''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' is the eighth studio album by West Coast hip hop recording artist

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. It was released on November 21, 2006, by Doggystyle Records and Geffen Records. It is also the final album to have

Nate Dogg Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the ...

featured on it during his lifetime. Recording sessions took place from November 2005 to September 2006 in several recording studios and artists such as

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 ...

, The Neptunes,

DJ Battlecat Kevin Gilliam (born April 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Battlecat, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ from South Los Angeles, California. Biography He started out as a battle DJ, notably competing in the 1988 New Music ...

, DJ Pooh, Timbaland, Danja, Mark Batson, Terrace Martin, and

Mr. Porter Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018. ...

appear on the album, among others. The album debuted at number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 264,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album was promoted with ''

Tha Blue Carpet Treatment Mixtape ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment Mixtape'' is a mixtape by American West Coast hip hop artist Snoop Dogg; it was released on November 18, 2006. The mixtape contains appearances from Nate Dogg, Ice Cube, Young Jeezy, Game, Xzibit, Flavor Flav, B. R ...

'', which was released a few days before the official album release.

Background

The title of the album, ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' is a reference to the red carpet traditionally present at formal events. The blue color refers to Snoop Dogg's affiliation with the gang of Crips, who often wear blue (as opposed to the primary color, red, of their rival gang, the Bloods). The album cover underwent several revisions. In August 2006, the first concept art was revealed on Snoop Dogg's website. It features a cartoon dog (representing Snoop Dogg) displaying Crip gang signals, while standing on a blue carpet patterned-like

bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...

. The design has been used, which would have been the third of Snoop Dogg's album covers to use the cartoon for likeness of the rapper that was designed by his cousin Darryl Daniel. The updated version of his cover artwork was shown on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

's'' 13th Anniversary Special on August 30, 2006, and that cover artwork features a parody of the famous

Hollywood Sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...

, that reads "LONG BEACH". It has changed to its current version. Geffen posted this as the final cover for the album on their website. Snoop Dogg directed to take the Long Beach back to its gangsta roots. The rapper told MTV.com about embracing his true nature to the album; stating, "I went right back to the 'hood", he said of his album's production. "I took it back to the basics. I've been making a lot of pop songs, lot of R&B songs. Songs that may have made my fans feel like I wavered from what I was naturally accustomed to doing. But I'm an entertainer and I entertain people and that's what I was feeling at the time. But right now, I'm feeling like going right back to the 'hood". Pharrell said that the rapper's music video, " Vato" will not only show his gangsta side, but will also tackle the issue of violence between African Americans and Hispanics at Los Angeles, California and call for racial unity. Snoop Dogg would teamed up with well-known DJs from the West, to the East, and to the South by releasing ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment Mixtape'', which was hosted by DJ Skee, DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Drama. It contained all the rumoured tracks that had been cut from the final track listing of his studio album. It was released a few weeks before the official album came out. "Think About It" was composed by Frequency in his dorm room one and a half years prior to the album, while Frequency was a student in Virginia. The material was passed to Mike Chavez of Geffen Records, who gave it to Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg uses the track to show his older son—who had not chosen him as the favorite hip-hop artist when being asked—that he can still be an old school gangster rapper regarding his style if he wants to. The track, titled "Imagine" was slated to be featured on

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

' album '' The Big Bang''. Busta Rhymes stated in several interviews, before the release of ''The Big Bang'', that the sample for "Imagine" was still trying to be cleared. Busta Rhymes stated that he was not sure that the sample would be cleared on time for his album's release, so it had to be excluded from his album. With the sample not being cleared at the time, and it is presumable that the song was given to Snoop Dogg for his album. It was recorded with verses by Kam and Snoop Dogg (in different from the album version) while playing during TBCT Listening party. Although Busta Rhymes released the remix to "Imagine", it is presumable that his "remix" when it was actually the intended original version which did not make it on the release of ''The Big Bang''. Artists such as

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

, Ja Rule and

Black-Ty Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American actor and singer. He released his self-titled debut album in 1998, which featured the single " Sweet Lady", peaking at number twelve on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second ...

each did their freestyles on this track.

