If you can't believe it's been 27 years since Snoop Dogg released his hip-hop classic Doggystyle... it has been.
In 1993 the Internet was something that you only used if you worked with computers, mobile phones were kept in suitcases, and rap music was still very much in its infancy.
Back then, a young rapper called Snoop Doggy Dogg, from Long Beach, California, released a debut album on Death Row Records. This would go on to launch a career that honoured him with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Produced by Dr. Dre, the album contained the banger 'Gin and Juice' - which has gone on to become absolutely synonymous with Snoop's style - as well as several other tunes that have gone on to become West Coast hip-hop classics.
Critics have praised Snoop Doggy Dogg for the lyrical "realism" that he delivers on the album and for his distinctive vocal flow and the inventiveness of Dre's production. It was the start of something pretty big.
Much like The Chronic, the distinctive sounds of Doggystyle helped introduce the hip-hop subgenre of g-funk to a mainstream audience, bringing forward West Coast hip hop as a dominant force in the early-mid 1990s.
Starting from the iconic album cover till the self-referential sing-along hook of "Who Am I?(What's My Name?)" and the broody menace of 'Murder Was the Case' to 'Gin & Juice' and the brilliantly pantomine-esque 'Gz and Hustlas', this is an LP that shines all over.
Doggystyle debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 806,858 copies in its first week alone in the United States, which was the record for a debuting artist and the fastest-selling hip-hop album ever. The album was certified quadruple platinum. By November 2015, the album had sold 7 million copies in the United States, and over 11 million copies worldwide.
Basically, Snoop Tha Doggfather is one of a kind, and today we should all be thankful for the success of that first album 26 years ago that started the whole thing.
Listen to Doggystyle down below.
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