Friday, March 28, 2008

D.O.C.- IS IT FUNKY ENOUGH


"Is it funky? Man the D.O.C. is dope!" Those words marked the beginning of an era in neo-west coast gangsta rap. The D.O.C. was one of the true forefathers of the movement, along with Ice-T, and Eazy. The D.O.C. in my mind never got the props he deserved in the rap game. Only true knowledgeable rap scholars like myself and the rest of the Pimpin Pens mafiosi are aware of his prolific impact on rap music. The D.O.C. is an acronym which stands for, "Disciples of Christ". He began his auspicious career in rap music in Dallas, TX as a member of the Fila Fresh Crew, later relocating to Compton, CA and linking up with Dr. Dre. and the rest of the N.W.A. He contributed vocals, and lyrics to the N.W.A's second album the groundbreaking rap classic; Straight Outta Compton. In 1989 he released his landmark west coast classic, No One Can Do It Better, which was well received by the public and critics alike. After the release of his debut masterpiece, tragedy struck when involved in a car crash the D.O.C. severed his vocal chords, permanently damaging is lyrical intonation resulting in a raspy and abrasive speech inflection. The D.O.C. put his artist career on hold for awhile and continued his career as a ghostwriter for Dr. Dre on his The Chronic album, as well as Snoopy Doggy Dogg on the Doggystyle album. He left Ruthless Records during the rift between Eazy and Dre, then signed on as an original founding member of Death Row, along side Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. The D.O.C. grew disenchanted with the direction Death Row was taking and left the label in 1994, subsequently signing with Giant Records. In 1996 the D.O.C. released his second full-length LP entitled Helter Skelter. Helter Skelter was originally supposed to be a joint project with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, but with the D.O.C. writing most of the lyrics anyway he claimed it as his own creation, a bold affront to Dre. The album was released to a lukewarm public who were not used to the D.O.C.'s new found raspy vocal delivery. Dre and the D.O.C. reunited in 2001 for Dre's Chronic 2000 album and have continued to work together since. It has been confirmed that the D.O.C. will be contributing to the highly anticipated Detox album as well. He continues to work with west coast artists such as Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Daz, Nate Dogg, and MC Ren among others. It is rumored that the D.O.C. has another LP on the way in the near future. The D.O.C. is a true survivor with a tenacious work ethic despite the countless obstacles he endured throughout the years. We salute you homeboy. Much love due to the west coast gangsta rap pioneer the D.O.C., and enjoy the freshness below.



Might as well throw in a little Eazy in the mix too for good measure.

Enzo tears da posts up!

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