''Helter Skelter'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

The D.O.C. Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with gan ...

; released on January 23, 1996. This album was an attempt at making a comeback following the car crash which severely damaged his vocal cords. The album was widely ignored, and has even been discredited by D.O.C himself. The name of the album is a reference to

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

's idea of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' " Helter Skelter" prophesying the end of the world. The title and concept behind this album were originally developed by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

as a collaborative effort between him and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

, titled ''Heltah Skeltah''. At that time however, The D.O.C. had become disillusioned with

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...

and Dre, having received no payment for his work

ghostwriting A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

at Death Row . So in late 1994, D.O.C. decided to leave Death Row and headed to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Taking lyrics he had already written for ''Heltah Skeltah'', he recorded ''Helter Skelter'', keeping the name to spite Dre. His lyrics were inspired by the writings of

Milton William Cooper Milton William "Bill" Cooper (May 6, 1943 – November 5, 2001) was an American conspiracy theorist, radio broadcaster, and author known for his 1991 book ''Behold a Pale Horse'', in which he warned of multiple global conspiracies, some in ...

. It was his last album recorded for

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

, the only major music company for which he worked, this time it was recorded for

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

imprint of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

label.

Track listing

All tracks produced by Erotic D, except where noted.

Samples

*"Return of Da Livin' Dead" - Contains a sample of "It's Funky Enough" by The D.O.C. *"From Ruthless 2 Death Row (Do We All Part)" - Contains a sample of "Children's Story" by

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

and a sample of For The Love Of You by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

*"Secret Plan" contains a sample of "Black Sabbath" by

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

*"4 My Doggz" - Contains a sample of "The Chronic (Intro)" by

and a sample of "It's Funky Enough" by The D.O.C. *"Bitchez"- Contains a sample of Body Heat by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

*"Brand New Formula" - Contains a sample of Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Singles

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helter Skelter (Album) 1996 albums The D.O.C. albums Giant Records (Warner) albums Horrorcore albums Gangsta rap albums by American artists