Tha Doggfather

Tha Doggfather
File:Tha-doggfather.jpg
Studio album by Snoop Doggy Dogg
Released	November 12, 1996
Recorded	February 1996 — September 1996
Genre	West Coast hip hop Gangsta rap G-funk
Length	74:13
Label	The New and "Untouchable" Death Row Records Interscope
Producer	Suge Knight (exec.) DJ Pooh Daz Dillinger Soopafly LT Hutton Sam Sneed Arkim & Flair
Snoop Doggy Dogg chronology
Doggystyle (1993)Doggystyle1993 Tha Doggfather (1996) Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998)Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told1998
Singles from Tha Doggfather
"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" Released: September 14, 1996 "Vapors" Released: April 8, 1997 "Doggfather" Released: August 26, 1997

Tha Doggfather is the second studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg; it was released, by The "New and Untouchable" Death Row Records on November 12, 1996. The album was re-released July 11, 2005. Prior to the successful release of his debut album Doggystyle (1993), Snoop was charged with murder. During 1995, Snoop had been spending much time preparing for the case, which went to trial later that year. In February 1996, he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album, without Dr. Dre as producer. This was Snoop's last album on Death Row Records under the name of Snoop Doggy Dogg.

The album debuted at number one during the week of November 12, 1996 selling 478,971 copies, but it failed to match the commercial success of Doggystyle and 2Pac's album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). 2Pac had become a friend of Snoop during 1996 and died weeks before the release of Tha Doggfather. Dr. Dre had left Death Row to his partner Suge Knight, who was indicted on racketeering charges by the end of 1996. Consequently, Snoop's second album stalled at sales of two million. It was released only one week after another Death Row release, the first posthumous album by slain Makaveli, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which also debuted at number one. The illustration on the back cover of the CD is done by Joe Cool, the same artist who did the front cover of Doggystyle.

Release

Tha Doggfather charted at number one on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and US R&B Charts. The album has sold over two million copies in the United States and sold better internationally than its predecessor, "Doggystyle".

Album title

The album title takes inspiration from the classic gangster film "The Godfather", going so far as to utilize the same letter format as the movie title on the album artwork.

Music

Production

With the departure of Dr. Dre from Death Row records, the majority of this album was produced and mixed by DJ Pooh. In addition to DJ Pooh, Daz Dillinger and several other producers contributed to the album. In a 1996 interview with Rap City Snoop Dogg revealed that he had wanted to work with Dr. Dre on the album, but had been prevented from doing so by Suge Knight.

The album samples songs like "It's Like That" performed by Run-D.M.C., "Vapors" performed by Biz Markie, "More Bounce to the Ounce" performed by Zapp & Roger and "Oops Upside Your Head" performed by The Gap Band. The Doggfather also marked the debut of Snoop Dogg as a producer on the track (O.J.) Wake Up". Snoop Dogg was taught how to play keyboard by a producer named L.T. Hutton so that he could produce the track himself.

Lyrics

Compared to Doggystyle, the lyrics are much less violent and controversial. On the Doggfather, Snoop Dogg wanted to present a more positive image in his lyrics, a reflection of his maturation as an artist, and as a new father. On December 3, 2006, in an interview with VH1, Snoop Dogg spoke about the differences between Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather, stating, "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...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." Although his new lyrical direction was met with mixed feelings from fans and critics alike, Snoop Dogg still thinks of the album as a success: "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".

Reception

Critical reaction

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Muzik
Los Angeles Times
The New York Times	favorable
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
USA Today

The album received generally moderate reviews from critics and fans at the time of its release. In a February issue of Spin magazine, 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 stating that "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." Muzik said, "...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...". Melody Maker ranked it #49 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's 'Albums Of The Year'. The Los Angeles Times reported that "Snoop still is one of rap's most electrifying performers. But unlike "Doggystyle" and the "Murder Was the Case" soundtrack, few of the beats on this album rival his rapping prowess." They complimented some of the tracks, calling 'Doggfather' "... the epitome of cool smoothness. Over a slow-rolling Daz and DJ Pooh track" 'Freestyle Conversation' "...an Outkast-style exercise in which Snoop speaks a mile a minute, but still manages to maintain a funky rhythm", 'Gold Rush' a "funky pistolero track" and the Biz Markie remake 'Vapors' "the album's real gem". The review went on to conclude that "Tha Doggfather may not be Doggystyle, but Snoop shows that he has the prowess and the talent to survive.".

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 Tha 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 stating "...the album is a fine follow-up to one of the most successful hip-hop albums in history."

