The Playful Linguistics of Snoop Dogg’s 'Doggystyle'

Snoop Dogg as a rapper has the indelible combination of effortlessness and pure enjoyment when he rhymes that only a few people throughout the history of the medium have been able to capture a similar essence. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Lil Wayne and Q-Tip are a few examples of artists with a similar talent; rhymes spill out of their mouths with the same ease as breathing, and they are able to ride and control beats without so much as a second thought to changing cadence and flow. Language becomes a figure to be manipulated and played with for these rappers, not only in the combination of words to create metaphors, punch-lines and clever rhyme schemes, but also to delight in the expression of language itself. On Doggystyle, linguistics and the act of expressing language becomes a plaything for Snoop; switching up flows song-to-song and line-to-line, weaving dense narratives into songs, breaking down the structure of words to create new rhyme schemes, and engaging with narrative techniques to tell stories of life from Long Beach California. Whilst the spectacular and at the time career-best production from Dr Dre is without doubt an essential reason for the replay-ability, longevity and quality of this album, it’s Snoop Dogg’s ability as an MC to bring so much style, swagger and playfulness through his rapping that lead me returning to this album time and time again. In this piece I’ll be taking excerpts from most songs on the album[1] and considering them in light of this playful linguistics moniker; namely how they work and why they’re still so enjoyable to listen to today.

Gin and Juice

With so much drama in the L-B-C

It's kind of hard bein' Snoop D-O-double-G

But I, somehow, some way

Keep comin' up with funky-ass shit, like, every single day

At this point in the album we’ve had the opening skit and song, which is largely performed by Lady of Rage, with barely a verse from the lead MC. It’s not surprising then that Snoop opens up this legendary anthem with his classic technique of spelling his name and hometown. If there’s one technique that recurs the most throughout the album it’s this one, the phonetic, almost child-like spelling of his rap moniker. Yet, it never becomes silly or laughable, instead each time is a reminder of Snoop’s rhyming brilliance, as he’s able to throw in a lyric that should be awkward and off-putting, and make it a natural progression of his work. In fact, after a while when Snoop doesn’t drop some variation on the spelling technique it feels like there’s something missing, as if we’re not getting the authentic Snoop Dogg. Both Lady of Rage and Daz, somewhat unsuccessfully, take on this technique at points in the album, and as we’ll come to see, when trying to imitate or stand up to Snoop on Doggystyle in terms of rapping ability nobody really comes close.

80 degrees, when I tell that bitch please

Raise up off these N-U-T's, ‘cause you gets none of these

At ease, as I mob with the Dogg Pound

Feel the breeze beyotch, I'm just…

Here is an example of the exceptional multi-syllabic rhyme schemes Snoop uses throughout the album, packing in eight internal rhymes within four bars. Perhaps most impressive is the ‘N-U-T’s’ spelling rhyme casually slipped in, continuing on the internal rhyme scheme and adding an extra layer of laidback cool to Snoop’s arrogant and misogynistic sexual refusal.

Tha Shiznit

Cause Snoop Dogg is Trump tight like a virgin, the surgeon

Is Dr. Drizzay, so lizzay, and plizzay

With D-O-double-Gizzay the fly human being seein'

No I'm not European bein all I can

When I put the motherfuckin mic in my hand, and

You don't understand when I'm kickin

Cuz Snoop is on the mic and I gets wicked, follow me

Listen to me, cuz I do you like you wanna be done

Snoop Doggy Dogg on this three two one, umm

Dum, diddy-dum here I come

With the gat, and the guitar will strum, I'm

Not that lunatic nigga who you thought I was

When I caught you slippin, I'm gon catch you then I peel your cap

Snapped back, relax

Ya better not be slippin with them D's on the '83 Cadillac

So we gonna smoke a ounce to this

Gz up hoes down while you motherfuckers bounce to this

The latter half of the third verse of Tha Shiznit isn’t just one of my favourite Snoop Dogg verses of all time, it’s one of my favourite rap verses of all time – and this part isn’t even the full thing! In borrowing [stealing] the highlighting technique from ‘Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time’, the densely packed plethora of internal rhymes becomes easy to see. Snoop strings sentences together with ease, sometimes making words up, “Drizzay/lizzay/plizzay/Gizzay”; other times avoiding grammatically correct sentence structure, “I’m gon catch you then I peel your cap/Snapped back, relax”; and often just settling for silky smooth rhymes, “the fly human being seein’/No I’m not European bein all I can”.

