"Gin and Juice"
Single by Snoop Doggy Dogg
from the album Doggystyle
Released	January 15, 1994
Format	12-inch single
Recorded	January 1993
Genre	West Coast hip hop, g-funk, Gangsta rap
Length	3:31
Label	Death Row Records, Interscope Records, Atlantic Records
Writer(s)	Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey, Andre Young, Richard Finch, Calvin Broadus
Producer	Dr. Dre
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Snoop Doggy Dogg singles chronology
"What's My Name" (1993) "Gin and Juice" (1994) "Doggy Dogg World" (1994)

"Gin and Juice" is the second single by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg from his debut album Doggystyle. A top 10 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at number eight, "Gin and Juice" was nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. It was voted the 69th Greatest Rap song as ranked in rap.about.com^[1] and number eight on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.^[2]

"Gin and Juice" was produced by Dr. Dre and performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg with David Ruffin Jr. The hook was written by Dr. Dre and David Ruffin Jr., which contained an interpolation of Slave's "Watching You" (the chorus) and an original bassline created by T. Green ( Edward Tony Green ). The original version's foundation beat is George McCrae's "I Get Lifted"; additional vocalists on the song include Dat Nigga Daz, Jewell, Heney Loc, and Sean "Barney" Thomas. "Gin and Juice" has been covered by other groups, including alternative country group The Gourds in 1996, lounge singer Richard Cheese in 2004, and comedians Naked Trucker and T-Bones in 2007.

Lyrics [edit]

The lyrics depict a party filled with sex, marijuana, and alcohol continuing into the small hours of the morning. The iconic chorus is:

Rollin' down the street smokin' indo'

Sippin' on gin and juice

Laid back (with my mind on my money and my money on my mind).^[3]

One critic describes the chorus as representative of "the G-funk tableau" emphasizing cruising culture, consumption of depressants, and materialism.^[4] The last line is an example of chiasmus, the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point.^[5] The focus on money is shared throughout Hip Hop, including It's All About the Benjamins,^[6] Money Makes the World Go Round, Get Money, and Foe Tha Love of $.^[7]

Music video [edit]

The song's music video, directed by Dr. Dre, Calvin Caday and Anita Sisaath,^{[citation needed]} also producers of 2Pac's "Dear Mama", features a simple concept: teenager Snoop throws a wild house party after his parents leave the house. Ricky Harris plays Snoop's father, and Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg and Daz Dillinger make cameo appearances. Six-year-old rapper Lil Bow Wow plays Snoop's little brother who is jumping on the couch in the intro.

The small-budget idea was later re-purposed in videos such as J-Kwon's "Tipsy" and Oowee's "Why Cry", which features Snoop and is a shot-by-shot remake of the "Gin and Juice" video. The music video was parodied in the video for "DPK", where Snoop, carried on the front of a bicycle, gets hit by a car driven by B.G. Knocc Out and Dresta, two of Eazy-E's protégés with whom Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre had feuds at the time.

In April 2005, the video was fourth on MTV2 and XXL's list of the 25 Greatest West Coast Videos.^{[citation needed]} Snoop Dogg wears hockey jerseys of the now-defunct Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League and Pittsburgh Penguins (with the name and number 'GIN AND JUICE' 94 on the back) in the video.

Covers/alternate versions [edit]

• The Gourds covered "Gin and Juice" on their 1998 Gogitchyershinebox EP. It was re-released on their 2007 album Shinebox.
• Lil' Mo sampled the song in her single "Gangsta (Love 4 the Streets)". The B-side includes a remix with new verses by Snoop Dogg.
• Twiztid sampled the song in song "A Very Twiztid Christmas".
• The Berlin Project covered the song on the band's first album Running For The Boarder in 1997. The song was one of the first songs to catch on in a viral nature via Napster
• The Coup released an album titled Genocide & Juice
• Richard Cheese covered the track on I'd Like a Virgin.
• Sissy Bar cover the song on their Statutory Grape album.
• Hot Rod Circuit did a cover of this song for Punk Goes Crunk.
• Prince Fatty included a version as a bonus track on Survival of the Fattest.
• Chubb Rock re-did this song on the album Old School, New Style.
• Panic at the Disco covered the song live on FNMTV with Snoop Dogg himself.
• Lou Bega used the title in his worldwide #1 hit Mambo No. 5.
• Katy Perry also used the title in her song California Gurls which also featured Snoop Dogg himself.
• It was sampled by Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.^[8]
• Paul Simon covered the song during the 2010 Night of Too Many Stars on Comedy Central, accompanied by Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan.
• Chamillionaire used the text phrase "With so much drama in the LBC. It's kinda hard being Snoop D O double-G" and changed it to "With so much drama in the industry. Hip-hop police are listening" for his chorus in the song Hip Hop Police.

Track listing [edit]

1. Gin and Juice (Radio Version (No Indo))
2. Gin and Juice (Radio Version)
3. Gin and Juice (Laid Back Remix)
4. Gin and Juice (Laid Back Radio Mix)

Charts performance [edit]

Sources [edit]

• "Dear Superstar: Snoop Dogg Article on Blender". Retrieved August 17, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
• Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2005). "Doggystyle". All Media Guide. Retrieved December 26, 2005. 
• (April 2005). XXL Magazine No. 68. Boulder, Colorado: Harris Publications.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics