Chaz KangasThis Saturday — November 23rd — is the 20th anniversary of Snoop Doggy Dogg's iconic debut Doggystyle.
A sensation upon its release, it was for a time the fastest selling rap debut ever.
It's become a rite of passage for everyone with even a passing interest in hip-hop.
But while it may have put you through puberty, here are some things you didn't know about it.
See also: Our cover story on the Making of The Chronic
1) “G'z Up, Hoes Down” was removed
The original pressing of Doggystyle contained the track “G'z Up, Hoes Down,” but it was removed in subsequent pressings due to a dispute owing to its sample of Isaac Hayes' “The Look of Love”.
2) There's a song missing from it entirely
And it's called “The Next Episode.” While listed on the original pressing's artwork, it didn't make Doggystyle's final cut. We were supposed to chill until we heard this track — an official sequel to Dr. Dre's “Nothin' But a G Thing” — but it didn't arrive until it was remade as an entirely different song with the same name on Dre's 1999 work The Chronic 2001. Got that?
3) Better than The Chronic?
Though Dr. Dre's The Chronic is believed by many to be the greatest rap album ever — and Snoop himself finds it superior to Doggystyle — this is far from an open and shut case. From rapper Torae to rap fanatic Chris Rock, plenty of hip-hop aficionados ride for Doggystyle.
Many argue that while The Chronic focuses partly on the beefs of the era (“fuck Eazy-E” etc.) Doggystyle sounds much more timeless. It certainly doesn't contain any filler.
4) Mariah Carey and “Ain't No Fun”
The formula for Mariah Carey crossover success in the late '90s was leading with the pop single and doing a remix with rappers for urban radio. For “Heartbreaker,” she recruited Da Brat and Missy Elliot for a new take on Snoop's “Ain't No Fun,” which is, as we say in my native Minnesota, interesting.
5) All-4-One somehow plays into this
There are two kinds of love — the kind that pledges eternal monogamy, and the kind that gets it on until six in the morning. If you were in an Italian discotheque in 1994, Interscope had both covered, equipping jukeboxes with Snoop Dogg's “Gin and Juice” and All-4-One's “So Much in Love” sharing the same wax. That's love.
See also: The Making of The Chronic
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