Snoop not only switches up rhyming technique every few lines, but the pace of his delivery takes on a delightful elasticity, diving into lines at a rapid pace only to instantly put on the brakes and glide back to his well known relaxed flow – listen to the lines from “I’m/Not that lunatic nigga who you thought I was…” to “…Ya better not be slippin with them D’s on the ’83 Cadillac”, and notice how Snoop pushes off certain words as though he’s diving into a metaphorical linguistic pool to increase the speed and ferocity of his delivery.

Lodi Dodi

And said "Um, mirror mirror, on, the wall

Who is the top dog of them all?"

There was a ruffle duffle, five minutes it lasted

The mirror said, "You are, you conceited bastard!"

Well that's true! That's why we never have no beef

In the first storytelling track on the album, Snoop pays honour to the legendary Slick Rick with his own version of ‘La Di Da Di’. Whilst it’s unfair to really claim this song as Snoop’s own original technique or skill, it’s still a testament to the linguistic variety on the album that it has a place. In an album about the day-to-day lifestyle of a gangster only Snoop could include allusions to classical fairy tales and make it sound so effortlessly cool. Not to mention [not quoted here, but a few lines later], in an industry defined by portrayals of hyper-masculinity, there’s something humorous about Snoop describing his morning beauty routine - luxurious descriptions of “Oil of Olay”, manicures, “Johnson’s Baby Powder” and “Cool Water Cologne”. Something most MCs might try to conceal or hide in an effort to preserve their gangster image becomes a point of affluence and pride for Snoop, and it’s in his lucid flow and carefree inflections that the air of confidence is created that allows Snoop to get away with it where others might be derided.

Serial Killa

The cloud becomes black, and the sky becomes blue

Now you in the midst of the Dogg Pound crew

Ain't no clue, on why the fuck we do what we do

Leave you in a state of paranoia, oooh

In terms of rhyming techniques this doesn’t appear as a spectacular excerpt by any means on the page, with a handful of internal rhymes and a rhyming quadruplet being the main techniques of point. In the context of the song, however, Snoop takes over the track with the intro to his verse. Daz and Kurupt do their thing up until this point, but the track just feels lacking – the harsher, darker beat by Dre demands an MC to really take a hold of it and to make it their own. When Snoop comes in is when the track really starts to shine, the simple and evocative imagery of the clouds and the sky reflecting the moody atmosphere of the beat. As I’ve said repeatedly throughout, Snoop’s unique flow and delivery help him to deliver any line, and here in the midst of some fairly basic gangster posturing lyrics he is able to elevate the threat by contrasting it with the casualness of his tone, as though this posturing is second-nature to him.

Who Am I?

It's the bow to the wow, creepin and crawlin

Yiggy yes y'allin, Snoop Doggy Dogg in

The motherfuckin house like everyday

Droppin shit with my nigga Mr Dr. Dre

Once again, this example I’ve handpicked isn’t particularly impressive on the page, but then rap doesn’t exist in a vacuum on the page – it is a performative genre, and there are not many better performances than Snoop Dogg on Doggystyle. Time and again on this album Snoop doesn’t really say anything at all, here for instance, he’s just reiterating that Dre and Snoop are on the track, it’s not exactly revolutionary stuff. But it’s the way that he raps that means in the end his subject matter doesn’t really matter, it’s a delight to listen to whatever it is. Words bounce off each other with such ease that when complimented with Dre’s legendary production the listening experience itself becomes effortless. There’s no need to unpack dense imagery or complex themes, and whilst some might take this to be a criticism, Snoop’s skill on the mic means that this facet becomes a quality in and of itself, and allows the album to be enjoyed in an almost primal sense.

Doggy Dogg World

It's like everywhere I look

And everywhere I go

I'm hearing motherfuckers trying to steal my flow

But it ain't no thang, cause, see, my homie Coolio

Put me up on the game when I stepped through the door

These lines are key in highlighting a recurring theme throughout the album, that of people trying to “steal my flow”. Originality in the rap game is key, and so when people try to imitate or bite an MCs style without proper accreditation this is a massive sign of disrespect. On Doggystyle we have an excellent example of an MC perfecting their “flow”, and in fact when Snoop’s ‘Dogg Pound’ affiliates try to jump on the track with him they generally pale in comparison. The album is back-ended with features, and whilst none are outright bad (in fact, Kurupt starts to come into his own), the album takes a notable dip in quality when Snoop’s not on the mic. Of course, none of these people are stealing from Snoop, but if the MCs viewed as worthy enough to work within his style don’t really hold up, it’s almost painful to imagine what those not deemed worthy sound like.

