"Gin and Juice" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on January 18, 1994, as the second single from his debut album, ''

Doggystyle ''Doggystyle'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg (then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg). It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop's app ...

''.

Lyrics

The lyrics depict a party filled with

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

, marijuana, and alcohol continuing into the small hours of the morning. The iconic chorus, sung by David Ruffin Jr (D-Ruff), the son of former Temptation

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Clas ...

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). One critic describes the chorus as representative of "the G-funk tableau" emphasizing cruising culture, consumption of

depressant A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug that lowers neurotransmission levels, which is to depress or reduce arousal or stimulation, in various areas of the brain. Depressants are also colloquially referred to as downers as they lower the ...

s, and materialism. The last line is an example of

antimetabole In rhetoric, antimetabole ( ) is the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order; for example, "I know what I like, and I like what I know". It is related to, and sometimes considered a special case of, chiasmus. An antimet ...

, the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures. The focus on money is shared throughout hip hop, including ''

It's All About the Benjamins "It's All About the Benjamins" is a song by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy. It was released as the third single from his debut studio album '' No Way Out''. "Benjamins" is a slang word for money, referring to Benjamin Franklin's image ...

'', ''Money Makes the World Go Round'', ''

Get Money "Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released as the third and final single from their debut album ''Conspiracy'' (1995). "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 198 ...

'', and ''Foe tha Love of $''.

Production

"Gin and Juice" was produced by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

and contains an interpolation from Slave's "Watching You" in its chorus and a sample from

George McCrae George Warren McCrae Jr. (born October 19, 1944) is an American soul and disco singer who is most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby". Biography and career McCrae was the second of nine children, born in West Palm Beach, Florida. He form ...

's "I Get Lifted" as its bassline; additional vocalists on the song include

Dat Nigga Daz Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger (formerly Dat Nigga Daz and commonly Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. In the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and gang ...

, Jewell, Heney Loc, and Sean "Barney" Thomas.

Release and reception

"Gin and Juice" peaked at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. It earned a gold certification from the RIAA and sold 700,000 copies. "Gin and Juice" was nominated for the 1995

Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate a ...

. It was listed as number eight on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs.

Music video

The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, directed by

, Calvin Caday and Anita Sisaath, also producers of

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's "

Dear Mama "Dear Mama" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his third studio album, ''Me Against the World'' (1995). It was released on February 21, 1995, as the lead single from the album. The song is a tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur. In the song, ...

", features a teenaged Snoop Dogg throwing a wild house party after his parents leave. His parents return home angry and evict the partygoers to confront Snoop Dogg.

Ricky Harris Richard George Harris II (October 5, 1965 – December 26, 2016) was an American producer, actor, and comedian. He was known for his role as Malvo in the UPN/The CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris''. Life and career Harris played his first movi ...

plays Snoop's father, and Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg and Daz Dillinger make cameo appearances. Six-year-old rapper

Lil Bow Wow Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil' Bow Wow), is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in the late 1990s, eventually being brought ...

plays Snoop's little brother who is jumping on the couch in the intro. "I was in the 'Gin and Juice' video," comedian

Eddie Griffin Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom '' Malcolm & Eddie'', the title character in the 2002 comedy film '' Undercover Brother'', and Tiberius Jef ...

recalled. "I pop out of this little

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

full of weed smoke with my hair standing on end."''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

'', 2004, precise date unknown The small-budget idea was later re-purposed in videos such as

J-Kwon Jerrell C. Jones (born March 28, 1986), better known by his stage name J-Kwon, is an American rapper best known for his 2004 single " Tipsy," which peaked at number two in 2004. Life and career At age 12, Jones was expelled from his home for a ...

'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 "DPG/K", where Snoop, carried on the front of a bicycle by Daz, gets hit by a car driven by

B.G. Knocc Out Al Hasan Naqiyy (formerly Arlandis Hinton; born January 23, 1975), known professionally as B.G. Knocc Out is an American West Coast rapper and songwriter. He is best known for his collaboration on Eazy-E's 1993 single "''Real Muthaphuckkin G's'' ...

and

Dresta Andre DeSean Wicker (born April 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Dresta (sometimes Gangsta Dresta), is an American rapper. He is best known for collaborating with Eazy-E on the 1993 single "Real Muthaphuckkin G's". He is the older broth ...

, 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. Snoop Dogg wears hockey jerseys of the now-defunct

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

and

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

(with the name and number 'GIN AND JUICE' 94 on the back) in the video.

Track listing

* 12-inch single # "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

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Covers

"Gin and Juice" has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by other groups, including alternative country group

the Gourds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

in 1996,

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

singer

Richard Cheese Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine (or simply Richard Cheese) is a cover band and comedy act, performing popular songs in a lounge/swing style. Lounge singer Richard Cheese is a character created and portrayed by Los Angeles-based act ...

in 2004, comedians Naked Trucker and T-Bones in 2007 and singer and actor Paul Simon in 2010, during the Night of Too Many Stars event hosted by Jon Stewart. In 2004, a

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may al ...

version of the song (used because the original version had explicit lyrics not suitable for television at the time) was played by a group of homeless drug addicts on the radio as they mock the pompous Dr. Stegman on the ABC miniseries ''

Kingdom Hospital ''Kingdom Hospital'' (sometimes known as ''Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'') is a thirteen-episode television series based on Lars von Trier's '' The Kingdom'' ( Danish title: ''Riget''), developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for Amer ...

'' by horror novelist Stephen King. The song was the cover version sung by ''The Gourds'' eight years prior to the miniseries' syndication.

References

* * * (April 2005). ''XXL Magazine'' No. 68. Boulder, Colorado: Harris Publications. {{Authority control 1993 songs 1994 singles Snoop Dogg songs Songs about driving under the influence Songs about cannabis Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre Songs written by Snoop Dogg Songs written by Harry Wayne Casey Songs written by Dr. Dre Death Row Records singles Interscope Records singles