The year was 1999. My hood cred was well established at this point. Of course when I say “hood cred” I mean busting out the Playstation 1 and playing Twisted Metal 2 while blasting Dr. Dre’s 2001 on repeat in my parent’s basement.

While almost every cut off of the followup to The Chronic is laudable it’s the unofficial single “What’s The Difference” that looms large as my favorite. Elevating the cut to baller status are the subtle G-funk stylings and vaunted rhymes from features Xzibit and Eminem.

Let me take a second here, early Eminem was some of the best Eminem; “What’s the difference between us? We can start at the penis or we can scream ‘I just don’t give a fuck!’ and see who means it.” That brash bravado really resonated with the wannabe white rapper in me at the time.

Back on subject now, “What’s The Difference” is a true standout among a crowded hip-hop juggernaut; no easy feat. Now if only Dr. Dre would recapture some of this early glory and resurrect the mythical beast known as Detox.