Music

"Which One of You" was recorded during the album sessions at its process, with the group called N.V. The song was run by the production team

1500 Year 1500 (Roman numerals, MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year was seen as being especially important by many Christians in Europe, ...

. "Round Here" contains the same sample on the song "

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

" performed by Dido, in which became the same sample that it was used by a fellow American rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

for his track

Stan Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

. Therefore, Snoop Dogg was wasn't aware about this matter when he was making that record during its recording sessions. "L.A.X." contains a sample of "More Bounce to the Ounce" performed by Zapp, in which Snoop Dogg already have used this sample of a song once on one of his earlier track, "Snoop Bounce", in which was included from his album '' Tha Doggfather'' (1996). All three songs – "That's That Shit", "Boss' Life" and "Imagine" – has lyrics ghostwritten from a former Aftermath Entertainment artists such as Stat Quo (Benton, S.) and The D.O.C. (Curry, T.).

Recording

Snoop Dogg told ''Billboard'', that he was working on this album, ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'', for nine months. He has collaborated with the likes of

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

on the biggest song on the album, titled "

That's That "That's That" (explicitly titled "That's That Shit") is the second single by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment''. The song was the first single taken from the album in the United Kingdom, however the single only achieved nota ...

" produced by Nottz and other featured on the album

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

, Pharrell,

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

, Akon,

B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...

(of

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

) and even

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. He also confirmed that

had a big input on this album, producing several tracks and even rapping a verse on the track, "Imagine". Dr. Dre hadn't produced any Snoop Dogg tracks since 2000. He also did I Wanna Fuck You with Akon but had to release a cleaned up version for radio play called I Wanna Love You. Other songs recorded for this album didn't make the final cut, including "Wannabes" featuring Young Jeezy and

; produced by DJ Quik, "Smokin' Smokin' Weed" featuring Ray J, Slim Thug,

Shorty Mack Shorty is a nickname, usually for a short person. See Shorty (nickname). Shorty may also refer to: Music Artists * Ras Shorty I, Trinidadian artist and founder of soca music. * Shorty (band), an American rock band formed in 1991 * Shorty (Ameri ...

and Nate Dogg, and "Put This Thang on You" featuring Ne-Yo, only two of these ( except on You Put This Thang ) are released in disc two that is, in the disc of bonus tracks.

Critical reception

''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album maintained generally positive reviews with

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

calling it "one of Snoop's strongest efforts in a long time, with the beats, rhymes, and guests all complimenting the Doggfather with grand immediacy." It received a 4 out of 5 from Allhiphop.com, About.com and Allmusic. Ryan Dombal for '' Entertainment Weekly'' wrote that "Blue Carpet finds him refocused and reunited with

on four tracks. The two get nostalgic on standout 'Imagine'." – Grade: B+ ''Vibe'' magazine wrote that "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment stands as a strong statement from a veteran still pushing his artistic boundaries." '' Blender'' wrote that the album is "A throwback to his trunk-rattling G-funk heyday." – Grade: 3.5 out of five stars. ''XXL'' wrote that "Snoop's lyrical fire seems resurrected, as he delivers arguably his most consistently scorching work post-'' Doggystyle''." Christian Hoard for '' Rolling Stone'' wrote that Snoop's eighth LP doesn't do much to break the trend. The production is pretty hot, with high-def beats that range from tricked-out funk (

's "Boss's Life") to dark, tense bounce (the excellent Neptunes-produced "Vato"). The radio-friendly ups—the

feature "That's That Shit"—balance out brawny head-nodders like "Gangbangin 101." Snoop sounds great dropping streams of consonants on "Think About It," and few rappers could make a minimalist " Drop It Like It's Hot"-style cut like "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)" sound so singular. Nathan Rabin for '' The A.V. Club'' reviewed the album and wrote that "Snoop has always been able to knock out infectious radio singles, but his albums generally strand a few knockout songs amid oceans of lazy filler, opportunist trend-hopping, and derivative, second-rate G-funk. Sleepy, anticlimactic recent reunion albums from Dogg Pound and 213 (Snoop, Warren G, and Nate Dogg) failed to rouse Snoop out of his longstanding professional funk. So why does Snoop's shockingly good Tha Blue Carpet Treatment sound more like a loose, revitalized follow-up to Doggystyle? Dr. Dre's reappearance certainly doesn't hurt. Dre has always brought out the best in Snoop, and his presence seems to have reignited Snoop's passion and hunger. No track better exemplifies the disc's ethos of delirious excess than "

Candy (Drippin' Like Water) "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)" is the third single by Snoop Dogg from his 2006 album ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'', produced by Rick Rock. It features E-40, MC Eiht, Goldie Loc and Tha Dogg Pound (Daz Dillinger and Kurupt), and Ladybug on the choru ...

