Snoop Doggy Dogg — Doggystyle

Since the first hip-hop album released by pioneer Kurtis Blow in 1980, covers have been of considerable importance in the genre. Sure, some kids put flowers on it and don't know what to do with the covers, but real artists take them seriously. That of the debut of this boy from Long Beach, is relevant: the title, of evident sexual origin, is represented both verbatim by the brick wall and graphically, while the artist's name is drawn in the upper left corner so as to represent the face of a dog. From an idea by Dr. Dre, we have a representation of cartoon dogs, where Snoop Dogg, on top of a doghouse, reaches out to touch a dog's ass. Above him, a brick wall where three dogs watch the scene paying homage to George Clinton's 1982 hit single "Atomic Dog", a track that's also sampled throughout the album, so next to the wall, a dog catcher stands trying to catch Snoop, and finally, there's a rat, sated, it seems straight out of "Lucky and Zorba" (1996, movie based on a novel by Luis Sepulveda), which connects us to the album "The Chronic" by Dr. Dre, released the year before. The cover largely anticipates what the listener will go through for nearly an hour in these nineteen cuts, and sets off a great wave of controversy and controversy, due to its misogynist nature.

It takes ten months to record the whole project and for the rapper it's not an easy time: in August 1993, he's arrested for the death of a member of a rival gang, who was shot and killed. The material perpetrator of the crime would be the rapper's bodyguard, in any case, Snoop is accused of murder and will be acquitted in February 1996. The episode convinces the artist to definitively abandon the gangster life and inspires him to create the song "Murder Was the Case", which is followed by the short film of the same name directed by Dr. Dre and published the following year (accompanied by a solid soundtrack), welcomed by universal acclaim from specialized critics and by an excellent commercial success.

For his debut album, Calvin "Snoop Doggy Dogg" Broadus gets a lot of momentum: Dr. Dre's debut album "The Chronic" is a huge stepping stone to his solo record and consequently his career. Technically, it's not even his debut either, because the MC is one of the main performers on the former NWA producer's album. Snoop's record develops themes and music from Dre's classic and is a direct sequel to it, a perfect follow-up, presenting the same topics, production, mood and performers. In this project, Dre has the opportunity to evolve g-funk music and that of the West Coast scene: he creates a crisp, polished, clean and glossy soundscape, with funky boom baps, sharp yet light g-funk synths, phat bass lines, horns, guitars and strings, building a layered, accessible and deeply relaxed sound. The production is credited exclusively to Dr. Dre, when in reality, Warren G and Daz Dillinger brought in several beats which were then cleaned up, fixed and polished by the producer. Thematically, the album is firmly braggadocio, mainly addressing gangsta themes including drugs, alcohol, murder, women, guns and weed: the project boasts a festive and simple lyricism, and the performers practically say nothing for an hour, dropping random sexist, homophobic and misogynistic bars. Snoop Doggy Dogg is at his best in career: unlike all the other gangsta rappers who shout their own lyrics, he chooses to perform his gangsta verses in a calm, slow, spoken, relaxed and flowing style, dropping effortless bars with a flow that comes out easy and smooth, fresh and clean. His performance is among the best of the period, his rapping style and his impressive and engaging narrative ability, keep the listener careful thanks to an elegant and almost cold flow in his calm, he's velvet in every song, always dope.

Guests, often uncredited, are Dr. Dre, Warren G, George Clinton, The Lady of Rage, Tha Dogg Pound (Daz Dillinger & Kurupt), Nancy Fletcher, Jewell, Lil David Ruffin, The DOC, RBX, Lil' Malik of Illegal, Nate Dogg, Mallia Franklin, Ricky Harris, The Dramatics and Hug. They collaborate on most of the tracks, giving excellent performances and leaving Snoop few solo cuts: "The Shiznit", "Who Am I (What's My Name)?", that features a couple of Dre bars and a hook sung by Jewell, and "Gz Up, Hoes Down". Despite a sizeable number of contributors, Snoop Dogg dominates his record on every track, thanks to spectacular flow and his hyper-relaxed delivery style, he's easily superior to everyone at any time, smooth as few rappers have been until that moment in the history of the genre.

The album is released by Death Row and Interscope Records, and is a huge commercial success that further cements Death Row's already heavy position in the rap game: the hype for this project is something that has never been seen and probably will not be seen again until Mathers arrives. In its first week, the record sold over 800,000 physical copies, a record for a debut artist, which allowed him to reach the top spot on rap records and on the Billboard 200: with four million physical copies sold in the first five months, it's the third best-selling CD of the year, first among hip-hop records, and one of the seventy best sellers of the decade, obtaining certifications in France, UK and Canada. The singles extracts have great commercial success: "Gin and Juice" is nominated for a Grammy in '95, losing to Queen Latifah, and even songs that aren't singles receive an extensive radio broadcast.

While presenting some stylistic and technical flaws, with the inclusion of six skits that cover a third of the listening, the album is a masterpiece of the West Coast gangsta scene, a gem of g-funk, capturing the charm of the laid-back gangsta, it represents the best album released by Snoop and one of the highlights for Dr. Dre, Death Row and Interscope: here, the kids just trying to have fun and they succeed, finding artistic and commercial results that go beyond all expectations, the project is almost as good as "The Chronic".

Rating: 9/10.