GZ and Hustlas

Freeze, at ease, now let me drop some more of them keys

It's 19-9-tre so let me just play

It's Snoop Dogg, I'm on the mic, I'm back with Dr. Dre

But this time I'mma hit yo' ass with a touch

To leave motherfuckers in a daze, fucked up

The ending excerpt I’ve chosen to take a look at is, again, not immediately spectacular, it does not jump out at the reader with the feverous quality of Tha Shiznit, for example. What it is, though, is an example of the consistency of Snoop Dogg on Doggystyle, and that’s an ending topic worthy of discussion. It’s rare to find an album where the lead MC outshines everyone else on the album by quite a large distance, but on Doggystyle Snoop came out with a piece of work that cemented his place as one of rap’s great MCs – and this was only his first album. Snoop might not have the emotional reverence of Scarface or the political insight of 2pac, but what he lacks in these elements he more than makes up for in linguistic skill. Even on these closing album verses Snoop is still ramming the track with internal rhymes, rhyming couplets (admittedly a rapper’s bread and butter) and his patented spelling technique, which he once again ties into the rhyming couplet.

There’s an inexhaustible energy on this album and it’s from this energy that the listener can draw so much enjoyment. As I’ve said previously in this piece, language becomes a plaything for Snoop in this album, bending and twisting it to his will to create endlessly exciting combinations. From seeing the cover of this album, the hand drawn cheeky cartoonish image of Snoop leering after a scantily clad woman whilst escaping the police, it’s obvious that this album is going to be a fun ride. What follows is a journey from intro to conclusion that delights and surprises in equal measure, a journey led by a man with the ease, charm and charisma of a seasoned veteran, when in actual fact Doggystyle it is his first major solo outing, and what a journey it is.

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[1] The most glaring omission from the list is ‘Murder Was The Case’, not because I don’t think it’s worthy, but rather that there’s so much to say about it I might return to it for it’s own separate article one day.

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Returning to the language of GZA's Liquid Swords

GZA. The Genius. 'He the head, let's put it that way. We form like Voltron, and GZA happen to be the head.' 

Rap is a notoriously competitive genre of music, with MCs claiming to be the best as soon as they step up to the mic, and whilst the respect to the previous generation of MCs as being the greatest is always there, the importance of their role existing in the past cannot be ignored. Rarely will an MC claim they are not the greatest in the moment that they exist. So for Method Man (and the Wu-Tang Clan as a whole) to hold up GZA as 'the head', the apex, perhaps the most important piece in the Wu-Tang puzzle, it is clear that someone special is being revered. The bars from GZA on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) are often excellent: 'My Wu-Tang slang is mad fucking dangerous/And more deadly than the stroke of an axe/ Chopping through your back *swish*, giving bystanders heart attacks' or 'I gamed Ella, the bitch caught a Fitz like Gerald-/-ine Ferraro, who's full of sorrow cause the ho didn't win/ But the sun will still come out tomorrow'. Yet, in a debut album packed full of now legendary MCs it's hard to truly stand above the rest like Method Man claims GZA did at the time, and so it's not until the release of his 1995 solo classic Liquid Swords that the breadth of his lyrical genius fully flourishes.  

The legendary cover of the album sees the Wu battling on top of a chess board; the stars of the universe their backdrop. A battle is perhaps slightly biased against the Wu, for this is no battle, but a slaughter - their cheap imitators are dispatched with brutal ease. At the centre background of the cover is a slightly more mystical figure. Arms crossed, dressed in a cloak rather than a hoody, he does not engage in battle but instead calmly watches over like an ancient war-weary commander. Perhaps it's meant to represent GZA? Perhaps not. The ancient meets the new; violence meets civilisation; the minutia of the chessboard meets the grandeur of the universe; RZA 'meets' GZA. It is this final clash that this is most interesting. Both men symbolise the chess board, the Wu-Tang soldiers, and the central leader. 

