ARTIST: Snoop Dogg
ALBUM: Doggumentary
LABEL: Priority Records
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2011
It’s a Dogg-Story
Photo by Adam Bettcher
Written by Jeremy Weeden
Once again, the Doggfather is back. Hip-hop legend Snoop D-O-double-G returns to the scene with his 11th studio album, Doggumentary. Snoop has traveled a long and winding road during his 19 years in the music industry and Doggumentaryaims to capture pieces of it all. With gangsta songs, dance tracks, funk, r&b and even some country, this album is meant to portray all the music styles Snoop has embraced over the years.
Snoop’s roots are well-known as he was discovered by renowned producer Dr. Dre and was first introduced with his work on the hip-hop classic The Chronic. Snoop followed this up with his own classic album, Doggystyle, on Death Row Records, became an international superstar, and has never looked back. Upon 2pac’s death and having money problems with Death Row Record’s owner, Suge Knight, Snoop signed to Master P’s then-up-and-coming No Limit Records. These occurrences alone are more than most artists experience their entire careers, as Snoop wound up being at the forefront of two historic hip-hop moments before he was 10 years into his career. While with No Limit Records Snoop experienced success, but soon after moved to Interscope Records, then made a jump to Priority Records and became bigger than ever with songs like “Beautiful” and “Drop it Like it’s Hot.” Snoop has even had a hit with the auto-tuned “Sexual Eruption”; showing that no matter how he evolves, people just cannot get enough of the Dogg.
As Doggumentary is intended to capture the long and colorful history Snoop has had in the music industry, it is no surprise that the album is 21 tracks long; anyone with as much music history as Snoop Dogg would have to make at least that many songs to encompass it all. Although the album has many surefire hits and quality songs, it is also littered with a few missteps as Snoop stretches himself too thin trying to have something for everybody on this album. The album features a wide range of guest stars: from Kanye West, Young Jeezy and John Legend to Willie Nelson, Bootsy Collins and the Gorillaz.
The album starts off on a high note with the Bootsy Collins assisted “Toyz N Da Hood.” The funky, west coast synth-beat coupled with Bootsy Collins’ uniquely suited voice blend to make a perfect dance track that will remind you of summer. The next track, “The Way Life Used to Be,” finds Snoop rapping about his younger days over a track sampling Club Nouveau’s “Why You Treat Me So Bad.” One of the catchier songs on the album is “I Don’t Need No Bitch,” featuring Kobe Honeycutt and underground legend Devin the Dude. The rappers detail why they do not need “bitches” over a smooth track produced by DJ Khalil. On this track, the underrated Devin the Dude shines with lyrics like, “Bitches, I don’t need ’em, don’t buy ’em nothing to drink, I don’t feed em/ Bitches, nevermind them, I stay in front, I used to chase behind them.”
“Platinum,” featuring R. Kelly, “We Rest in Cali,” “Gangbang Rookie” and “Wonder What it Do” are other standout tracks. The best track on the album may be the Kanye West helmed “Eyez Closed featuring both Kanye and John Legend. Over a relaxing track with hard drums, the rappers reflect on their lives and the things they see when their eyes are closed.
As mentioned before, the album does have some missteps—like the Willie Nelson assisted “Superman,” “Something Like This Night” and “Wet.” As a look into the musical career of Snoop Dogg, Doggumentary does a decent job. Snoop has had a wide variety of styles and songs over the years and to try to recapture it all is a daunting task for any man. Fans of the second half of Snoop’s career will truly enjoy this album, while fans of earlier Snoop may feel left out of the Doggumentary.