Tha Dogg Pound - 100 Wayz Review

Posted by Bill Wannop on 09.02.2010

The Dogg Pound is back with their newest album, promising to bring us back to the G-Funk era of hip hop. Does the album succeed or should these doggs be put to sleep?

The Dogg pound aka DPG (Dogg Pound Gangstas) are a rap group made up of hip hop veterans Daz Dillinger and Kurupt. They first made their debut on Dr. Dre’s classic album The Chronic in 1993, before joining forces and releasing their first group effort in 1995. However after their second album, a feud between the two would stop any future recordings for many years. They would eventually settle their differences and team back up with Snoop Dogg for their last three previous releases. This album was originally supposed to be released in 2007, following Dog Chit, however it was postponed multiple times, and after several tracks leaked, the artists were forced to scrap the album and start over.

Most of the troubles for the delay came because of their record label, Koch Records. DPG eventually separated from Koch, and again teamed with Snoop Dogg and his Doggystyle Records to finally release the album. This album was very anticipated as Daz stated that it would be a return to that G-Funk era of Death Row Classics, and looking at the guests spots Tha Dogg Pound recruited most of the original talents from that time, with features from RBX, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and the Lady of Rage, with the main exception being the absence of Dr. Dre. Does the album succeed to take us back in time to the golden era of west coast hip hop? Let’s find out!

Tracklisting:
1. "D.P.G. 2010" (featuring RBX)
2. "All You"
3. "Dogg Pound Gangstaz"
4. "Another Clip" (featuring Soopafly & RBX)
5. "Sky's tha Limit"
6. "Gotta Let You Know" (featuring Nicole Wray & A-Dubb)
7. "Good Pu$$y"
8. "Cheat'n Ass Lover" (featuring Soopafly, Nate Dogg & Dru Down)
9. "Smell'N Like Brand New Money" (featuring Mac Shawn 100)
10. "I Fear's No One"
11. "I Don't Care" (featuring The Lady of Rage)
12. "Do U Drank"
13. "Fly Ass Fucc" (featuring Snoop Dogg & The Lady of Rage)
14. "Crazy N tha Club"
15. "Spread the Luv" (featuring Butch Cassidy, LaToiya Williams & Celly Cel)
16. "Otha'side of Town" (featuring Soopafly & Tokedasmoke)
17. "100 Wayz"

The album starts off with a quick intro into the 2010 version of Tha Dogg Pound done by RBX, setting the perfect mood with his dark unique voice, before jumping right into the opening track All You . The track has Daz and Kurupt rapping back and forth over a Cali sounding beat, produced by Daz Dillinger, who handled the majority of production on the album. The album then proceeds through three more classic sounding DPG west coast songs, before getting into one of the stand out tracks, Sky is the Limit, which has some of the best flows from Kurupt ‘’Sucker repellant bellin selling excelling, accelerant/ To heat up the whole development, developing a whole different way of development/ Intelligent enveloping control intelligence/ You living a lie, we born to die/ I live to expand, you live to die”. This track really reminds everyone of why he was thought of as one of the top lyricists not so long ago, and he really sounds hungry on this track, and I actually think the sounds a bit like Crooked I with his flow here, which is a good thing. Cheat’n Ass Lover is another stand out song, possibly due mainly to the nostalgia it provides from the chorus work provided by Nate Dogg. It has been awhile since I have heard Nate Dogg on a chorus, but he truly shines here, singing “I got a bitch to the left of me a snitch to the right/ I got a cheater ass mother but she stays on my mind/ To keep me down, no never, I keep my head to the sky/ I'm going to keep on hustling for a piece of the pie” This song is classic G-Funk DPG and really takes you back in time.



The main thing about this album is that you know exactly what you are going to get when you purchase a Dogg Pound album. For the most part the group stays true to its roots, which is both a good and bad thing. Most of the songs have that G-Funk sound, and they truly are successful at bringing you back to that Death Row era. The quality of the majority of tracks is strong, and lyrically Daz and Kurupt are the best they have been in years. That is not to say that Tha Dogg Pound does not try anything new. They do offer a newer sound on tracks such as Smelling Like Brand New Money as well as the song I Don’t Care which sounds very similar to the 50 Cent song, I Get Money. Both of these songs work well, as Daz and Kurupt can keep up with most people lyrically.

The album does have a couple songs that completely miss the mark, and unfortunately Fly Ass Fucc featuring Snoop Dogg falls into this category. The song just does not seem to flow very well and the beat is uninteresting, possibly due to the fact that it was produced by Hi-Tek and not Daz. Also the song Good Pussy produced by Swiss Beats fails to entertain. The beat is actually pretty good, but Daz and Kurupt seem to have difficulty with it. Hi-Tek and Swiss Beats are great producers, but I think Daz should stick to the production for the group, as he truly knows how to bring out the best in himself and Kurupt.

The album ends on a much softer note with three slow songs, including the title track, 100 Ways. The album progresses as a whole, from the old school sounding tracks at the beginning of the album, to the newer sound in the middle, and finishes off with a mixture at the end. This is a great way to end the album and leaves you wanting more.

For this album Daz and Kurupt set out to take the listeners back in time to the G-Funk era, and for the most part they were successful. The production for the most part is spot on and allows Daz and Kurupt to really shine on the majority of the tracks. While the album is not perfect, it is a fun and enjoyable listen, and fans familiar with the Dogg Pound will be thoroughly entertained.

The 411: The album promised to take listeners back to the golden era of West Coast hip hop and for the most part it succeeds.Tha Dogg Pound does not just take you back there, they add some elements to keep it fresh and lyrically seem to be at the top of their game again. The production for the most part is spot on and allows Daz and Kurupt to really shine on the majority of the tracks. While the album is not perfect, it is a fun and enjoyable listen, and fans familiar with the Dogg Pound will be thoroughly entertained.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]