Thizzelle Washington

Thizzelle Washington marks a rebirth within Mac Dre’s career. Not only did it solidify his self-made Thizz movement — the word connotes a brand, a social association, a style of music, a dance and a vocabulary — but it perfected the blend of musical elements that would define the last stage of his career. Dre matched his catchy-but-hallucinatory rhymes to beats that are in turn uptempo or deeply relaxed. “Monday Thru Sunday,” “The Mac Named Dre” and “4 Myself” are basically old-school party jams, spiked with Dre’s off-kilter sensibility. Meanwhile, “Stuart Littles,” “4 Myself” and “Han Solo” take Bay Area rap to the opium den. These songs are so seductive and Dre’s flow so sweetly nuanced, that it’s easy to overlook the painful truths embedded in songs like “Help Me.” Dre’s art is balancing toughness with mischief. No one but he could pull off the chorus in “Cutthoat,” which manages to be hilarious, imaginative, unperturbed and scary all at once. The album culminates with “Thizzelle Dance,” which jumpstarted a dance craze benefitting from Dre’s boundless imagination.