Why Snoop Dogg thinks ‘Tha Doggfather’ is underrated
Snoop Dogg is widely regarded as one of the best rappers to ever pick up a mic, but, even so, he feels like he hasn’t always been given the props he deserves. His second album, Tha Doggfather, is a particular sore spot.
Tha Doggfather was put out by Death Row and Interscope Records in 1996, a significant release within the context of Snoop’s lore for several reasons. On the one hand, it was the last album he would release on Death Row for many years, before he bought the label for himself in 2022. The album was also the last to be released under his initial moniker, Snoop Doggy Dogg.
Snoop’s debut, Doggystyle, had been a huge success following its release in 1993, so expectations were understandably high for his follow-up. But this was a difficult period for Snoop, who, in 1995, was arrested and charged with murder. He was cleared of the charges the following year, ultimately, meaning work on Tha Doggfather could properly begin.
A big difference between Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather was that one important man was missing from the latter. Dre, having produced Doggystyle, was a crucial force in Snoop’s rise, so his absence from its follow-up was really notable.
Sessions for the album occurred between February and October 1996, with Suge Knight in place as the album’s executive producer. But that very October he was caught breaking the terms of his parole, which ultimately saw him incarcerated for several years. He only got out again in 2001.
Despite all these difficulties, Tha Doggfather was a success when it was released in November ’96. It went straight to number one, but, on the other hand, it failed to live up to the popularity of Doggystyle. In that sense, the album represented something of a failure.
This annoyed Snoop, as became clear during an interview he did with DubCNN while he was promoting his 2006 album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. “Muthafuckas don’t be giving me my respect I need to have,” he claimed at one point.
Snoop went on to single out Tha Doggfather as an example of him not getting enough respect, arguing that it never reached the level of success it deserved for external reasons beyond his control. This business was all about timing, and Tha Doggfather hadn’t dropped at a good time.
“I listen to my Doggfather record,” Snoop said. “I was lyrical than a muthafucka on that album! But nobody focused on it cause Dre wasn’t a part of it, Suge was in jail and Pac was dead. So it’s about timing you understand what I’m saying?”