Snoop Doggy Dogg "Gin & Juice"

Album: Doggystyle (Death Row; 1993)
Songwriters: Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey, Dr. Dre, Richard Finch and Snoop Dogg
Peak Position: #13

"So what you wanna do? (sheeeit)/ I got a pocket full of rubbers and my homeboys do too"

Ahhh...girl watching. To the dismay of girlfriends and wives everywhere, it's a favorite pasttime (Hell, "currenttime" and "futuretime) for men all around the globe. It also served as a theme for one of the biggest hits from late-'70's/ early-'80's soul/ funk masters Slave.

Formed in Ohio in 1975, Slave made quite an introduction for themselves with "Slide", a #1 R&B hit that guaranteed a party everywhere it was played with it's spirited horn cacophony, screaming guitar solos, "screw-face"-inducing bass and slinky demand of it's title. By the release of 1980's Stone Jam though, the band's funk style had notably shifted, evolving into a more smooth and sleek sound that properly nestled singer Steve Arrington's charismatic leads.

"Watching You" emerged as the album's top release, a laidback stomper that had Arrington peeping passing-by honies and getting all over-excited after taking notice of one stand-out beauty with his "naked eye". Slobbering over her perfect "combination: smile, body, physique", Stevie stuttered, crooned and wailed his shower of praises in this near-stalker-ish tune, hoping for the chance to get know her a little better.



DL: "Watching You" (YFH)

Cut to '93 and you had noted old-school funk fan Snoop Doggy Dogg mimicking the track's chorus but twisting the lyrics to center on his favorite pasttime.

Snoop may have just been on his first album when "Gin & Juice" was introduced to the world, but he was certainly an established superstar, helping plant West Coast hip hop in the mainstream light with his key contributions to Dr. Dre's The Chronic. Who could deny his eased flow and lovable persona, especially when placed atop Dre's muscular G-funk symphonies? That addictive chemistry would be mirrored throughout Snoop's official debut LP Doggystyle, further strengthening his position as one of rap's top players of the decade.

"Juice", Doggystyle's second single, seamlessly continued the hard-hitting house party aesthetic of it's preceding release "What's My Name". Milking the Slave melody for it's hook and a sample of George McCrae's oft-borrowed "I Get Lifted", then layered with Dre's always-welcome supply of whining synth lines and menacing bottom-end bump, the track's many musical elements came together to boast this anthemic force of feel-good, all just to prop Snoop's infectious narration of a simple day in the streets of the LBC.

Bursting with lines that would rank as some of his most iconic, "Gin & Juice" offered due celebration to the undying pleasures of the cherished alcohol concoction, though it's misogynistic bent and drug-hyping references made it an obvious target for anti-rap groups concerned over it's influence of young men. With that being said, it surely hasn't stopped any of us, whether drunk, high (some combination of the both) or sober, from rapping along to this deathless hip hop classic.

(One of many)Best Moment(s): A swift diss to around-the-way hoochie Sadie ("Raise up off these n-u-ts, cause you gets none of these")



DL: "Gin & Juice" (YFH)