "Mothership Connection (Star Child)", which itself quotes the Negro spiritual "Swing Down Sweet Chariot". "Let Me Ride" also samples James Brown's "Funky Drummer" and Bill Withers's 1973 single "Kissing My Love".

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Let Me Ride" was shot on location at Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles and was directed by Dr. Dre. It is the second lowrider cult video of Dre's cinematographic "walk of life" that was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video in the same year. The video begins with Dre, in his home watching the $20 Sack Pyramid (a track skit from the album shown as a game show in the video), taking a phone call and being invited to a Parliament concert. He then heads out in his lowrider and the song begins. Many helicopter-view camshots of the super-highways of Compton follow, some cuts of Snoop, a car-jacking scene, and various footage of Dre picking up girls, all of which leads to a street party outside the concert venue. Ice Cube makes a cameo appearance, walking out from a women's bathroom saying "Damn right, it was a good day", referring to his 1992 solo single, and also officially squashing the beef between Dre and Ice Cube which had existed since Ice Cube left N.W.A. It has been proposed that Danny Partridge may have cameos in the video, though the rumors were never confirmed.[5]

The final shots of the video feature footage from Parliament-Funkadelic's 1976 earth tour, including the Starchild flying on wires with the bop gun, the band singing "Mothership Connection", which "Let Me Ride" samples, and concludes with George Clinton departing into the Mothership with a plume of smoke, upon which Dre's face is superimposed.

Rapper Warren G (Dre's stepbrother) makes a cameo appearance, along with rappers The D.O.C. and The Lady of Rage, Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, producer Bonita "Bo" Money, and actress Jada Pinkett-Smith.

The video features a Chevy 1964 Impala, which would be used in many other Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg videos.[6]

Remixes

An official remix of the song features full verses from Snoop Dogg and Daz, and an appearance by George Clinton. It was recorded simultaneously with the original version and was released on the 12-inch vinyl when the solo version was chosen to be a part of the album. The full version of the remix is 11 minutes long and features a guitar solo by Johnny "Guitar" Watson. The beat was later remade as a G-Funk remix and the instrumental was used for the Up In Smoke Tour in 2000. Dr. Dre also produced the beat for the remix.

Nate Dogg refers to "Let Me Ride" in Warren G's 1994 song "Regulate", in which he sings, "She said 'my car's broke down and you seem real nice, would ya let me ride?'"

Rapper Fabolous, in his 2001 hit "Can't Deny It", had the lyric "bitches be yellin "let me ride", like I'm Snoop, and Dr. Dre." Rapper The Game similarly refers to "Let Me Ride" in his 2005 song "Put You on the Game", where he claims to be in a car with Dre in the back and "bitches screaming, 'Let me ride!'"

Track listing

  • CD single
  1. "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22
  2. "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01
  3. "One Eight Seven" - 4:18
  • 12" vinyl
  1. "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01
  2. "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22
  3. "One Eight Seven" - 4:18
  • US 12" vinyl
  1. "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01
  2. "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22
  3. "Let Me Ride" (LP Version) - 4:47
  • Cassette single
  1. "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22
  2. "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01

Charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 34
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] 3
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[9] 3
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[10] 1
US Cash Box Top 100[11] 31

Awards and nominations

Year Awards Ceremony Award Results
1994 Grammy Awards Best Rap Soloist[2] Won

References

  1. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (December 15, 2016). "Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' Album Turns 24, Fans React on Twitter". The Boombox. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  2. ^ a b Weinstein, Max (June 4, 2014). "25 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Dr. Dre". The Boombox. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  3. ^ "Jewell, Singer For Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride" To Release Two Fall Albums". HipHopDX. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  4. ^ Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 229.
  5. ^ "The Most Unexpected Music Video Cameos". Complex. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  6. ^ "The 15 Best Chevrolet Impalas in Rap Videos". Complex. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  7. ^ "Dr. Dre Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Dr. Dre Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Dr. Dre Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Dr. Dre Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LVII, no. 9. October 23, 1993. p. 8. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
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