Editor's note: ThaHipHop.Com has obtained permission from freelance journalist Oliver Wang to publish this review, whose first publication is concurrent with the release date below. I am honored and excited to have this review on the site and hope you will enjoy reading it. As with any other article on ThaHipHop.Com, this material cannot be duplicated or shared by any other site without expressed permission of the author. To know more about Oliver Wang, click here.  | Record Author(s): Snoop Dogg | | Record Title: Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told | | Record Producer(s): Snoop Dogg, Beats by the Pound (KLC, O'Dell, MP, Craig B, Carlos Stephens, DJ Darryl), DJ Pooh, Meach Wells, Soopa Fly | | Executive Producer(s): Master P | | Release Date: August 4, 1998 |
When No Limit's Master P acquired (some would say rescued) Snoop from Suge Knight's Death Row, it seemed as if a symbolic torch had been passed between rap music's two most dominant labels. However, Snoop's value as one of our era's eminent G-funkers would have been much higher five years ago when his debut album Doggystyle dropped. In 1998, Snoop is no longer in top dogg form and his No Limit premiere, Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told simply doesn't sell itself convincingly. Indeed, Snoop's last album, 1996's anemic Doggfather showed that without Dr. Dre, Snoop simply isn't as compelling of an artist. He might still have his verbal gifts, but Snoop without Dr. Dre is like Al Green without Willie Mitchell - they may still sound sweet on mic, but the fierce funk is sorely missing. Da Game's blend of timid G-funk and Southern-fried beats sound throwaway. Case in point: Hustle & Ball's dramatic drum roll gives way to a still-born track of dull basslines and blunted piano stabs. Ironically, one of the best tracks is Snoop's own production on Pay for P... where some slick guitar licks color the smooth, synthesized backing beat - too bad it's the album's shortest song that Snoop doesn't even rhyme over. It's a shame too because Snoop's deceptively laid-back persona hides one of the most mercurial flows in rap music. Unlike his gangsta rap peers who are long in tooth but short on talent, Snoop can spill lyrics to drown all but the most sophisticated wordsmiths. While Ice Cube has had to resort to yelling to gain attention, Snoop has always dominated by playing his style smooth and easy-going, even when he's devastating you verbally. Songs like Gin & Juice II (a poor sequel musically but still compelling lyrically) and Hustle & Ball suggest that the ol' Dogg still has it. His most interesting moment comes on Doggz Gonna Get Ya, a remake of Boogie Down Production's classic, Love's Gonna Getcha. Like Snoop's previous remakes (Slick Rick's La Di Da Di and Biz Markie's Vapors) Snoop recites KRS-One's original lines almost verbatim but gives them the doggystyle twist. While the song's original intent was to ward people away from the evils of materialism, Snoop ignores the social sub-text to simply state: don't cross me or else I'll f--- you up. One wonders whether to laugh or cry at his radical reinterpretation, but at least Snoop's provacative. Alas, two-thirds of Da Game's 21 tracks have Snoop sharing mic time with No Limit brethren like C-Murder, Mia X and Master P himself. Where he was once the buoy that supported other MCs' mediocre rhymes, Snopp now is just another No Limit soldier, singing empty verses about Hoes, Money & Clout. (On that note, Snoop's misogyny is as pervasive as usual - some things don't change it seems). The lesson to be learned is this: Da Game's ostentatious cover might sport a mansion with "Snoop World" inscribed on it, but behind the facade, it's clear that No Limit still holds the lease/leash on Snoop Dogg. | Snoop World | w/ Master P |  | | I Can't Take the heat | w/ Mia X | | | Woof! | w/ Mystikal & Fiend | | | Gin & Juice II | | | | Show Me Love | | | | Hustle & Ball | | | | Don't Let Go | | | | Tru Tank Dogs | w/ Mystikal | | | Whatcha Gon Do? | w/ Master P | | | Still a G Thang | | | | 20 Dollars to My Name | w/ Fiend, Soulja Slim & Silkk the Shocker | | | D.O.G.'s Get Lonely 2 | | | | Ain't Nut'in Personal | w/ C-Murder & Silkk The Shocker | | | DP Gangsta | w/ C-Murder | | | Game of Life | w/ Steady Mobb'n | | | See Ya When I Get There | w/ C-Murder & Mystikal | | | Pay For P... | w/ Big Pimp'n | | | Picture This | | | | Doggz Gonna Get Ya | | | | Hoes, Money & Clout | | | | Get Bout It & Rowdy | w/ Master P | |
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