This really slipped under the radar and no wonder, considering the crazy environment it came out in. It's also terribly long - over 74 minutes! Listening to it feels like hearing 6 albums in one! Sure, it didn't need to be that goddamn long. But there are quite a few tracks here which are catchy (especially the DJ Pooh cuts) and overall, it feels like you're listening to one endless mix of Snoop rapping over different beats in different ways. In a sense, more fun than the flimsy concept of the debut record. Give it a chance if you see it cheap somewhere.
I'm not someone who finds Doggystyle to be an absolutely amazing record to be ranked with the absolute upper echelon hip hop albums, but this is still a huge step down and it's hard not to compare it to that album. Soopafly and Daz, who I enjoy more often than not, handle a handful of tracks, and DJ Pooh, who has created some hip hop classics like 'It Was a Good Day', handles half a dozen, but I can't find anything amazing on the boards here. And for much of the time the production lacks the fun, crispness and originality of 'Doggystyle'. And while I like Snoop, and he was going through a lot of personal drama before this album, I think he is a rapper, due to his lazy type of flow at times, who needs a dope beat, or at least something as close as possible to one. In saying all of this, there are still some good songs here, but overall there's not a lot of classic material, and I don't know if many will have me rushing back to them.
Beats: ★★★
Rapping/Bars: ★★★
Hooks: ★★☆
Best Tracks: Doggfather, Vapors, 2001, Snoop's Upside Ya Head
1. Intro
2. Doggfather
A contagious hook by Charlie Wilson, Snoop's rhymes, and a funky Daz Dillinger beat make this an enjoyable opener and nothing betters it for the rest of the album.
3. Ride 4 Me
4. Up Jump Tha Boogie
Decent synth-funk. “But before I give a nigga a 9 / I'd rather give a nigga a mic and write him a rhyme" - This line is odd given all of the gangsta rap Snoop has spat over the years.
5. Freestyle Conversation
"Word is on the streets, your beats gon' be delicate/Since Dre did shake the spea's out, man/Delicate? Beats?/So that's what makes me now?/Man, I don't give a fuck about no beat"
Given this starts with those lines, I expected Snoop to go acapella. Soopafly provides a simple beat for Snoop to pretty much just rap for four minutes. He flows a little like Suga Free. This won't be for everyone.
6. When I Grow Up
7. Snoop Bounce
DJ Pooh samples 'More Bounce to the Ounce' by Zapp. Yeah, it's a bit bouncy but the chorus instrumentation barely changes making for a hook that's lacking. The songs continue to drop from the opener. DJ Pooh wasn't really "cooking", as they say, on this album yet.
8. Gold Rush
Arkim & Flair do a nice job here creating a likeable beat that has a wild west feel that the rappers play with for their lyrics.
9. (Tear 'Em Off) Me & My Doggz
Why does Snoop sound like he recorded this over the phone. Not just for that reason, but this one is a skip.
10. You Thought
This is a song you'd place in the middle of an album. It has the same problem as 'Snoop Bounce'.
11. Vapors
DJ Pooh redeems himself here with one of the album's standout productions, flipping Biz Markie’s track of the same name into a darker, west coast reinterpretation. Snoop adds his own flavour with slick storytelling that fits perfectly.
12. Groupie
Daz is back on the boards. It sounds like one of the sexual tracks from DPG's debut or some of the tracks on Doggystyle with its chilled-out g-funk style. Daz and Warren G claimed that they contributed a lot to Doggystyle and didn't get the credit, which you can believe given the sound of some of these tracks. The topic isn't interesting but the smooth production works.
13. 2001
DJ Pooh is back again who creates an energetic fun song with a likeable hook.
14. Sixx Minutes
Samples 'The Show' by Doug E Fresh. Snoop again mentions the doubt people seem to have had with him not having Dre beats on this. It's good without being worth raving about.
15. (O.J.) Wake Up
Samples Run-D.M.C. There are nice elements to the production. The hook drags on with Snoop's slow rapping over it that hurts the song.
16. Snoop's Upside Ya Head
I used to like this one more than I do these days, but it's still one of the strongest songs.
17. Blueberry
Sam Sneed on the track here. It sounds like a Daz beat and again something from DPG's debut. I think it's too similar to what we'd heard before to rank it highly.
18. Traffic Jam
19. Doggyland
This is kind of like Cube's 'It Was a Good Day' in subject matter. "Everything is free/And ain't no HIV. (What?)/And niggas don't kill one another/(Oh really why is that?)/Because a brother is a brother." Snoop raps about his perfect world. It's one of the weakest moments.
20. Downtown Assassins
Daz is back and offers another more than solid beat. Here we begin with a (weak) Scarface impersonation that sets the tone for some dark street storytelling.
21. Outro
Features a live recording of '2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted' to pay tribute to Pac passing.
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