Disco de Snoop Dogg: “Dead Man Walkin' [PA]”

When i first heard that Death Row would be releasing "Dead Man Walkin" i thought right away that it would be nothing more than an album full of wack songs to lower Snoop's image--

But to my own surprise, the album ended up being one of my best purcheses this year! Dead Man Walkin is an album of unreleased Snoop Dogg material from his Death Row era, which is considered his golden era. Ever since Snoop left Death Row for No Limit, alot of his fans we're left with nothing more than Southern Rap and very few West Coast cuts on his albums, which left them wanting more. This album is what those fans want, the old Snoop Dogg. Most of the songs on this album are great, even though some of them aren't so great you can still listen to them.

Its hard to say which album will be better: Dead Man Walkin' or the soon to be released, Tha Last Meal. I for one am getting both, if you really can't have both, just look at the reviews Tha Last Meal will receive when its released and compare them to Dead Man Walkin'.

By the way, all Snoop Dogg fans be sure to check out "The Restless LP" by Xzibit which is set to drop December 12th. Peace Out.

This album brings back the old Snoop Doggy Dogg we all love. Death Row decided to make an album of some old Snoop tracks, and some tracks from Snoop's classic Smokefest Underground album. This is Snoop's best work since The Doggfather easily, it brings back the way rap used to be, and Dr. Dre doesn't produce anything here. Most of the production is handled by Soopafly, Above The Law rapper Big Hutch, and Daz Dillinger. Also, Swoop G, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt and Raphael Saadiq appear on this album. Snoop uses energy I haven't heard from him since 1999, but this CD could definitely be called Doggystyle Part II. I think it's unfair how there are Snoop groupies here dissing this album just because Snoop isn't getting paid for it. It's the music, not what Suge Knight did. Though I'm sure Snoop didn't want this to come out, as the album is even disrespectfully titled as Dead Man Walking. But you'll get the light-hearted, bright G-Funk sounds on this CD we've missed.

The album starts off with a classic track, "May I". This track has beautiful horns and Snoop puts in an energetic performance. This track wouldn't be out of place on Doggystyle, an amazing Soopafly track, probably recorded some time in 1993. "C-Walkin'" is a decent track from Smokefest with Snoop putting in three good verses and dissing Swoop G and Lil' C-Style in the last verse (though he doesn't say their names), with a decent beat that gets better as the song goes on. "Head Doctor" features Swoop G and Raphael Saadiq for the first single on this 1994 track. The beat is full of life, and Snoop and Swoop sound good together. "Hit Rocks" is another great track, the original version of "Bussin' Rocks" from Top Dogg. But this original is from 1995, and can be heard on the interlude after "Dogg Pound Gangstas" from The Dogg Pound's Dogg Food in the background. The track has the classic Death Row sound to it. "Tommy Boy" is a nice southern track, with Daz rapping on it, about a hustler named Tommy who they hung out with. Classic Dogg Pound material. "Change Will Come" is the favorite of most people, it has Snoop in great form and a cool beat with bass and keyboards in a futuristic type track. "Too Black" is a nice jazzy track with Snoop rapping about heartfelt experiences, and he sounds a little sleepy at times but does nicely over a good beat. "Gangsta Walk" is a posse cut with The Dogg Pound, also known as the great Kurupt and Daz. They all rip this track to shreds, especially Kurupt, and Daz goes crazy at the end. "County Blues" is a blues-like track with Snoop telling jail-stories, it's a nice effect, and the harmonicas are a nice touch. "I Will Survive" is a good remix of the original from Smokefest. It has Snoop doing an all-new verse, and rapping with his friend Technique. They all rap well, the original also had Soopafly rapping on the chorus, but on this new version it has Kurupt. Excellent LBC track, and has added strings in the background. "My Favorite Color" is a pretty good track in the sense it's telling blacks to stick together but the beat is a bit repetitive, all in all a pretty good track though. "Me And My Doggs" is a good track but it's from Doggfather, I have no idea why it's on here again.

I just wish Death Row would've added "Doggystyle" featuring George Clinton, "Street Life" featuring 2Pac, and a couple others ("Don't Do The Crime" would be nice but it disses Death Row). This album is a classic though, it has tracks from Smokefest put out to see the light. I think it's unfair for these reviewers to diss this album because Snoop isn't making money off of it. That's childish and stupid, because they know if it had come out on The Last Meal they would've loved it. Light-hearted G-Funk at its best. Check it out.

First things first, I like Snoop Dogg, but this album is just weak. I don't even know why Death Row released it other than to make a bad name for Snoop. As if Tha Doggfather album wasn't bad enough they used the songs that weren't good enough to make it onto that CD. Fianl words: if you are buying this to complete your unopened Snoop CD collection then buy it it, but if you actually want a good CD to listen to then look elswhere.

The content of this album is probably on a par with 'Tha Doggfather' and the style is very similar. Track 12 is on 'Tha Doggfather', so I don't know what it's doing here. I don't think there was ever any intention to make this a classic album, but it would have made more impact had it been released four or five years ago, when it was recorded. There are some unreleased Snoop tracks on his Death Row greatest hits album which, had they been put on this album instead, would have made it a bit stronger. Neverless, if you enjoyed 'Tha Doggfather', and want more of the same, consider this album. If you only have a few Snoop albums already, don't bother with this, unless you really prefer his earlier style.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album. The old Snoop flow finally returns in this album of old Death Row tracks. Despite the age of the tracks, it is classic Snoop. Maybe not as catchy or popular as Doggystyle, Dead Man Walkin' shouldn't be compared to that album. It's completely different and probably shows Snoop at his best in terms of diversity. Listen to the lyrics and one will realize none of his previous albums have as much diversity as this album. I really believe true fans of hip-hop who have followed Snoop since his Death Row days will agree that this is a good album with some really good tracks and is much superior to the 3 mediocre albums he has put out on No Limit. Props to Suge Knight for putting this album out and showcasing what Snoop could be. Just give it a listen.