Doggystyle – Snoop Doggy Dogg – Released on Death Row Records November 23rd 1993
Doggystyle is the 1993 debut album by west coast rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, or Snoop Dogg as he’s known today.
Before Doggystyle, Snoop appeared on Dr Dre’s 1992 debut release The Chronic. Both albums were released on Death Row records.
Although Dre has the production credit on Doggystyle, he doesn’t rap on the album. Instead, Snoop is joined by the Dogg Pound Crew (Kurupt and Daz) along with Snoop’s cousin Nate Dogg, rapper/producer Warren G and the afro-puffed hurricane Lady of Rage.
Musically, Doggystyle is an evolution of the sound The Chronic pioneered, albeit slightly more refined and seamless this time around. The Chronic may have invented g funk, but Doggystyle is the album where the style truly crystallised, allowing it to dominate west coast hiphop for the next 3 years.
G funk sounded peculiar to our ears back then, since we had little to no musical context or frames of reference. Ireland wasn’t particularly funky in 1993 and people were more likely to be enamoured by Bill Clinton (he plays saxophone and says he likes Guinness) than George Clinton.
But whatever about the sonic pallet of Doggystyle, the lyrical landscape was even more alien to us.
Snoop came from a world of Coupe DeVilles, palm trees, gats and gangsta shizzle.
We came from a world of Nissan Micras, grey skies, soggy hurling pitches and patchy drizzle.
Gin was what your granny drank and chronic was the word she used when moaning about her arthritis.
Yawl better recognise.
Truth is, I didn’t quite appreciate this album at first. West coast at this point meant Ice Cube, full stop. (I actually heard Doggystyle before The Chronic.)
At this early point in my hiphop journey I was all about that raw Bomb Squad sound, melodically janky, impetuous and percussive, that was how hiphop was supposed to sound.
Similarly, Chuck D’s unrelenting hollering baritone and Ice Cube’s angry bombastic flow were to me, the pinnacle of rap music.
Snoop sounded too laid back in comparison, practically disinterested, and the music I thought sounded a bit too girly.
That was my first impression, entirely based on the single “Who Am I? (What’s My Name?).
But when you’re in your early teens, impatient, inattentive and still finding your musical feet, it often takes repeat listens to begin to appreciate new music. But it’s also when you’re most susceptible to absorbing new sounds which allow certain albums to indelibly imprint themselves on your psyche.
Which is exactly how music from the west coast of sunny California migrated to the west coast of pissing-down Ireland and how spotty little fuckers like us made our first synaptic mothership connections before taking that fateful first leap down the funky worm-hole.
So set your dial to W-BALLS, go mix yourself some gin and juice, grab your Zigzags and indo, get laid back and let’s rewind…
Now Back To The G’s
G-Funk (Intro) sets the tone and the vibe and also introduces the world to Lady of Rage and her trademark afro puffs. She remains one of the most badass things about this album.
We then get to what’s since become one of Snoops best-known and well-known tunes, Gin And Juice.
This track’s perhaps one of the very best examples of g funk. Every element is just perfect, pure smooth grooves and golden sunshine, Snoop’s syrupy flow riding on top and, of course, that classic refrain.
Seriously, I’m writing this right now in Ireland in November as the rain hammers the windows and yet in my mind’s eye I’m cruising in a Coupe DeVille as row upon row of palm trees glide by.
Laid back!
A twist of the dial and we’re tuned into W-BALLS (the first of many great skits on the album) and then it’s into Tha Shiznit, yet another straight-up head-nodder with an infectious bassline, funky flute licks and pristine flow – Snoop Dogg is the shit, beeyatch!
Lodi Dodi sees Snoop putting a 90s spin on the 80s Slick Rick classic. It’s part homage, part passing of the torch. But while the original was a raw track with human beatbox from Doug E Fresh, this is a far more polished affair with additional vocals from Nancy Fletcher.
Murder Was The Case starts off with a skit of Snoop getting shot, “you’z a dead mothafucka now!”
Now Snoop’s bleeding to death on the concrete and he picks up the story from there.
This one has help up particularly well. It’s some straight-up Faustian gangsta shit delivered in three concise versus that’s hands down the best piece of storytelling on the album.
We can sense it all, every gasp for breath, every puff of chronic, every twinge of prison yard paranoia.
Each line propelling the story forward, pure efficiency. And, as always, the backing track from Dre fits the narrative perfectly.
The song served as the basis for a 1994 movie short of the same name which also had a decent soundtrack album, but that’s a story for another dizz-ay.
So instead let’s talk about Serial Killa, featuring The D.O.C, Tha Dogg Pound & RBX, while Dre delivers the most twisted incarnation of the Funky Worm melody ever recorded.
For me, though, it’s RBX’s verse that really stands out on this track, elevating it from the usual rat-a-tat-tat gangsta shit to pure batshit levels of cannibalistic horrorcore crazy.
Honestly, until I’d heard this specific verse, I’d dismissed Snoop as radio-friendly R&B shit while my mate grew increasingly irate, “no, shut up and listen – listen!”
