Literally dozens of artists have left Aftermath in frustration since Dr. Dre left Death Row to found the label in 1996. And yet, the a handful of Dre's protégés—namely, Eminem, 50 Cent, and The Game—have found incredible success during their stint at Aftermath, a testament to Dre's genius.
This article briefly revisits 10 albums released on Aftermath between 1996 and 2005. In order to cover as much ground as possible, we've selected one song from each album. Click through the image gallery to read on.
Dr. Dre Presents: The Aftermath
Dr. Dre - "Been There, Done That" // Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath (1996)
Aftermath's first ever album Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath was a bit of a bust if we're being honest. Things got better from there...
The Firm
The Firm - "5 Minutes to Flush" // The Firm (1997)
Though the criminally slept-on The Firm primarily starred AZ (Sosa) and Nas (Escobar), Nature took the spotlight on "Five Minutes to Flush," a tale of a man who has five minutes to flush his dope down the toilet before the feds bust down his door. The talkbox chorus never gets old. Shoutout Roger Troutman.
Eminem The Slim Shady LP
Eminem - "Guilty Conscience" feat. Dr. Dre // The Slim Shady LP (1999)
"Guilty Conscience," a song with incredible replay value, pits Eminem as the devil whispering into one of the protagonist's and Dr. Dre as an angel whispering in another. Dre urges our hero not to rob the liquor store and commit other heinous acts. Look at the store clerk, she's older than George Burns!
Dr. Dre 2001
"The Next Episode" has plenty of memorable lines ("Smoke weed every day"), but it's most genius moment is probably the transition from the David Axelrod sample in the intro to the mischievous, iconic guitar pluck that plays for the remainder of the song.
Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem - "The Real Slim Shady" // The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
Here's what Eminem told Genius about the line "And Dr. Dre said… nothing, you idiots! Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement (haha!)":
"Ironically, Dre’s carcass began to smell, that’s why I had the sharkskin floor installed. It kills the odor."
Eminem The Eminem Show
Eminem - "Without Me" // The Eminem Show (2002)
"Without Me" is a great song because the humor of the beat aligns perfectly with the humor of the lyrics. The song went #1 and was inescapable for months. In the video, Eminem dons the mask of Robin and fights crime alongside Dre's Batman.
50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin
50 Cent - "In Da Club" // Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
"In Da Club" is indisputably one of the hottest beats ever. The only thing it's missing is some sort of Nate Dogg feature. 50 explained the genesis of the song to MTV in 2007:
"Dre, he’ll play dope beats … [He’ll say], ‘These are the hits, 50. So pick one of these and make a couple of singles or something.’ The very first time he heard [me rap on] ‘In Da Club’ he said, ‘Yo, I didn’t think you was going to go there with it, but, you know, it works.’ He was probably thinking of going in a different direction with that song. Then he expanded it into a hit record."
Eminem Encore
Eminem - "Mockingbird" // Encore (2004)
Encore was markedly worse than The Eminem Show, which is not surprising because it was Eminem's first album on Aftermath that wasn't executive produced by Dr. Dre. It did give us "Mockingbird," a tender open letter to young Hailie.
The Game The Documentary
The Game - "Put You On The Game" // The Documentary 2005
The Game's cup of production of talent had runneth over in the instance of his debut album The Documentary. Timbaland produced the exceedingly hype "Put You On Game," though it contains Dre's knack for simplicity.
Later in his career, Game would adopt the motto "fuck Interscope" in protest of Aftermath's parent company.
50 Cent The Massacre
50 Cent - "Disco Inferno" // The Massacre (2005)
Expectations were high for the follow-up to Get Rich Or Die Tryin', and 50 didn't disappoint with the Massacre lead single "Disco Inferno," a torrid club anthem. "The flow sound sick over Dre drums, nigga / I ain't stupid, I say Doc then my doe come quicker, whoa!"