Rating:
Genre:
Rap
Release Date: 05/22/2001
A lot happened to
Snoop Doggy Dogg between his debut,
Doggystyle, and his second album,
Tha Doggfather. During those three years, he became the most notorious figure in
hip-hop through a much-publicized murder trial, where he was found not guilty, and he also became a father. Musically, the most important thing to happen to
Snoop was the parting of ways between his mentor
Dr. Dre and his record label,
Death Row.
Dre's departure from
Death Row meant that
Snoop had to handle the production duties on
Tha Doggfather himself, and the differences between the two records are immediately apparent. Though it works the same
G-funk territory, the bass is less elastic and there is considerably less sonic detail. In essence, all of the music on
Tha Doggfather reworks the
funk and
soul of the late '70s and early '80s, without updating it too much -- there's not that much difference between
"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" and
"Oops Up Side Your Head," for instance. 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. At over 70 minutes,
Tha Doggfather runs too long to not have several filler tracks, but if you ignore those cuts, the album is a fine follow-up to one of the most successful
hip-hop albums in history.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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