Amazon.com essential recording
Produced by the infamous Dr. Dre with assistance from Mr. Suge Knight,
Doggy Style was the first solo outing by Calvin Broadus a.k.a. Snoop Doggy Dog. Incorporating a straight gangsta vibe into the deep funk grooves pioneered by George Clinton and his Parliament-Funkadelic ensemble, Snoop and Dre dogmatically invent the "G-Funk" aesthetic. Espousing an irreverent dope, bitches, and guns mentality,
Doggy Style garnered the Parental Advisory for explicit lyrics it sorely deserved. Still, Snoop's lazy-yet-acrobatic rap/drawl is distinctive and undeniably entertaining. With additional vocals from Tha Dogg Pound (Nate Dogg, Warren G, Kurupt, and Dat Nigger Daz), this disc is deceptively professional and musically quite slick. "Murder Was The Case" is practically an inner-city classic, while "Ain't No Fun" is another blunted, urban-rap anthem. Woof!
--Mitch Myers
From Amazon.co.uk
Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut didn't quite live up to the anticipation his earlier cameos with Dr. Dre had generated, but there's no denying his unique, just-chillin' flow on throw-downs like "Gin and Juice" and "Who Am I", even if the slight lyrical content and the disc's frequent smarmy interludes always leave you wishing for something a bit more substantial. These weaknesses can be easily overlooked, though, because
Doggystyle is such a pure sonic feast. The production work of Dr. Dre- -built on irresistible P-funk bass, sweet 1970s soul samples, and eerie keyboard lines--makes this one of the most impressive-sounding albums you'll ever hear. --
David Cantwell