Commercial reception

Before the release of the album many were questioning if the album would become lost in the turmoil and tragedy of the label. Or even to be bypassed in the rush of Tupac's posthumous album. However retailers thought differently such as Violet Brown, urban music buyer for the Wherehouse music chain. "Customer anticipation has been huge. As soon as record executives found out they were opening against Snoop [this week], they shifted the release dates of some rival rap albums to avoid the Snoop sales rush." The album debuted at number one with strong first week sales of 479,000 copies, with Tupac at number two with second week sales of 250,000 (proving that Death Row still had a strong hold on the pop charts). While falling short of Doggystyle's 803,000 in the first week sold (the record at the time for a rap album), the album still was the third-highest rap debut of that year behind Shakur's "All Eyez on Me" (566,000 first-week copies) and "Killuminati" (664,000 copies), and it ranks fourth overall on the year's list of top debuts, which is headed by Metallica's "Load" (680,000 copies). The album has sold over two million copies in the United States.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			0:46
2.	"Doggfather" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	Calvin Broadus, Jr., Delmar Arnaud	Dat Nigga Daz	3:57
3.	"Ride 4 Me"	Broadus, Jr., Ralph Aiken, Tyrone "Flye" Crum, Keith Harrison, Robert "Raful" Neal, Jr., Roger Parker, Clarence "Satch" Satchell		1:01
4.	"Up Jump tha Boogie" (featuring Roger Troutman and Kurupt tha Kingpin)	Broadus, Jr., Richardo Brown, Mark Jordan	DJ Pooh	4:43
5.	"Freestyle Conversation"	Broadus, Jr., Priest Brooks	Soopafly	4:17
6.	"When I Grow Up"	Broadus, Jr.		0:37
7.	"Snoop Bounce" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	Broadus, Jr., Jordan, Roger Troutman	DJ Pooh	4:03
8.	"Gold Rush" (featuring Kurupt tha Kingpin and LBC Crew)	Broadus, Jr., Brown, Jamarr Stamps, David Williams, Reggie Vanterpool, Ralph Wheeler	Arkim & Flair	4:52
9.	"(Tear 'Em Off) Me and My Doggz"	Broadus, Jr., D. Williams, Lenton Hutton	L.T. Hutton	3:31
10.	"You Thought" (featuring Soopafly and Too $hort)	Broadus, Jr., Brooks, Todd Shaw	Soopafly	4:44
11.	"Vapors"	Antonio Hardy, Marcel Hall, Marlon Williams	DJ Pooh	4:21
12.	"Groupie" (performed by 213 featuring Tha Dogg Pound and Charlie Wilson)	Arnaud, Brown, Nathaniel Hale	Dat Nigga Daz	5:06
13.	"2001" (featuring Bad Azz, Kurupt tha Kingpin and Threat)	Stamps, Brown, Cory "Threat" Lloyd, Jordan	DJ Pooh	3:50
14.	"Sixx Minutes"	Broadus, Jr., Vanterpool, Wheeler, Douglas Davis, Ricky Walter	Arkim & Flair	4:40
15.	"(O.J.) Wake Up" (featuring Tray Dee)	Broadus, Jr., Tracey Davis, Hutton, Joseph Simmons, Daniel McDaniels, Lawrence Smith	Snoop Doggy Dogg, L.T. Hutton	4:43
16.	"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	Broadus, Jr., Lonnie Simmons, Rudy Taylor, Ronnie Wilson, Charlie Wilson	DJ Pooh	4:30
17.	"Blueberry" (featuring Tha Dogg Pound and LBC Crew)	Arnaud, Brown, Stamps, D. Williams, Sam Anderson	Sam Sneed	4:15
18.	"Traffic Jam"	Ricky Harris		0:34
19.	"Doggyland"	Broadus, Jr., Val Young, Jordan, Alonzo Mizell, Barry Gordy, Jr., Freddy Perren, Deke Richards	DJ Pooh	4:39
20.	"Downtown Assassins" (featuring Dat Nigga Daz and Tray Dee)	Arnaud, Davis	Dat Nigga Daz	4:22
21.	"Outro" (featuring Makaveli)			0:42

Leftovers

• "Work It Out" featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Mista Grimm
• "Dogg Collar" featuring Lady "V", KV, Big Pimpin', 6'9, Twin and Bad Azz, which was released on the bonus CD for Dr. Dre's The Chronic Re-Lit.
• "Street Life" featuring Makaveli, Val Young and Prince Ital Joe
• "Just Watching" featuring 2Pac, Tha Dogg Pound and Charlie Willson
• "Out the Moon" performed by LBC Crew featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg, Soopafly and 2Pac which is featured on Gridlock'd soundtrack.

Chart performance

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	12
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	45
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	30
French Albums (SNEP)	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	23
Italian Albums (FIMI)	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	6
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)	48
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	41
UK Albums (OCC)	15
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	1
US Billboard 200	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart	Peak position
Billboard Albums Chart 1997	43
UK Top Selling Artist Albums 1996	148

Singles chart

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 and Teena Marie)	-	18	-	Paul Hunter
"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	47	12	44	Darius S. Henderson

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	Gold	7,500
United Kingdom (BPI)	Gold	100,000
United States (RIAA)	2× Platinum	2,000,000
Summaries
Worldwide		7,500,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

See also

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

References

• "Chart Data: Snoop Dogg" mariah-charts.com.
• "Snoop Doggy Dogg" Music Video Database. mvdbase.com.

Preceded by The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory by Makaveli

Billboard 200 number-one album November 30 - December 6, 1996

Succeeded by Razorblade Suitcase by Bush