I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard Snoop Dogg.
It was a Saturday night. I was just got done watching wrestling and had turned the channel to my favorite show at the time, “Pump It Up” with Dee Barnes. My family didn’t have cable at the time (a funny story that I might tell one day on the podcast), so Yo Raps! wasn’t something I could watch every day. But once a week, I could turn to channel 25 and watch Dee Barnes interview rappers and play the latest videos.
This night, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to watch.
Towards the end of the night, a video appeared on the screen. Seconds into the video, this rapper I’ve never seen or heard before prior said some words that froze up a young rap listener like myself. “You don’t love me. You just love my doggystyle.”
From there, the beat dropped and my life changed!
I couldn’t wait for his album to come out. His single, “What’s My Name” was killing the streets. Snoop was it. So on November 23rd, 1993, when his debut album Doggystyle hit stores, I managed to get myself a copy. I played that tape non-stop.
At that moment, Snoop was probably the coolest dude to me aside from my father and brother. I actually called myself, “Slim with the tilted brim” for a minute. It was like that. I would keep songs like “Pump Pump” “Doggy Dogg World” “Gin & Juice”, “G’z and Hustlaz” on rewind!
Doggystyle was a moment.
Since then, Snoop has become a mythical figure not just in hip-hop, but in pop culture overall.
So today, 25-years later, we celebrate Snoops debut opus. If you have never heard Doggystyle, then here is your chance. Stream Doggystyle below.