"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]
Track listing [edit]
- Gin and Juice (Radio Version (No Indo))
- Gin and Juice (Radio Version)
- Gin and Juice (Laid Back Remix)
- Gin and Juice (Laid Back Radio Mix)
Charts performance [edit]
Peak positions [edit]
| Chart (1994) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Singles |
13 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 |
5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart |
39 |
|
End of year charts [edit]
| End of year chart (1994) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] |
52 |
|
Sources [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Adaso, Henry. "100 Greatest Rap Songs". About.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ "VH1’s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". prefixmag.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ Shapiro, Fred R. (2006), The Yale Book of Quotations, Yale University Press, p. 717, ISBN 0-300-10798-6
- ^ Quinn, Eithne (2005), Nuthin' But a "G" Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap, Columbia University Press, p. 144, ISBN 0-231-12408-2
- ^ Armstrong, Tony (2011), Max My Score AP English Literature, Sourcebooks, Inc., p. 126
- ^ Banfield, William C. (2004), Black Notes: Essays Of A Musician Writing In A Post-Album Age, Scarecrow Press, p. 138, ISBN 0-8108-5287-X
- ^ Werner, Craig Hansen (2006), A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race & the Soul of America, University of Michigan Press, p. 314, ISBN 0-472-03147-3
- ^ Kung, Michelle (September 30, 2010). "Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon's ‘History of Rap' Duet: The Full Set List". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". longboredsurfer.com/. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
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