Discussions about Liquid Swords tend to revolve around a handful of adjectives: dark, gritty, winter, and basement to name the most recurring ones. They point towards a sound and atmosphere of Liquid Swords that it captured perfectly, and whilst these descriptors have been repeated to the point of parody, it's a testament to the quality of the album that they continue to be such a focal point of discussion. RZA's production is indeed emblematic of a musical blacksmith forging his masterpiece in a grimy, dusty, marijuana hazed New York basement. GZA's lyrics, whilst always praised, perhaps sometimes miss out on the credit they deserve in creating the consistent sound of the album. Like the cover, it's an album in perfect balance; GZA's lyrics require RZA's production and vice-versa. For those of us without a musical background, we cannot properly discuss the production of the album outside of somewhat vague emotive descriptors, but getting into the nitty-gritty of GZA's language is a little easier. 

[Liquid Swords could be taken through an extensive line by line analysis, but that would take far too long, and RapGenius has already attempted that. Instead, here's a selection of lyrics from that album that I love and wanted to explore further.]

'Fake niggas get flipped/In mic fights I swing swords and cut clowns/ Shit is too swift to bite your record and write it down/ I flow like the blood on a murder scene, like a syringe/On some wild out shit, to insert a fiend' (A return to the cover will quickly show the mirroring occurring here) 

From the offset this record is a declaration of rap prowess through the lens of violence - any who attempt to challenge me will be murdered on the mic. The third line is reflective of the intent, with the internal rhymes of 'shit/swift' and 'bite/write' allowing the smooth progression from one syllable to the next so that the line is finished before it can be processed. GZA's flow is at one with the violence he describes; pouring forth from him like blood from a dead body, or like drugs into a user's veins - the near palpable sense of disgust in his voice is representative of a man whose raps aren't simply better than yours, they will physically harm you as well. That handful of adjectives recurs again, but it's simply so hard to escape. Structurally GZA's album is violent from the offset; in its metaphors, its delivery, and its intent, and by the time the first verse is finished, images of 'zodiac signs', 'roundhouse kicks', 'cyclones or tycoons', and 'megaton bombs' have been spat. The physicality of the imagery is so brutally unapologetic that it's difficult to feel as though GZA is not coming after the listener himself, as if stepping into a cold, dark lair where we do not belong. 

'Yo, picture blood baths and elevator shafts/ Like these murderous rhymes tight from genuine craft'

In an interview with Neil DeGrasse Tyson GZA talks about how the imagery of 'blood baths' in 'elevator shafts' is in reference to kids that lost limbs whilst playing around in elevator shafts when he was growing up. This graphic detail is indicative of the way GZA builds layer upon layers into just a couple of rhymes, all the while revolving around that thematically consistent imagery. Here this imagery, which is eerily fitting to Stanley Kubrick's horror classic The Shining, is an example of the subtle politics of GZA's raps. This is not an immediate political statement on the minority struggle in America, but a glimpse into the world of the underprivileged, where horrific accidents involving children become normalised in underfunded federal housing. The layers build in the following line, where the imagery is repurposed from a combination of realism with horror core to GZA's violent style of braggadocio rap. There's even an element of black comedy, with the informal introduction of 'Yo' inviting the listener in, only to immediately repel. GZA's ability to pack all these different styles into two lines without any sense of a jarring awkwardness is a technical marvel, and this is just one instance of this level of intricacy that occurs throughout the album. 

'Look out for these fatal flying spikes, of massive/ Sleep-holds, put strangle on commercial angle/ Microphone cords tangled from being Star Spangled'

Metaphor, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyming couplets - rolling these lyrics off the tongue with ease, GZA reflects on the state of the hip-hop industry and its increasing commercialisation with a mastery of poetic technique. The internal rhymes build upon one another: 'strangle', 'angle', 'tangled', 'Star Spangled'. Leading towards a crescendo of mockery, as GZA avoids a tangling of the tongue and flaunts his lyrical ability whilst not conforming to the increasing commercialisation that he sees around him. Once again, his braggadocio threats of violence return, and the use of onomatopoeic phrases like 'fatal flying spikes' drive home the fierce intent of his words to actively go against the 'commercial angle'. It's a line that is self aware of its intent, as GZA avoids the pitfalls of commercialisation throughout the album with classic East Coast production and a lyrical sensibility that would leave a white suburban family mentally scarred. 

