What`s happenin` y`all? Hope all is good & Life`s treatin` ya right. Today I decided to reach into my BiG ol` collection of CD`s to dust off a decent bootleg that dropped way back in 1999 titled "Fuck Death Row" by Snoop Dogg. Now obviously it was a compilation type joint probably put together by a major Snoop Dogg fan that had access to some unreleased joints, or maybe Snoop did have something to do with this on the down low - who knows for sure? What I do know is that this bootleg features a gang of Snoop Dogg tracks that would appear a year later on the somewhat controversial Snoop Dogg album titled "Dead Man Walkin`" released by Death Row Records in 2000. I know that Suge Knight put that "Dead Man Walkin`" album out as somewhat of a threat to Snoop for leaving Tha Row, but hey maybe Suge got a hold of the bootleg album "Fuck Death Row" liked a few of the tracks that were featured & said 'fuck it I have most of these recordings in the vault, why not give `em an official release'? Anything is possible when it comes to Death Row....LoL...
I honestly don`t know a whole lot about this bootleg aside from the fact that it came out between Snoop`s first & second No Limit Records albums "Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told" & "No Limit Top Dogg". At the time it came out it featured some unreleased joints as well as few joints that were released previously, out of the bootleg`s 13 tracks 3 of them were previously released ("Rock Ya` Body", "Snitches" & "Goldrush"). The rest of the songs were pretty much unreleased aside from "Ride On", but the version on this bootleg is different than the one that`s featured on the "Caught Up Soundtrack" that dropped in 1998. Six of those unreleased joints would later be released by Death Row on the previously mentioned "Dead Man Walkin`" album. Anyways, let`s digest the bootleg now shall we???
Things start off on a good note with the mellow`D out vibes of "Don`t Do The Crime", I`ve also seen this track being labeled "Fuck Death Row" which is probably why they titled the bootleg as so. They got the idea from Snoop`s opening bars on the track where he spits; "I ain`t fuckin` with them niggas no mo`. Shit I feel the same way y`all feel, nigga fuck Death Row! I cut `em loose"...One can only assume that this track was either released during the period of time when Snoop refused to record anything for Death Row because they didn`t want to release him from the label or it was recorded after he left for Master P`s No Limit Records. I tend to lean towards my first guess though because I remember back in the day whenever P was talkin` about his label he would say that he wasn`t down with all the beef ish between artists or coasts, so I doubt that P would condone such bold actions from his newly signed artist. Either way the song`s pretty sweet although it`s somewhat simplistic in style with its long~ass verse it`s still got a nice smoked out Snoop freestyle flow to it...
"Last Meal" follows the bootleg`s opener, I believe that it`s produced by Snoop`s homie Soopafly. I think that this joint was included as a part of bootleg versions of Snoop`s album with the same name that came out in 2000, but never made it to the retail version. It`s not too shabby, far from mind blowin` but the beat`s decent enough to get ya` head noddin`. "Too Black" is the first of the joints that ended up on that "Dead Man Walkin`" album, it`s produced by L.T. Hutton. You can sort of see where Snoop was trying to go with this one, but honestly his flow sounds somewhat uninspired even though the beat`s actually pretty funky. This song may have been one of the scrapped joints from Snoop`s "Doggfather" sessions. Thankfully things perk right up with the banger of a track titled "Rock Ya` Body" which also features The Click (E-40, Suga-T, B-Legit & D-Shot) & Tha Dogg Pound. This song is definitely my favorite on this here bootleg, the beat`s got a nice thumpin` Bay Area vibe. Since I liked it so much I did a lil` more diggin` on it & found out that this joint was officially released on a 1998 compilation~type album titled "D-Shot Presents: Boss Ballin` 2". It`s kind of hard to believe that with a song as DoPe as this not too many folks knew about it, maybe that D-Shot compilation was more of a localized joint? I`m just guessing though, either way it`s definitely worth checkin` out...
"Snitches" follows the body rockin` & just like the previously mentioned track this joint was also officially released being featured on Master P`s double disc album titled "MP Da Last Don" which came out in 1998. Although P kind of ruins it towards the end of the song with all that talkin`, I still think this track`s pretty decent. It was definitely one of my favorite joints off that "MP Da Last Don" album anyway. "I Will Survive" is the second song from this bootleg to be featured on that "Dead Man Walkin`" album. It features Kurupt as well as Technique (or Techniec as I`ve seen it spelled) & is produced by Soopafly. This song`s alright, it was probably put together more so to give Technique some shine. I`m guessing that maybe he was an artist that Snoop was grooming for his Doggystyle Records label at the time. Either way it`s not too bad, but it`s far from "Rock Ya` Body" status....LoL, that`s a given. "Cee Walkin`" is another one of the joints that made its way onto "Dead Man Walkin`", but that version has a totally different beat than the one on this bootleg & it`s also slightly changed to "C-Walkin`". I don`t know who produced the bootleg`s version, but Big Hutch provided the beat for the "Dead Man Walkin`" version. Aside from the beat differences though, lyrically they`re both identical. On this song Snoop reflects back on his past Life`s gang affiliations as a Crip while kickin` some smooth`D out flows with somewhat of a freestyled vibe to `em, worth giving it a listen for sure...
