Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Food (1995)

Before the release of tha Dogg Pound's debut album, Dogg Food, various conservative organizations attacked the record for being exceedingly violent and vulgar, pressuring Warner Bros. not to release the album. Not only did the company agree, it also sold off all of its interests in Interscope Records. Of course, that didn't stop the album from being released -- Interscope signed a distribution deal with Priority Records. It's ironic that Dogg Food caused so much controversy, because, musically, the album is a very conservative piece of gangsta rap. Essentially, Dogg Food is the third rewrite of Dr. Dre's The Chronic, following Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle and the Murder Was the Case soundtrack. Even though Dr. Dre is only listed as an executive producer, his influence is all over the album, as Dat Nigga Daz faithfully reproduces all of the elements of Dre's trademark G-funk style -- slow, loping beats, deep, elastic rhythms, the occasional wail from a female singer, and layers of cheap, whiny synthesizers. Not only is the music numbingly familiar, the lyrics are pedestrian as well, chronicling the typical complaints and fantasies of gangsta rap, which would have been fine if Dat Nigga Daz and Kurupt were compelling rappers with a distinctive style of their own. But they're not -- they're monotonous and predictable, never once breathing life into the material. Three years after The Chronic, neither Dr. Dre nor his protégés have found a way to expand on his groundbreaking work.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo