distribute their label, Death Row Records. It was initiated by McClain, who met Dre when he was recording his solo debut, The Chronic. Original plans had called for the album to be released through Sony, but Sony passed on The Chronic due to "the crazy things going on around Death Row" and the contractual status of Dr. Dre. After hearing the album, Iovine agreed to put it out, although doing so required a complicated distribution agreement with Priority Records, Dre's label as a member of N.W.A. The Chronic was released in December 1992. By the end of the following year, The Chronic had sold almost 3 million copies. Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle had sold more than 800,000 copies in its first week alone, and Primus and 4 Non-Blondes had released records which hit the US Top 20. In 1993, with an estimated gross of $90 million, Interscope became profitable ahead of projections. Interscope further established its strength in the alternative and rock genres in 1994. A$2.5 million investment to establish a joint venture with Trauma Records yielded three number-one Modern Rock tracks and a platinum-certified album with Bush's Sixteen Stone. The Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral went to number two on the US charts and was widely acclaimed. Marilyn Manson's Portrait of an American Family, The Toadies album Rubberneck and Helmet's Betty were commercially successful and critically embraced. 1995–2000: Gangsta rap controversy, acquisition by MCA, Aftermath and Shady In May 1995, the controversy related to gangsta rap and explicit lyrics intensified as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole accused Interscope of releasing music that glorified violence and degraded women. Among others, the label was criticized by William J. Bennett, a former Education Secretary, and C. DeLores Tucker, the chairwoman of the National Political Congress of Black Women. In September, Time Warner announced it would disassociate itself from Interscope by selling its half-interest in the company to Field and Iovine for $115 million. Ownership in Interscope was aggressively pursued by EMI, BMG, PolyGram and MCA. On December 1, 1995, the Los Angeles Times noted that with five albums on that week's pop charts and sales of $350 million over the previous three years, "what may have been a smart move politically for Time Warner is now looking like a financial fiasco." In February 1996, MCA Records—then owned by Seagram—bought 50% of Interscope for a reported $200 million. Under the