Tha Doggfather

Untitled

Tha Doggfather is Snoop Doggy Dogg's second studio album and follow up to his debut album Doggystyle, released by Death Row Records in 1996. The album was re-released July 11, 2005. Although the album debuted at number one in the week of November 12, 1996 with over 478,971 copies sold, it failed to match the commercial success of Doggystyle due to the lack of involvement of Dr. Dre. It was released only one week after another Death Row release, the first posthumous album by slain Tupac Shakur, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which also debuted at number one. The animation on the back cover of the CD is done by Joe Cool; the same artist who did the front cover of his hit 1993 debut album Doggystyle.

Conception

Background

One of the most notable things on the album is the complete lack of production or involvement of Dr. Dre; (due to the fact that he left Death Row Records in early 1996 over money disputes) leaving Dat Nigga Daz and especially DJ Pooh as the main producer of the album. One the key signs of a album not produced by Dr. Dre is the not so heavy use of G-Funk on the album compared to his first album. A key factor being the less noticeable bass sound, high-pitched synthesizers, and also less musically sonic detail. Another noticeable thing other than the mysterious lack of an appearance by 2Pac other than the outro, is the lack of a major hit single in the US pop charts such as Gin and Juice and What's My Name. However, Tha Doggfather is still considered a good album by most reviews.

Snoop Dogg stated in an interview with Vh1 on December 3, 2006 that the reason behind many of the differences between Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather was because he felt he needed to bring a positive image to the music industry. He also stated "I think Tha Doggfather was a rebirth of me, as far as me being more positive on what I was tryin' to say and you know tryin' to live the life through my music, instead of me just livin' my life, tryin' to show people that my life... wasn't like my music was, tryin' to bring my life to my music... my present life". Snoop also stated that it was really understood at the time, where people wanted him to feel happy that he had won the case and rapping about violence. Though he did not want to and responded by saying "that's not what I felt" and that he felt emotionally lost since he didn't have Dr. Dre, Tupac had just been killed, and Suge Knight was in jail. After that he stated "I'm not gonna glorify none of this negativity that Death Row wanted me to do, I'm gonna bring a positive side of music". He felt like it got looked at the wrong way but in his own opinion it felt successful, stating "I enjoyed it and everywhere I go around the world people; you know I sign more Doggfather records than any other record I put out. That's the one I sign the most and I'm proud at the thang I did and the thang is... sometimes you can outgrow your fans".[6]

Release

Tha Doggfather was released when pop and hip hop had burned itself out on gangsta rap (stated at the end of the intro as "this is dedicated to the niggaz that said gangsta rap is dead... fuck y'all"), and Death Row Records was falling apart from the departure of Dr. Dre and the death of Tupac Shakur. To make matters worse Suge Knight was imprisoned; leaving the later half of the album unsupervised by him (which would explain why in "Snoop's Upside Ya Head," Snoop clearly states that he knows Suge Knight is stealing money from his album sales).

Tha Doggfather sold reasonably well, stalling at over two million copies sold and charting at number-one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Charts. In an interview with VH1, Snoop said that everywhere he went around the world, Tha Doggfather is the album he has signed the most, out of all his solo albums. It also did better than Doggystyle on the charts in countries like Australia, The United Kingdom and Canada.

Style

On this album, Snoop and his guests try to display a more old school gangster style, resembling that of the mafia. In contrast, on Doggystyle, he had displayed himself as a Crip (a street gang). Snoop also demonstrates that lyrically he is still in touch with songs that have exceptional flow like Freestyle Conversation which shows Snoop rapping faster than normal, and Doggyland, with smooth, flowing lyrics about peace to the streets. The production is different from Doggystyle on songs like Snoop Bounce, Snoop's Upside Ya Head, Up Jump Tha Boogie and 2001, which have an old school funk feeling. Tha Doggfather also features some positive content, such as the skit When I Grow Up, in which Snoop tells a young fan to never be like him.

Album title

Inspired by the hit gangster film The Godfather, the album title uses the same letter format as the movie title.

Music

Production

The majority of the album was produced and mixed by DJ Pooh, taking the place of what Dr. Dre did with Snoop on Doggystyle. Snoop Dogg also stated in an interview with Rap City in 1996 after Tha Doggfather just got released that he had been trying to work with Dr. Dre for the album. The problem was that Suge Knight would not allow him to work with Dr. Dre. Snoop also stated that Suge told him that the only way he was going to make the album was without Dr. Dre. He also added that working without Dr. Dre gives him more freedom to work with more producers, instead of just working with one key producer.

The album also noticeably leans to a more "old school" influenced funky beat, sampling songs like "It's Like That" by Run-D.M.C., Vapors by Biz Markie and others like More Bounce To The Ounce by Zapp & Roger and Oops Upside Your Head by The Gap Band. A noticeable thing about one of the tracks of the album, "Wake Up" is that this is the first song that Snoop Dogg actually produced. He stated that L.T. Hutton came in and helped him learn how to produce without Dr. Dre by teaching him how to play keyboard. [7]

Lyrics

Compared to Doggystyle, the lyrics are much less violent and controversial. As Snoop said in an interview he wanted to present a more positve image in his lyrics. Since he became a father he wanted to be a better role model for his kids. He wanted kid's parents to go out and buy the album for them, instead of the kids going out and getting the album without the parents knowing. A possible reference to Doggystyle in how controversial it was and how the album had debates on wether or not it should be listened to, along with other gangsta rap albums. [8]

Reception

Critical Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)
Muzik
Los Angeles Times
New York Times	(favorable)
USA Today
Sputnikmusic

