Elements > Album Review
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (Source review)
tnp:
Source February 1994 Review
Snoop Doggy Dogg-Doggystyle (Death Row/Interscope)
Production: Dr. Dre
4 Mics
Snoop had a lot to live up to. Without asking him we all but crowned him king. “He was going to be the one,” we told ourselves. He was going to be the one to lead us out of the hip-hop wasteland. We placed a heavy weight upon his narrow shoulders, and not wanting to disrespect us, he accepted it. Quite a lot of pressure for a new artist. Quite a lot of pressure for a rookie album. It’s not his fault that the album took so long to come out. And it was us, not him, who demanded that Doggystyle embody and surpass the best elements of Paid in Full, Straight Outta Compton, Nation of Millions, Adventures of Slick Rick, Amerikkkas Most Wanted, Low End Theory, The Chronic, Three Feet High and Rising and Raising Hell. Last year we underestimated Dre and he surprised us. This year we were at the plate and looking for the change-up. We knew about Snoop’s vast rap potential, we knew what Dre’s music would probably sound like and we also knew that it would be harder to impress us this time around.
Doggystyle is only half the album we were expecting. The other half, the stuff that would have blown us away a year ago, now seems average by 1994 standards. Thankfully the album’s problems do not involve Snoop. Even with all the drama surrounding his personal life, he emerges as an MC who lives up to all of his advance hype. Whether he’s softly crooning his lyrics or throwing them down your throat NYC style, he still comes off as one of the best in the business. On tracks like “Gz and Hustla’s” and “The Shiznit” he lets you know that nothing has changed regarding his game: “To tell you the truth/ I swoop in the Coupe/ I used to sell loop/ I used to shoot hoop/ But now I make hits every single day/ With that nigga, the diggy-Dr. Dre/ So lay back in the cut or motherfucker you’ll get shot/ It’s Mr. 1-8-7 on an undercover cop.” Yep, the flow is still tight. Could the problem be in the music? No, not really. Dre’s brand of G-funk may be common now, but it is still painstakingly well-produced. True you get a little mad when he just replays and entire P-Funk riff or goes over the top with the synth wailing, but overall, the music is great to ride to (even though he cuts the tracks as soon as the lyrics finish). You just wish he would have upped the ante like he did on the unreleased original version of “Niggas Don’t Give a Fuck.” Or kept things at the musical level of “Gz and Hustlas,” “Gin and Juice” and “It Ain’t No Fun.” When you really look at it, the major flaws in this album lie in all the extra baggage it seems to carry.
You see, I was waiting for a Snoop solo album. What I got was a Death Row compilation with some guest appearances by Snoop. Don’t get me wrong, I love Daz and Korrupt, Rage, Nate Dogg, Warren G, RBX and Lil’ Malik to death, but I don’t need them cock-blocking my quality time with Snoop on every track. It was cool having all of those heads on Dre’s record because it showcased his skills as a part-time rapper and a full-time producer. But when you wait this long for a solo album, a solo album is what you expect. You don’t want skits that aren’t as good as last year’s. You don’t want a lot of previews of the next nigga’s album. You don’t want an endless number of posse cuts where Snoop barely kicks a verse and you definitely don’t want to wait until the third track to hear the man rhyme. And the shocker of all shockers, no cut with Dre. None of the magical chemistry and team work that made The Chronic such a success. Perhaps “Tha Next Episode” will show up as a b-side or something.
Other than that you can’t complain. You get what you need. From the elegant “Gz Up, Hoes Down” to the incredibly funky “Ain’t No Fun” (if this is the flavor of Warren G’s upcoming LP, put me on the waiting list now.) If “Murder Was the Case” is a stroke of near genius, then “Lodi Dodi” is an example of total genius. And the spooky “Gin and Juice”: nothing short of the quintessential Snoop performance.
All in all, the positives outweigh the negatives. And while I’m sure that they did the best they could, it must be remembered that it took Dre over two years to fine tune his album. Snoop had less time, they had to rush it out before Thanksgiving finished or not. We can only wonder what the outcome would have been if they had the time and peace of mind to refine Doggystyle into the classic it was meant to be? Hopefully they’ll get a chance to do it all over again.
review by Reginald C. Dennis
King Tech Quadafi:
lol
West Coast Veteran:
reginald c dennis can lick my bozack
Lord Funk:
Hmmm... seems like a pretty fair review to me. What's that about the unreleased version of Niggas Din't Give A Fuck though? What's the difference between that one and the version on Poetic Justice?
KVB:
Thanks... interesting read. To me, this seems like like a first listen review, so I can kinda understand the rating - Doggystyle takes you a few listens to fully appreciate its greatness. LOL, even I thought it was kinda average at first. But 4 mics is of course a big injustice - no wonder they revised their rating in their 150th issue. Peace :)
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