The debut album from Tha Eastsidaz came as “Snoop Dogg presents Tha Eastsidaz” was released in 2000. It has Tha Top Dogg taking it back to the West Coast, following a stint in the Dirty South whilst working on the No Limit label; here he shows that he hasn’t forgotten what he is about as he acts as the unofficial leader to a group also consisting of fellow Long Beach (California) rappers Tray Deee and Goldie Loc.
1. “Intro To Indo”
2. “Now We Lay ‘Em Down
To kick things off, we have them on a track which has them going for some retro G-Funk, and Snoop makes sure we recognise this by doing a flow from 1992 on “Nuttin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” before the rest get a chance to rap on top of some hardcore, Gangsta beats for the streets. It is just what you want to hear to welcome you into the record.
**Five Stars**
3. “Tha Eastsidaz”
He eponymous tune on the album has them drop the energy levels, which as you will hear , is rare on this album, and so things are relaxed as they attempt to show what they are about, and where they have come from. I noticed the subtle use of EMPD’s “Let The Funk Flow”, which Nas used for his “Nastradamus”, and these classic cuts are thing which you find throughout the album. **Four Stars**
4. “Dogghouse”
This is one of the best you find on the album, and it happens so early on in the thing as you hear the way that Snoop takes an opportunity to represent his record label, and explain what they have to offer on a tune which spans over six minutes.
It is a banger of a tune, and they ride the funky rhythm as you would have liked it in the early nineties.
**Five Stars**
5. “Give It To ‘Em Dogg”
For this one, although the bassy synths are calmed right down, you have them doing a tune to just chill as they just spit bars about whatever comes into their heads, the structure is loose, and the rhymes reflect this with Snoop just doing his five times table at one point before breaking it down.
**Five Stars**
6. “Got Beef”
On this one it seemed as though one of the featured guests, Jayo Felony in particular, dominated the thing, and the rest had very little say in what went down hear, but I wouldn’t say that this is a bad thing as he makes sure he does it well as Snoop forms a decent hook, and it all comes together from here. **Five Stars**
7. “Real Talk” (Lude)
8. “Balls Of Steel”
As if this one wasn’t funky enough with beats from DJ Battlecat, you have Snoop deciding to re-work the rhymes of Milk D and Gizmo (Audio Two)’s “Top Billin’”, and it just makes it an even better jam as he takes their style of delivering the lines, and directly jacks their words, and makes it fit the West Coast way of life.
**Five Stars**
9. “N***a 4 Life”
I wasn’t quite sure what the lyrics meant in this was directed towards people who were in denial of being a “n***a”, and this doesn’t really make much sense. However I found that it was done well, and you have them working with much lighter beats to give you a break from all the hardcore throwback stuff.
**Five Stars**
10. “G’d Up”
DJ Battlecat gives them a beat which uses bells as the main focus of it, and it is a strange instrument for more Hip Hop, but in this case it works as you hear all the more traditional West coast techniques being used to make this tune work with what is popular at the current time (as of 1999, when it was recorded).
**Five Stars**
11. “Another Day”
Although you see things calmed down quite significantly, I wouldn’t ay that this makes it any less of a track, and I would have to say that it is still a very good one, as you have the lesser-known rapper, Goldie Loc and Tray Deee (with Butch Cassidy) the absence of Snoop gets them showing that they don’t have to rely on his abilities and reputation.
**Four Stars**
12. “Tha Mac Ten Commandments” (Lude)
13. “Ghetto”
This one really sticks out with its re-sung version of Rick James’ “Ghetto Life” being used as the main component in the chorus. It speaks on how they have worked their way up from a straight-forward ghetto life, to a “ghetto fabulous” one, in which they are apparently of a level where they are effectively a star in their hood, and despite having a taste of fame, are still well in with the lifestyle of the streets.
**Five Stars**
14. “Big Bang Theory”
This is a straight banger of a tune as it has them on some heavy beats, and it features a hard hook from Xzibit, who had just made it as a force on the West Coast Rap scene. It is Warren G who makes the beats for this one, and he seems to advantaged with the times, unlike many others who seem to have stuck with what they know out in Cali.
**Five Stars**
15. “Be Thankful”
This one seems to take directly from the early days of Dr. Dre’s G-Funk as Battlecat does a tune which samples the Funk of the Tom Tom Club, in a similar way to how Dre did in his day, and it gives it an authentic feel as the MCs do what they do.
**Four Stars**
16. “How You Livin’”
The synth on this one is just too much, and it is as if they don’t understand how deep it gets when Battlecat drops in on them. From this bassy synth, you have them doing a tune with Snoop in the front seat of it all, and he speaks on things which differ quite strongly from the rest of the album.
**Five Stars**
17. “Take It Back To ‘85”
I’m sure that you can work out that this one is going to be a big tune by the title alone as it has them going back to a time which was very different to now, and it allows them to reminisce on the Golden Age of the LA gang culture. It is a high-quality tune, and fits right in as Sooperfly jumps on the beats.
**Five Stars**
18. “Tha G In Deee”
You have the last real banger off the album as they do a killer tune to just go all-out with some hardcore Gangsta Rap to show that they are real when they rap about crippin’ on the LBC. Here Snoop chooses to do one to show that he will always do things his own way, regardless of what the others want to do with flows on how he likes his women.
**Five Stars**
19. "Tha Mac Bible: Chapter 2:11 Verse 187" (Lude)
20. “P***y Sells”
I as surprised to see how well the classic “Take Me o The Mardi Gras” break, famously used by the likes of Run-D.M.C, LL Cool J and Naughty By Nature, was used for a laid back sound of the West Coast as it is here. The most effective use of this by a California act was with Dr. Dre (as part of the World-Class Wreckin’ Cru) on “The Cabbage Patch”, but in this case, they do it in their own way, and don’t fall into the trap of doing a high tempo one they would be uncomfortable with.
**Five Stars**
21. “LBC Thang”
His one really takes you to the setting of Long Beach, California as you have them doing a summery tune to just chill to as they have a go at just letting loose, and rapping as if it was in the form of a freestyle. It made a good single, but didn’t really see that much success with the lack of energy.
**Five Stars**
22. “Life Goes On”
Ending the album off, you have a track which seems o show another side to them as they rap on top of a watery piece of production from Meech Wells, and it gives them an opportunity to show how they are able to manipulate the typical Gangsta stuff to fit the calmed-down beats, which are being utilised.
**Four Stars**
This is a big album, and there is very little about it to hold it back with not a single weak tune within it. Even the skits which fill in, the album are of a high standard, and it means that it is a great abum to work off the second wave of domination from the West Coast, as this came soon after Dr. Dre dropped his second album, “2001”.
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