2001 is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre.It was released on November 16, 1999, by Interscope Records as the follow-up tohis 1992 debut album The Chronic. The record was produced primarily by Dr. Dreand Mel-Man, as well as Lord Finesse, and features several guest contributionsfrom fellow American rappers such as The D.O.C., Hittman, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Xzibit, Eminem, and Nate Dogg. 2001 exhibits anexpansion on Dre's debut G-funksound and contains gangsta rapthemes such as violence, promiscuity, drug use, street gangs, sex, and crime.
The album debuted at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200chart, selling 550,000 copies in its first week. It produced 3 singles thatattained chart success and has been certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA; as ofAugust 2015 the album has sold 7,800,000 copies in the United States. 2001received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised themusic although some found the lyrics objectionable.