Unlike his previous debut album, "Doggystyle", which was praised by many critics and fans as a classic, "Tha Doggfather" at the time of its release generally received moderate reviews from critics and fans. However, over the years the album's standings has increased and now by many fans and critics alike is considered as "one of his best works" or an "underrated classic". In an issue of Spin magazine on February Dr. Dre stated his feelings on the album and said "But to be perfectly honest, I don't like Snoop's new album. And it has nothing to do with me not working him, because I'm just like everybody else: I like it, or I don't. The first time I heard the single, I was grooving to it, but then I really started to get into the production and how it was sounding, you know? The first time you hear some shit, you just listen to it to get your groove on, but after that, I start breaking songs down. There's really nothing that was said on there that hasn't been said 50 times before." Entertainment Weekly praised the album by stating "Even without Dr. Dre behind the board, Snoop and his studio team concoct an intoxicating blend of old-school funk and gangsta cool" but also noted that "There's not much to love in the album's attitude toward sex, drugs, and first-degree murder." Thus giving Tha Doggfather a good rating of B+. With Muzik saying "...a more angular, spiky, old school-influenced vehicle for the Dogg Father to strut his matter-of-act rhymes over... you [are taken in] by the strength of the rhyming..." And Melody Maker ranking it #49 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's `Albums Of The Year. The New York Times predicted that the album would chart in the top ten due to his presence in the music industry. They also stated that "The album has a few obligatory mentions of sexual exploits and gun-toting, usually delegated to guest rappers. But most of the raps are about his position as a hit-maker. He still has one of the most distinctive deliveries in rap: a casual, nasal, conversational tone that sounds leisurely even when he's barreling forward. His producers are a little less slick than Dr. Dre was, but they have supplied swampy bass riffs and catchy backup choruses, drawing heavily (like Dr. Dre) on George Clinton's P-Funk. Snoop Doggy Dogg insists, and The Doggfather does that, maintaining a party atmosphere. Yet while it insists that gangsta rap isn't dead, it plays down tough-guy tales in favor of a star's pronouncements." AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the album runs on too long at over 70 minutes and "Though it works the same G-funk territory, the bass is less elastic and there is considerably less sonic detail". But also praised the album by stating "Though the music isn't original, and the lyrics break no new territory, the execution is strong -- Snoop's rapping and rhyming continue to improve, while the bass-heavy funk is often intoxicating." He ended the review on a positive note stating "...the album is a fine follow-up to one of the most successful hip-hop albums in history."

Track listing

#	Title	Guest(s)	Producer(s)	Samples	Length
1	Intro				0:46
2	Doggfather	Charlie Wilson	Dat Nigga Daz	Humpin' by Gap Band	3:57
3	Ride 4 Me (Interlude)				1:01
4	Up Jump tha Boogie	Kurupt Tha King Pin	DJ Pooh		4:43
5	Freestyle Conversation		Soopafly		4:17
6	When I Grow Up (Interlude)				0:37
7	Snoop Bounce	Charlie Wilson	DJ Pooh	More Bounce To The Ounce by Roger Troutman	4:03
8	Gold Rush	Kurupt Tha King Pin and LBC Crew	Arkim and Flair		4:52
9	(Tear 'Em Off) Me & My Doggz		L.T. Hutton		3:31
10	You Thought	Too Short, Soopafly	Soopafly		4:44
11	Vapors		DJ Pooh	Vapors by Biz Markie	4:21
12	Groupie	Tha Dogg Pound, Nate Dogg, Warren G & Charlie Wilson	Dat Nigga Daz		5:06
13	2001		DJ Pooh		3:32
14	Sixx Minutes		Arkim and Flair	The Show by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick	4:40
15	(O.J.) Wake Up	Tray Deee	Snoop Doggy Dogg and L.T. Hutton	It's Like That by Run-D.M.C.	4:43
16	Snoop's Upside Ya Head	Charlie Wilson	DJ Pooh	Oops Upside Your Head by Gap Band	4:30
17	Blueberry	Tha Dogg Pound and LBC Crew	Sam Sneed		4:15
18	Traffic Jam (Interlude)				0:34
19	Doggyland		DJ Pooh	The Love You Save by The Jackson 5	4:39
20	Downtown Assassins	Dat Nigga Daz, Tray Deee	Dat Nigga Daz		4:22
21	Outro	2Pac	Dat Nigga Daz		0:42

Leftovers

• "Work It Out" featuring Shaquille O'Neal & Mista Grimm
• "Dogg Collar" featuring Lady "V", KV, Big Pimpin', 6'9, Twin & Bad Azz, later released on Death Row: The Lost Sessions Vol. 1
• "Street Life" featuring 2Pac, Val Young & Prince Ital Joe

Chart performance

Singles

Title	Chart positions			Video director
	Eurochart Hot 100	UK Top 75	Australia Top 100
"Doggfather" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	-	36	-	Joseph Kahn
"Vapors" (featuring Charlie Wilson & Teena Marie)	-	18	-	Paul Hunter
"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	47	12	44	Darius S. Henderson

Album

	Album charts						Certification
	Billboard 200	Billboard Year-end Albums Chart 1997	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (cont.)	UK Top 75 Albums	UK Top Selling Artist Albums 1996	RIAA
Position	1	43	1	8	15	148	2x Platinum
Date	30.11.1996	1997	1996	1997	23.11.1996	1996	04.02.1997

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1996 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1996 (U.S.)

References

• Chart Data
• Music Video Database
• http://www.answers.com/topic/tha-doggfather