![[Diversions]](/~d49er/Icon/diversions.gif){kind=icon}
CD REVIEW
Snoop Dogg once again proves himself gangsta rap's top dog with his recent release "Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told."
The 21-track release from the new No Limit Records mixes mellow and aggressive moods into songs that deftly weave together elements of electronic funk, old-school hip-hop, rhythm and blues and gangsta rap.
As usual, Dogg fills his songs with vivid and titillating images of sex, gang violence and the dangers of drug dealing. His storytelling skills are exemplified in songs such as "Doggz Gonna Get Ya" and "Game of Life."
Grabbing the listener's attention, Dogg cleverly intersperses call-and-response vocals, street lingo, obscene language, gun-shot sounds and lewd grunts and slurping noises into his songs to describe the sights and sounds of gang life. Dogg further sets the omnious mood in his songs by incorporating pianos, violins, electronically distorted vocals and record scratching.
Unexpectedly, Dogg shows romantic savvy and sensitivity toward women with the slow-jam "Show Me Love." But Dogg returns to his style of calling women derogatory names in the songs "Hustle and Ball" and "Still a G Thang," which gives a subtle reference to sexual acts involving Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton.
Dogg even integrates elements from past hip-hop artists. "DP Gangsta" blends the lyrics of N.W.A.'s "Gangsta, Gangsta" with heavy bass lines and the creative lyrical style of Dogg and rapper C-Murder.
Giving undiscovered rappers exposure to hip-hop fans, Dogg introduces the listener to Mia X and Mystikal, who provide fresh, aggressive vocals characteristic of early '80s rap. Mia X delivers Queen Latifa-styled vocals with a stinging and realistic message of the deaths of female gang members, as heard in such songs as "Slow Down." In the songs "Tru Tank Dogs" and "Woof!" Mystikal shouts hoarse vocals a la Onyx's "Slam," utilizing firecracker raps accented with dramatic rises and falls in vocal tone.
Two songs particularly illustrating the album's artistic quality are the mellow "Gin and Juice II" and "Ain't Nut'in Personal," which combines the tension of the "Mission: Impossible" theme song with the rhythmic flow of Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride."
But the new album has some stylistic flaws. One is the long, monotonous choruses plaguing the entire album, such as in the song "Don't Let Go." Another is the annoying jingling and tapping sounds present in the first two songs, "Snoop World" and "Slow Down," both of which kill the tolerant listener's curiosity of the album.