Unlike The Chronic, Doggystyle was not a Dr. Dre's biography, though, the recording sessions for Doggystyle were disastrous. Dre is the only credited producer, so we'll run with that for now.)Īccording to Dr. (Although there seems to be some conflicting reports as to the identity of the actual producer of Doggystyle: Snoop's cousin Dat N-a Daz, better known today as Daz Dillinger, has always claimed credit for producing some of the album's key cuts, but for all intents and purposes, Dr. Dre would produce what would eventually become Doggystyle in its entirety, so as to blend seamlessly with the previous album in the hearts and minds of the gangbangers and the stoners that would inevitably pick this album up.
(Okay, rushed isn't the right word: it was more than a year after The Chronic hit the shelves, but please remember that this was the early 1990's.) It was decided that Dr. Dre's solo debut The Chronic, Death Row Records rushed Snoop's debut to stores in 1994. Looking to build off of the buzz that Calvin Broadus sparked with his multiple guest appearances on Dr. Confused yet? You must not have ever heard Doggystyle. It really has nothing to do with the content of the album, and yet, it has everything to do with the content of the album. Now, Doggystyle and The Chronic stand proudly together as the twin pinnacles of West Coast G-funk hip-hop of the early '90s.The more I stare at the album cover for Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle, his debut disc on Death Row Records, the more that one thought starts to stand out: That cover sucks. If it doesn't have the shock of the new, the way that The Chronic did, so be it: Over the years, the pervasive influence of that record and its countless ripoffs has dulled its innovations, so it doesn't have the shock of the new either. If Doggystyle doesn't surprise or offer anything that wasn't already on The Chronic, it nevertheless is the best showcase for Snoop's prodigious talents, not just because he's given the room to run wild, but because he knows what to do with that freedom and Dre presents it all with imagination and a narrative thrust. Compare his delivery to many guest rappers here: Nate Dogg, Kurupt, and Dat Nigga Daz are all good rappers, but they're good in a conventional sense, where Snoop is something special, with unpredictable turns of phrase, evocative imagery, and a distinctive, addictive flow. Other gangsta rappers were all about aggression and anger - even Dre, as a rapper, is as blunt as a thug - but Snoop takes his time, playing with the flow of his words, giving his rhymes a nearly melodic eloquence. They're laid-back funky, continuing to resonate after many listens, but their greatest strength is that they never overshadow the laconic drawl of Snoop, who confirms that he's one of hip-hop's greatest vocal stylists with this record. Dre realized that it wasn't time to push the limits of G-funk, and instead decided to deepen it musically, creating easy-rolling productions that have more layers than they appear. There are two keys to its success, one belonging to Dre, the other to Snoop.
The miracle is, it's as good as that record. Which is exactly what Doggystyle is - a continuation of The Chronic, with the same production, same aesthetic and themes, and same reliance on guest rappers. They knew that the album would essentially be the de facto sequel to The Chronic, providing another round of P-Funk-inspired grooves and languid gangsta and ganja tales, just like Dre's album. It wasn't like they were buying an unknown quantity. If anything, he was the biggest star in hip-hop, with legions of fans anxiously awaiting new material, and they were the ones who snapped up the album, making it the first debut album to enter the Billboard charts at number one.
Dre's 1992 album, The Chronic, rapping on half of the 16 tracks, including all the hit singles, so it wasn't like he was an unknown force when Doggystyle was released in late 1993. Snoop had already debuted as a featured rapper on Dr. If Snoop Dogg's debut, Doggystyle, doesn't seem like a debut, it's because in many ways it's not.
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