''Cali Iz Active'' is the fourth studio album by rap group

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albu ...

and is also the name of the album's title track and lead single. It was released through Koch and Snoop Dogg's

Doggystyle Records Doggy Style Records (formerly known as Dogghouse Records) is an American record label founded by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1995. It is named after Snoop Dogg's debut album, ''Doggystyle'' (1993). History On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc. ...

on June 27, 2006. Besides Daz and

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Po ...

, the album also features Tha Dogg Pound family ( Snoop Dogg, Soopafly, Nate Dogg, RBX, and

Lady of Rage Robin Yvette Allen (born February 6,1966), known professionally as the Lady of Rage, is an American rapper, singer and actress best known for her collaborations with several other Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on th ...

). Also appearing are

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ba ...

, Ice Cube,

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

and producers Battlecat, Fredwreck,

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

and

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...

. Snoop Dogg has already used the Royal Cash sample in one of his earlier unreleased recordings with DJ Glaze of Foesum. It was titled "True To The Game" and DJ Glaze included it in his mixtape ''The Lost Tapez''

Critical reception

Pedro Hernandez of ''RapReviews'' said that while the subject matter remains unchanged, he gave praise to the trio's camaraderie throughout the record, and the production and collaborations throughout the track listing from both West Coast and non-West Coast artists, saying that "Overall, ''Cali Iz Active'' is a dope West Coast album full of gangsta anthems that are funky enough to be enjoyed by all."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

editor David Jeffries praised both the chemistry and reinvigorated lyricism of Daz and Kurupt, the production and varied guest list, concluding that "While it's a track or two too long, ''Cali Iz Active'' is arguably the strongest album from the crew and a West Coast fiend's dream come true."

Christian Hoard Christian David Hoard is an American music journalist and music editor for '' Rolling Stone''. A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan, he began his career as a music journalist writing for the ''Michigan Daily''. He later moved to New York ...

from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' said the record "sacrifices deep focus in favor of cameos from Diddy, Nate Dogg, Ice Cube and Paul Wall, but the party-hearty free-for-all feel is good enough, especially on "Keep It Gangsta" and the hooky, brawling Cube feature "It's All Hood."" ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

''s Nathan Rabin said, "For the first 10 tracks or so, ''Cali Iz Active'' qualifies as a surprisingly solid comeback effort, but the disc starts to drag well before it reaches the end of its 68 minutes. Tha Dogg Pound throws a laid-back gangsta party here, but part of being a good host is knowing when to call it a night." '' XXL'' writer Damien Scott was mixed about the album, praising the duo for staying lyrically consistent but was put off by the guest contributions from

and Busta Rhymes and the "misogynistic tracks ("Drop Your Drawers" and "She Like Dat")" for lacking the "infectious flavor" that previous DPG efforts contained, concluding that "Aside from the failed reaches for broader acceptance, Daz and Kurupt still manage to corral enough gangsta shit to keep the Cali movement active." Andres Tardio from ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' heavily panned the record for having "tired subject matter delivered in a tired fashion", criticizing both Daz and Kurupt for writing lyrical content that's unoriginal nor memorable, concluding that " is album, instead of solidifying the crew, is simply going to go down as one with filler after filler. So, to answer the question...No, the group didn’t live up to the hype."

Commercial performance

''Cali Iz Active'' debuted at number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week.

Track listing

Personnel

*Dave Aaron - Mixing *David Banner - Primary Artist, Producer *Diddy - Primary Artist *Snoop Dogg - Primary Artist *Braddon Williams - Engineer *Leslie Braithwaite - Mixing *Oliver Brown - Vocals *Tha Dogg Pound - Primary Artist *Nate Dogg - Primary Artist *John Frye - Mixing *Ice Cube - Primary Artist *Rich Keller - Mixing *The Lady Of Rage - Primary Artist *Ryan Leslie - Producer *L.T. Moe - Composer, Producer *Tracy Lee Nelson - Vocals *RBX - Primary Artist *Rick Rock - Mixing, Producer *Soopafly - Mixing, Producer *Swizz Beatz - Producer *Paul Wall - Primary Artist

Charts

References

External links

*
Sales charts
{{Authority control Tha Dogg Pound albums 2006 albums Albums produced by Bangladesh (record producer) Albums produced by Battlecat (producer) Albums produced by David Banner Albums produced by Jazze Pha Albums produced by Ryan Leslie Albums produced by Soopafly Albums produced by Swizz Beatz E1 Music albums Gangsta rap albums by American artists Albums produced by 1500 or Nothin'