(Readers will note this is a recurring theme.)
So my enduring memory of this album is hearing this specific verse for the very first time and gradually absorbing its impact, “Jesus, that’s fucking deranged!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Take the fucking tape and listen to it.”
From that moment on I was convinced.
These days Snoop’s very much a mainstream celebrity. But every time I see him on TV I like to imagine one of his entourage backstage with a cadaver cleaved open, slurping down intestines like spaghetti.
So Serial Killa was the first track to get my full attention prompting me to listen to the album in full, whereas my very first introduction to Snoop came from the following track, “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”
For sure it’s the most radio friendly track on the album and I wasn’t really a fan of it at the time.
As I listen back now and try to be subjective, I have to admit that it’s mainly nostalgia that’s doing the heavy lifting on this one, though that big phat synth bassline carries its fair share too.
Still, it remains the weakest song on the album far’s I’m concerned, never did get why it was the first single, beyond the obvious point of telling people his name.
I’d actually forgotten about the music video until just now. It’s very 90s; the terrible lip-synching, the baggy gangsta plaid not to mention what was, back then, state of the art computer morphing technology.
And I know Snoop was always kinda boyish looking, but fucking hell, how young does he look in this video?!
For All My Niggaz & My Bitches – now we’re talking. This beat is banging and that snare fucking slams, while the return of Lady of Rage is just the chronic-glazed cherry on top.
Ain’t No Fun (If The Homies Cant Have None) starts off with another brief skit from W-BALLS (the station that slaps you across your fat ass, with a fat dick) before launching into the funkiest track on the album imo.
Need to be quick on the volume control with this one, though, cuz if your mammy walks in and hears it she won’t be too happy now will she?
The lyrics on this one certainly helped secure the albums Parental Advisory sticker while providing the requisite scintillation (and one might even say education) for a whole generation of horny young teenagers.
Keep in mind this was 1993, in the pre-internet-porn dark ages.
Which was also why we all ended up staring at the album art for way longer than was healthy.
Which, in case you’re wondering, is exactly how long it takes you to wonder how to fit a puffy poodle tail through a g-string without it tearing. And once you go down that road, your mind is lost forever.
But anyways…
Can We Get A Muthafuckin’ Moment Of Silence…
…for this small chronic break?
We all thought this bit was cool too despite not having a clue what the fuck Snoop was talking about. (Took me years to learn this. ➡️)
…ok, so now you know.
So we get to track 11, Doggy Dogg World (feat. The Dramatics & Tha Dogg Pound). This was another single and is easily one of the chilled tracks on the album.
It has that perfect blend of R&B and p funk sounds while Kurupt also delivers one of the best verses on the whole album.
Gz And Hustlaz starts off with another amusing skit as we get to imagine Snoop as a schoolkid with his trademark braids and already acting gansta as fuck.
Gotta love the beat on this one, too, sampled from funk musician Bernard Wright.
Right near the end we get to my favourite skit of the album. Not sure why, exactly, memories I guess.
Snoops out and about, doin’ his thang when he attracts some female attention – as you do – alas this draws the ire of one Sam Sneed (recognise, don’t recognise, doesn’t matter really) and leads to an altercation.
Now Snoop, in fairness, gives him a choice in the matter, they can handle it like some gentlemen or get into some gangsta shit.
Sam Sneed makes the wrong choice.
Dunno why, but as teenagers we thought this was the coolest shit ever.
Heard it so many times I can recite by memory, “yeah whuss up!?”
Listening back now I’ve just raised my hand up to an imaginary Sam Sneed who’s hovering over my laptop aiming my gunfinger at his chest…
Pop! Pop! Pop! – “that’s whussup nigga!”
Yee-yah! Fuck you Sam Sneed!
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Pump Pump! – man this one, I think this might be my favourite from the album, talk about saving the best for last. The beat, Snoops flow not to mention those little ragamuffin flourishes, and the final appearance of “MC of the year, you hear and you fear” Lady of Rage.
The perfect end to a classic album.
Concluizzle
Back in nine tray I was still finding my feet musically when Snoop arrived with a fresh new musical pallet I’d never savoured before, topped off with a blasé gangsta flow.
The album my friends initially had to force me to listen to would eventually go on to become one of my favourites, one that challenged by preconceptions of what hiphop was meant to sound like.
It was hugely influential globally too and essentially put the wheels of the g funk bandwagon in motion – results varied dramatically.
Although I don’t think it’s the best g funk album (that would Snoop-collaborator Warren G’s 1994 debut G Funk Era), Doggystyle was the album that got us all hooked on that synth-heavy west coast vibe.
It ensured that g funk dominated the west coast for the next few years, while galvanising artists in New York and elsewhere to create their own new sound in opposition.
With Death Rizzo on the west and the Wu on the east, the lines were drawn and the result was the greatest golden age in hiphop history.
And for the next five years the classic albums just kept on coming.
Time permitting I’ll try feature as many as I can right here.