"Let Me Ride" is a song by rapper and producer

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 ...

, released in 1993 as the third single from his debut studio album, ''

The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in ...

''. It experienced moderate success on the charts, until it became a massive hit when Dre won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate a ...

for the song during the

Grammy Awards of 1994 The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening t ...

. The chorus is sung by Ruben and Jewell, and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

(then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg) raps the line "Rollin' in my 6-4" and appears in some background vocals. Dr. Dre's lyrics were written by

RBX Eric Dwayne Collins (born October 8, 1969) better known by his stage name RBX (standing for "Reality Born Unknown"), is an American rapper and songwriter from Long Beach, California. Early life and education Contrary to popular belief, Collins i ...

, originally intended for a different track. Dr. Dre, RBX and Snoop Dogg share songwriting credits for the song. "Let Me Ride"'s chorus involves both a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

and an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

of the chorus of the 1976

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

song "

Mothership Connection (Star Child) "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" is a funk song by Parliament. It was the third and last single released from the group's 1975 album ''Mothership Connection''. The song introduces George Clinton's messianic alien alter ego Star Child ...

", which itself quotes the

Negro spiritual Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the e ...

Swing Down Sweet Chariot "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" (sometimes "Swing Down, Ezekiel" or "Swing Down Chariot") is an American spiritual song. It tells the story of Ezekiel's vision of the chariot. The title and lyrics are very similar to the spiritual song " Swing Low, S ...

". "Let Me Ride" also samples

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

's "

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a single released by James Brown in 1970. Its drum break, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled music recordings. Recording and composition "Funky Drummer" was recorded on November 20, 1969 ...

" and

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

's 1973 single "Kissing My Love". Hip Hop Dx placed the song on their list of 13 Great Hip Hop Songs For The Summer.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was shot on location at

Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and was directed by Dr. Dre. It is the second

lowrider A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...

cult video of Dre's cinematographer "walk of life" that was nominated for a

MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video was first given out in 1989, and it was one of the four original genre categories added at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. This award was last given out in 2006, as MTV did not bring it back in 2008 lik ...

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 Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

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 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 ...

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 N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

. It has been proposed that Danny Partridge may have cameos in the video, though the rumors were never confirmed. 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 Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and N ...

(Dre's step-brother) makes a cameo appearance, along with rappers

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 ga ...

and

The Lady of Rage Robin Yvette Allen (born February 6,1966), known professionally as the Lady of Rage, is an American rapper, singer and actress best known for her collaborations with several other Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on th ...

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.

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 John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording career ...

. The beat was later remade as a

G-Funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

remix and the instrumental was used for the

Up In Smoke Tour The Up in Smoke Tour was a West Coast hip hop tour in 2000 which was headlined by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, also featuring artists and disc jockeys Ice Cube, Eminem, Proof, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, D12, MC Ren, Westside Connection, Chilldrin of da Ghet ...

in 2000. Dr. Dre also produced the beat for the remix.

References in popular culture

Nate Dogg Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the ...

refers to "Let Me Ride" in

'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 John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

, in his 2001 hit "

Can't Deny It "Can't Deny It" is the debut single by American rapper Fabolous from his debut studio album ''Ghetto Fabolous''. It features Nate Dogg and uncredited backing vocals by Lil' Mo. The song was produced by Rick Rock. Its chorus contains similar lyri ...

", 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 # "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22 # "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01 # "One Eight Seven" - 4:18 * 12" vinyl # "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01 # "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22 # "One Eight Seven" - 4:18 * US 12" vinyl # "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01 # "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22 # "Let Me Ride" (LP Version) - 4:47 * Cassette single # "Let Me Ride" (Radio Mix) - 4:22 # "Let Me Ride" (Extended Club Mix) - 11:01

Charts

Awards and nominations

External links

* http://www.discogs.com/Dr-Dre-Let-Me-Ride/release/955595

References

{{authority control 1992 songs 1994 singles Dr. Dre songs Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre Songs written by Dr. Dre Songs written by Snoop Dogg Death Row Records singles Interscope Records singles