RapReviews | Review: 7 Days of Funk – 7 Days of Funk
It’s been twenty years since Snoop Doggy Dogg’s debut album “Doggystyle” and he’s still as prevalent and relevant as he’s ever been. In the time since the Dogg made his first appearance on the “Deep Cover” soundtrack, he’s released twelve solo albums under one of his many monikers and four more collaborative efforts with 213, Tha Eastsidaz and Wiz Khalifa. He’s also appeared in several movies, television shows and commercials. Hell, he even produced his own porno flick a few years back. To put things in their simplest terms — Snoop has become a worldwide cultural icon, transcending just hip-hop music.
With that said, what does Snoop Dogg need with rap? It’s easy to suggest that the D-O double-G just retire and ride off into the sunset, satisfied with being one of the all-time greats but how did that work out for Michael Jordan, Brett Favre or even Jay Z? All three of the aforementioned individuals are fierce competitors and always striving to prove that there’s still something left in the tank. The Doggfather is cut from that same cloth and doesn’t plan on being washed up anytime soon.
Snoop Doggy Dogg was content to lambaste bitches and hoes, pull 187s on undercover cops and drink gin & juice with the homies but as he grew older and wiser, he became more willing to expose his soft underbelly to us all — giving us songs like “Beautiful” and “Sexual Eruption.” Venturing outside of his traditional comfort zone, he changed his name to Snoop Lion and released “Reincarnated” which featured the anti-violence song, “No Guns Allowed.” A chance meeting with Dam-Funk at an event in 2011 led to Snoop’s latest collaborative effort. Dam-Funk hails from Pasadena and for the most part makes music that, as one might expect, tips its hat to funk music from the 70s and 80s. For the purposes of this project, Snoop has dubbed himself as Snoopzilla, which clearly pays homage P-Funk pioneer, Bootsy Collins. The name the duo bills themselves as is an acknowledgement of how long it took to put the project together. Produced entirely by Dam-Funk, “7 Days of Funk” is a quick suite of eight songs that keeps the guest list to a minimum. The album’s only outside participants are Tha Dogg Pound and Steve Arrington of “Weak In The Knees” fame.