752. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (1993)

Track Listing

1. Bathtub
2. G Funk (Intro)
3. Gin And Juice
4. Shiznit
5. Lodi Dodi
6. Murder Was the Case
7. Serial Killa
8. Who Am I (What's My Name)?
9. For All My Niggaz & Bitches
10. Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)
11. Doggy Dogg World
12. GZ And Hustlas
13. Pump Pump

Review

This album is often compared with Dre's The Chronic, it is also considered to be an extension of that album... actually and this will sound like blasphemy to many, this is much better than The Chronic. It's fun, the samples are more cleverly used, it is never boring, and it is stupid enough to give you a number of laughs.

So yeah, the writing is by someone who loves to feel dirty saying shocking stuff. I don't really mind that, yes it is incredibly misogynous, it glorifies violence and all that shit, but it is also Snoop Dogg, it is hard to take him seriously.

That said, this is a great album, almost every song is amazingly catchy, it will have you singing along to lyrics that no sane person would sing along to, at least in polite company. The sound is also innovative, it relies mainly on funk samples, but much less obvious ones than those in The Chronic, it is just an all around better and more enjoyable album. The best thing about The Chronic was the Snoop participation in it, this is a Snoop album and his best album at that.

Track Highlights

1. Who Am I (What's My Name)?
2. Gin and Juice
3. Murder Was The Case
4. For All My Niggaz & Bitches

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Doggystyle is seen by many hip hop pundits as a "classic" and an "essential" album. It is credited with defining West Coast hip hop; shifting the emphasis to more melodious, synth-driven, and funk-induced beats. About.com stated during the period the album was released, "Gangsta rap never sounded so sweet", and attributed the album with inspiring several West Coast emcees to gain more recognition within the media and hip hop community. Artists such as Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound and DJ Quik have employed the styles and techniques used on the album. The Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and Mobb Deep are recognized for their contributions to the East Coast hip hop renaissance after the dominance of California gangsta rap, and were noted for focusing on drugs and violence, issues originally developed in music by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg has been noted for introducing a slurred "lazy drawl" that sacrificed lyrical complexity for clarity and rhythmic cadence on Doggystyle and The Chronic. The album is considered as one of the first G-funk albums which many rappers duplicated in later years.

Gin and Juice, obviously not safe for work: