340. Snoop Doggy Dogg, "Doggystyle"

 


Confession: this is the first rap album I ever bought.  Yes, I lived through the 80's and golden age hip-hop but my first album wasn't LL Cool J or Run-DMC or Public Enemy or even De La Soul (although I think 3 Feet High and Rising was my second); it was this filthy, violent, misogynistic, brilliant masterpiece by the kid from Long Beach who would grow up to be friends with Martha Stewart.  Kids, life will take you some strange places.

What is it about this album?  Well, the production (by Dr. Dre, of course) is immaculate, establishing the G-funk sound by blending a booming low end with perfectly selected 70's funk samples, but of course it's Snoop's flow that makes the album.  It's so laid-back and hypnotic that you almost don't realize that he's singing about some gritty shit.  And it's hummable, I mean, there is literally no way you can hear "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and not get it stuck in your head all day.  

See?  Don't say I didn't warn you.

We have to talk about "Gin N Juice," the second single from the album and arguably one of the most famous rap songs ever.  The lyrics are par for the course for this album - drinking, sex, smoking weed - but the hook is so catchy and infectious that it quickly entered the cultural lexicon.  I mean, who doesn't know "with my mind on my money/and my money on my mind"?  (Although I just learned that Snoop lifted the phrase from 2Pac's verse on MC Breed's "Gotta Get Mine," oh well.)  In 1996, The Gourds did a country-ish cover, paving the way for generations of whiny white boys covering rap songs, usually painfully.  The Gourds' cover isn't that bad though.

Snoop released an album this past April!  The man is still going.  

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Yep.

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