After the murders of 2Pac and The Notorious BIG, Snoop Doggy Dogg begins to fear for his own safety and decides to leave a decaying, shattered Death Row Records, deprived of its guidance. After a couple of guest appearances in 1997, Master P manages to keep the Long Beach rapper in the No Limit studios and convinces him to sign with the label. The MC forfeits its former moniker, claimed by Death Row, and now is debuting under its new name Snoop Dogg. For the first time, there are no collaborations from the historic inner circle he has worked with on the previous two albums released with Death Row. The production is mainly done by Beats by the Pound, a team of producers made up of four guys: KLC, Mo B. Dick, Craig B and O'Dell. The remaining rhythms are provided by Master P, Snoop Dogg, Carlos Stephens, DJ Pooh, DJ Daryl, Meech Wells and Soopafly. Guests are MP aka Master P, C-Murder, Silkk the Shocker, Mia X, Mystikal, Fiend, Souljia Slim, Steady Mobb'n, Big Pimp'n, Mac, Eddie Griffin and Jon B.
Released by No Limit Records and Priority, the album achieved worldwide success, ranking on three continents and hitting the first place on the Billboard 200 (third in a row). It sold over half a million copies in its first week, was certified double platinum in two months, and became one of the ten best-selling rap albums of 1998. By no means it's a good LP. The rapper renounces for once the g-funk sound that has distinguished him up to now and is welcomed by the typical southern No Limit music: the rhythms are heavy, simplistic and skeletal, the drum is scarce in every track and the samples are self-referential (they pay homage to No Limit artists; and to George Clinton), when they're there. There are good bass lines sometimes, everything else is poor and of little value. Snoop Dogg sounds without commitment, not that it doesn't seem like that in every single track of his previous career, but the energy isn't there, the vitality isn't present in this record: his flow runs on autopilot and he recites generic bars whose topics are materialism, gangsterism, violence, crime, sex and drugs.
The guests add little meat to the grill, some realize they're on Snoop Dogg's album, something that might not happen a second time, and they commit themselves in rap helping to raise the level of the songs, others don't care. A numerous series of weak, generic, forgettable tracks come out. "Snoop World" is track number one: excellent bass, honest drum midtempo, good piano, the rhythm is glossy and is suited to the artist's laid-back smooth delivery. It's one of the very few strong cuts on the record, and is followed by "Slow Down". Bouncy production, tight drum, ok samples, good rnb hook by Anita Thomas (uncredited), good hardcore delivery by Mia X, gritty, slow, she makes a robust contribution to a song that had been way too soft until then. Despite a tight performance by Mystikal, Snoop isn't inspired by the third choice and will rarely be for the next hour, recording the songs in a bland, gray, dull style.
The production, at times ridiculous and with a sensational negative mixing, deprives the project of its replay value. The cover is iconic, in clear No Limit style: glossy, artist name at the top covering the entire section, face of the artist sitting in the center with a couple of dogs, album title at the bottom. Composed by 21 tracks and 80 minutes of listening, is a deeply irregular listening, with few hot spots sparse in the record, never essential.
Highlights: "Snoop World", "Slow Down", "Don't Let Go", "Doggz Gonna Get Ya".
Rating: 4/10.
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