'The plan was to expand, catch seven figures, release triggers/ And live large and bigger than my nigga/ Who promised his mom a mansion with a mad room/ She died and he still put a hundred grand in her tomb/ Open wounds, he hid behind closed doors/ And still organises crime and drug wars'

GZA's storytelling ability is often under appreciated, especially when Liquid Swords came out at a similar time to Wu-Tang member Raekwon's crime epic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, which is an album renowned for its narrative structure. As with all things GZA he is less explicit than this, and rather than focusing on entire narratives in a song he paints fictional worlds in just a few lines, reminiscent of writers like Kafka and Hemingway. In this example, we see the cyclical destruction in the life of a drug lord. Despite the wealth he accrues, he cannot save his mom from dying and delivering on his promise, instead the attempts at emotional fulfilment by leaving the money in her tomb only add to the sense of desperation. GZA's contrast of 'open wounds' and 'closed doors' subverts the external-internal norms of the criminal underworld, where emotions are hidden and an image of power flaunted about for respect. The damning final line highlights his continued involvement in this lifestyle; unable to escape the cycle of violence his emotional trauma is left to fester. GZA leaves no room for a 'happy' ending, instead the listener is left to reflect on the harsh realities of the drug world, rather than the glamorised perceptions that other rapper's might propagate. 

'It ain't hard to see my seeds need God-degree/ I got mouths to feed, unnecessary beef is more cows to breed' 

Perhaps less so than any other example from this list, the immediate quality of this line is not as apparent. It's fundamentally a connect the dots of internal rhymes. Starting at 'see' and ending at 'breed', GZA has a total of eight internal rhymes (some para/half rhymes) and it's a fluency of assonance that is rarely seen. To pack so many internal rhymes into two lines and for it to still tell a cogent message is by no means an easy feat, and this fact becomes more impressive when you realise GZA just drops this into a wider verse as a whole, calmly dispatching these impressively and then casually moving onto the next line, as though this poetry is something completely natural. The metaphor of consumption is deftly intricate, with GZA recognising the fact he has to raise his kids alongside a lifestyle that can have dangerous consequences. GZA never relents in his desire to go against the commercialised grain, opting to introduce complex rhyme schemes as and when he pleases. The layers of his talent are rich and rewarding to the observant listener, where even lines that may not seem overtly impressive on a first listen offer so much more hidden depth on repeat - this is but one of these. 

'Like my man Muhammad from Afghanistan, grew up in Iran/ The nigga runs a neighbourhood newsstand/ A wild Middle Eastern, bomb specialist/ Initiated at eleven to be a terrorist/ He set bombs in bottles of champagne/ And when niggas popped the cork, niggas lost half they brains'

Another example of GZA's aforementioned storytelling talent, however, this one is focused on darkly comedic imagery alongside perfectly structured rhyming couplets. In just three couplets the story of an Afghani bomb maker is laid out before the listener. Details of his childhood, his current livelihood and his underground activities are revealed, and whilst orientalist cultural stereotypes leer throughout, GZA is able to create another eccentric character in the universe of Liquid Swords. The icing on the cake is the final two lines, with the wonderfully creative murder weapon of 'bombs in bottles of champagne' revelling in a wickedly playful side of GZA's writing that conjures up a wholly unique image. The ostentatious nature of popping a champagne cork only to be met with a shockingly violent response borders on the absurd, and yet in the universe of Liquid Swords that GZA has created it is entirely plausible. 

'Kids are slinging in my lobby/ Little Steve and Bobby/ Getting paid but it's a life-threatening hobby/ Yeah, they still play hide and seek/ The fiends seek for the crack, and they hide and let the cops peep'

Playful, political, subversive, comedic, tragic. The adjectives in which to describe Liquid Swords are so much greater than that handful initially touched upon, for it is an album of far greater depth than listeners often give it credit for, even in their flattering praise. The five given at the beginning of this paragraph are by no means a conclusive list either, but they are certainly fitting for the last example on this list. It is political in the reality of the ghetto situation in America, where kids no longer play innocent games of hide and seek, instead these expectations are subverted and the kids' game of hide and seek now revolves around the drug trade. Trapped in a terrifying, near-unimaginable situation for the majority of GZA's audience (myself included), his throwaway line naming them 'Steve' and 'Bobby', names that bounce with rhythm and seem contradictory to the tone, is a moment of darkly comedic relief, only before we are immediately brought back into the tragic reality of their lives, and the lives of many others. On Liquid Swords GZA turns the listener into a piece of blu-tac, stretching and distorting experiences at a break neck speed, but with a deftness that avoids a breaking or tearing in the reality of the listener. The delicate balancing act present in his lyrics allows GZA to cover such a range of themes, tones and topics in mere lines that it's not only difficult to comprehend what's going on, but even more difficult to comprehend just how he created it. A true genius at work, indeed. 

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