Had to re~up this post, enjoy...
Originally posted on 10/31/2009
Being the BiG fan that I am of unreleased/ rare ish ya know I just had to post this up! So first off BiG uP Row Rider over at Death Row Tapes, homie had this up long before me. Anyhow I decided to post this up because well it`s a chance to hear PRe~Chronic & PRe~Doggystyle Snoop & that itself is a rarity, so it can`t really hurt to add another link to this whole BLoG WoRLD that`s out there....LoL, anyway let`s get back to the music & the story behind it all...Apparently Snoop was dealin` with Cold 187 of Above The Law fame before he met up with Dr. Dre, but things were just taking too long for Snoop. He grew tired of waiting so his homie Warren G took 213 (the group that consisted of Snoop, Warren G & Nate Dogg) to Dr. Dre for a listen. Dre was impressed mostly by the track "Sooper Dooper Snooper", I haven`t heard it myself but I`m guessin` that it featured Snoop Dogg on the solo tip. Either way Dre really liked what he heard in Snoop & began to work with him immediately...
Shortly after Snoop`s new connection, this was around 1991-92, Cold 187 called up Snoop to let him know that he was working on the "Black Mafia Life" album for his group Above The Law. They had a couple of tracks ready for him to lay his vocals on, but it was too late -- Snoop turned him down. One of the songs was "Never Missin` A Beat", the other track was "Pimpology 101". Both tracks just ended up being instrumental interludes on the "Black Mafia Life" album. Makes ya wonder though just how different things would`ve been if Snoop had been a part of that "Black Mafia Life" album. He might have even ended up workin` alongside Eazy-E...
Anyways Snoop was now workin` with Dr. Dre & let`s just say that the Doctor was extremely impressed with Snoop`s funky, calm, laid~back, charismatic style & flow. So they put in that work & quickly put together an album, even though they had no way of getting the album some distribution. This is when Suge Knight makes his way into the picture. It was in late 1991 when Dr. Dre hooked up with Suge Knight & the 2 of them managed to link up a weak deal directly with Time Warner for the distribution of Snoop`s album. The only setback was that Dr. Dre was rushing everything before ish was all legit & legal, you see Death Row wasn`t actually official yet. I guess it was more of an organization because the legal paperwork hadn`t been filed...
The album Dre & Snoop had worked on featured some songs that had many appearances of the early Death Row artists like C.P.O., Chocolate, RBX & others. The producers ranged from DJ Glaze, Warren G, Chocolate & even Dr. Dre himself. Now all the songs featured on the album weren`t recorded at Death Row; a few came from the time he spent waiting with Cold 187, a few were songs that Snoop recorded with DJ Glaze & Foesum in early 1991. Snoop Dogg really liked the songs & wanted to include the them on the album, he also had hoped that he`d be able to bring the group Foesum (a.k.a. Perfection) along to Death Row because they had be searchin` for a solid record deal...
Foesum never did make the cut for Death Row, some say it had to do with the contracts they had with a previous label, other say the group was a lil` unorganized when it came to the business side of things. Either way they were never really given a chance by Dr. Dre other than having the track included on the album. As for the album, it ended up getting shelved because Time Warner wasn`t able to legally distribute the album. Only a few promo tapes were pressed up & given to L.A. radio stations, even though they weren`t actually given the authorization to play `em. The stations BuMP`d `em anyway, playin` the track "Do You Remember?" the most before they were forced to stop playing it over the airwaves...
Just imagine how much one of them promo tapes would go for now! Unfortunately we don`t get to hear the entire tape just a few tracks. First off we get “187 (It’s On)"; clearly the original inspiration for "Deep Cover", it also features the Lady Of Rage...shows ya just how deep her roots were with Tha Row. “County Blues”; though not included on the actual tracklist cover art (it`s a bonus track on the promo tape) is apparently a track that was recorded while Snoop was workin` with Cold 187, way before Death Row Records. “Do You Remember?”; is the track that caught most radio stations` attention....maybe because it was the cleaner radio version....LoL, “Let ’Em Understand Perfection”, Foesum also known as Perfection was a Long Beach group that Snoop had collaborated with way before he recorded anything for the "Chronic" album or Death Row Records...
The group was made up of members T-Dubb, DJ Glaze, Tender D (a.k.a. Waniac), MNMsta, Mellow D (a.k.a. Tripp Loc) & Travvy Trav (who passed away shortly after the group was formed). This song is that collabo`, it was also a DiSS directed towards another Long Beach rapper -- Domino. The reason behind the DiSS`n? Domino was a part of Foesum, but left while the group was still in it`s infant stages.....I guess they didn`t like the fact that he bailed on `em, but in all honesty it was a better move on his part. Y`all remember "Getto Jam"? "Sweet Potatoe Pie"? Tracks from Domino`s 1993 self titled debut album. I`m sure some of y`all do, more so than the ones that know of Foesum...LoL
Anyways, Snoop makes a reference to this song in his lyrics for the track “Nuthin’ But A G Thang” --- ”Perfection is perfected, so I’ma let ’em understand..” “The Message”; this joint was probably titled as such because it`s basically Snoop rhyming over the instrumental to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five`s "The Message". This was recorded with DJ Glaze before the Death Row days. “True To The Game”; is another joint Snoop recorded with DJ Glaze around 1990. You can tell it`s one of the tracks from his earlier recording sessions because his verses are a bit on the long side, D.O.C. hadn`t taught him how to condense things yet...
So there y`all have it, the story behind this album. It`s just too bad we don`t have the entire thing to listen to! Oh well, if you`re interested in hearing some of that rare ish go `head & check out what is available. Another thing, the sound quality`s not the best, I`m guessing it`s because it came from a cassette rip. It is what it is, take it or leave it...
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Over The CounterLabel:
N/A (Death Row Records)Released:
N/A (1991)1. 187 (It`s On) {ft. Lady Of Rage}
2. County Blues
3. Do You Remember?
4. Let `Em Understand
5. The Message
6. True To The Game
Here`s what I found info~wise regarding the album`s features & producers...
1. Over The Counter [Prod. by Dr. Dre & Warren G] 2. Dogg’s Life {ft. Nate Dogg} [Prod. by Dr. Dre] 3. Jack ’Em {ft. Convicts} [Prod. by Chocolate] 4. 213 Dope Slang {ft. Warren G & Nate Dogg} [Prod. by Warren G] 5. Knokin’ Off Everything {ft. 3-2 & D.O.C.} [Prod. by Chocolate] 6. Blast For Cash {ft. Dr. Dre} [Prod. by Dr. Dre] 7. Let ’Em Understand Perfection {ft. Foesum} [Prod. by DJ Glaze] 8. The Message [Prod. by DJ Glaze] 9. 211 {ft. RBX} [Prod. by Dr. Dre] 10. Signed & Detected {ft. Dogg Pound} [Prod. by Dr. Dre & Warren G] 11. Bank Roll [Prod. by ????] 12. 187 {ft. Lady Of Rage} [Prod. by Dr. Dre] 13. C.O.C. Kingpin {ft. Kurupt} [Prod. by Warren G] 14. Welcome To Death Row {ft. Dr. Dre, RBX, Dogg Pound, Bushwick Bill, Convicts, Chocolate, & C.P.O.} [Prod. by Dr. Dre & Warren G] 15. Do You Remember? {ft. George Clinton} [Prod. by ????] 16. True To The Game [Prod. by DJ Glaze] *Bonus Track – County Blues [Prod. by Aladdin]
N`JoY...
Lady Thug - Hood Glamorous