"Tommy" is once again one of those songs that`s also featured on that "Dead Man Walkin`" album, although it`s renamed "Tommy Boy" it still has the same beat & lyrics. It`s produced by Daz & he`s also featured on the track. The beat has some nice funky piano~synth type chords to it as well as a snappy tempo. I dig the beat more so than the lyrics, but overall it`s a decent track. "Hit Roccs" is also featured on "Dead Man Walkin`", renamed "Hit Rocks" of course. I think both versions are produced by DJ Pooh, but I may be wrong so don`t quote me on that. The tracks are slightly different beat~wise with the version on "Dead Man Walkin`" having more of a polished sound to it, but lyrically they`re the same. The beat on the bootleg is still somewhat funky but the D.M.W. version is much better, my opinion of course. This song sounds like it could have been another one of the joints scrapped from the "Doggfather" sessions. On a side note a slightly different version of this song with the title "Buss`n Rocks" produced by DJ Quik would eventually make its was on to Snoop`s 1999 album "No Limit Top Dogg"...
"Hoez" features Luke & Tha Dogg Pound, I think that I remember hearing this song on the bootleg version of Snoop`s "Last Meal", but I could be mistaken. Honestly I was somewhat surprised to hear Luke on here seein` as how he wasn`t so kind to Snoop on that "Cowards In Compton" joint, although to be fair it was most JT Money & that other kat DiSS`n Snoop. Either way they obviously squashed the beef or they wouldn`t have done the song together.....LoL, overall it`s nothing super spectacular but Snoop definitely outshines all the featured artists on this song about lovely women. "Goldrush" was actually labeled as "Gold Rich" on this bootleg, but I retitled it to its original title since it`s from Snoop`s "Doggfather" album & whoever put this bootleg together probably just had a hearing problem.....LoL, Kurupt & a couple kats from the LBC Crew are featured on this song, I think Bad Azz is one of `em. Anyway it`s a decent tune with a wild West vibe to it & some gold rushin` tales...
"Ride On [Rmx]" features Kurupt, this joint has the same lyrics as the song that Snoop had featured on the "Caught Up Soundtrack" released in 1998. That version is titled "Caught Up/ Ride On" & has a different beat than the one on this bootleg, so I`m not totally sure if this one is an official remix or just the original/ demo version of the song, so I just left it tagged as a remix. The bootleg version`s not too shabby, but I still like the version off the "Caught Up Soundtrack" more. "Change Gone Come" closes out this bootleg & features Jewell (uncredited) singing on the hook, she does a great job. Always felt that she could`ve had a bigger career if she had the chance to put out more music during Tha Row`s time on the top, but hey that`s story for another time. Anyway Snoop kicks some smooth & hungry soundin` flows over the L.T. Hutton produced beat that carries a sweet mellow vibe to it. This joint may have been recorded during the "Doggfather" sessions, either way this song`s a great way to end things...
Overall I`d say that this bootleg makes for a good listen, if you`re a BiG Snoop Dogg fan then you should really check it out. There`s a nice range of good tunes on here, not too much filler at all. Something that I should note, after finishing this write up I stumbled upon another Snoop Dogg release from 1998 called "SmokeFest World Tour" & it turns out that most of the songs on there are the same as what`s on this "Fuck Death Row" bootleg just with a different track line up. So at the end of the day I still don`t know much about this "Fuck Death Row" bootleg....LoL, but either way it is a nice addition to the collection regardless, go `head & peep it for ya`self...
Label: N/A
Released: 1999
1. Don`t Do The Crime
2. Last Meal
3. Too Black
4. Rock Ya` Body {ft. The Click & Tha Dogg Pound}
5. Snitches {ft. Master P}
6. I Will Survive {ft. Technique & Kurupt}
7. Cee Walkin`
8. Tommy {ft. Daz}
9. Hit Roccs
10. Hoez {ft. Luke, Tha Dogg Pound}
11. Goldrush {ft. Kurupt & LBC Crew}
12. Ride On {ft. Kurupt}
13. Change Gone Come {ft. Jewell}
N`JoY...