", an insanely catchy candy-coated R&B song with clever nods to hyphy ( E-40 and producer Rick Rock) and retro jazz-rap (check out that crazy Digable Planets sample!), plus guest raps from a small army of past-their-prime gangstas. When faced with a choice, Snoop here inevitably chooses all of the above. So Treatment gives listeners

and The Neptunes,

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

and

, red-hot polygamy enthusiast Akon and old standby

, George Clinton and

, gangsta shit, pimp shit, and at least one song encouraging pee-wee football players to go hard or go home. With his lush Blue Carpet Treatment, Snoop Dogg finally seems intent on building and expanding his musical legacy, rather than merely coasting on it.

Commercial performance

''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' debuted at number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 264,000 copies in its first week. On the

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

annual "Best Sellers Top 100" rankings, the album was listed 97th with the 2006 year-end catalog closing sales number of 637,000 copies despite having been released in mid-November and its sales data were accumulated for only one and a half months. As of June 2018, the album had sales 1,503,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Bonus tracks

;Notes *¹ On the single version, Akon's guest vocals were replaced by vocals from

. ;Sample credits *"Intrology" samples " Dirt Off Your Shoulder" performed by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

. *"Think About It" samples "I Need You" performed by The Impressions. *"Crazy" contains interpolations of "She's Strange" performed by Cameo. *"

That's That Shit "That's That" (explicitly titled "That's That Shit") is the second single by Snoop Dogg from the album '' Tha Blue Carpet Treatment''. The song was the first single taken from the album in the United Kingdom, however the single only achieved not ...

samples "

The Bath The Bath may refer to: * ''The Bath'' (play), a 1701 comedy play by Thomas d'Urfey * ''The Bath'' (EP), by electronica duo Lemon Jelly *''The Child's Bath'', a painting by Mary Cassatt (also known as ''The Bath'') *The Bath (short story), a short st ...

" performed by

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

. *"

" samples "9th Wonder (Blackploitism)" performed by Digable Planets, and contains an interpolations of "

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

" performed by Cameo. *"

Boss' Life "Boss' Life" is the fourth and final single from Snoop Dogg's 8th studio album ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment''. The song originally featured Akon, but due to label issues the original vocals were replaced by Nate Dogg's for the single version. The ...

" samples "If Tomorrow Never Comes" performed by The Controllers, and "Everybody Rise" performed by

. *"LAX" samples " Going Back to Cali" performed by

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, and "More Bounce to the Ounce" performed by Zapp. *"Round Here" samples "

" performed by Dido. *"Like This" samples "Coffy Sauna" performed by Roy Ayers. *"Conversations" samples "Have a Talk with God" performed by

Personnel

Credits adapted from Allmusic. * Akon – vocals, engineer, producer *

B Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...

– vocals *

Bad Lucc Dubb Union is a rap group featuring artists from Los Angeles and the nearby areas of Inglewood, California, Inglewood, Long Beach, California, Long Beach, and Watts, Los Angeles, California, Watts. The original name of the group was Westurn Uni ...

– vocals * Mark Batson – keyboards, producer * Mike Bozzi – assistant * Leslie Brathwaite – mixing * Paul Bruski – engineer * Mike Chav – engineer * Ted Chung – A&R, engineer, marketing * George Clinton – vocals * Erik "Baby Jesus" Coomes – bongos * Sean Cruse – bass * Damani – vocals * Rick DeVarona – assistant * DJ DDT – producer * DJ Pooh – engineer, mixing, producer, vocal engineer *

– vocals, producer, mixing *

– vocals * Shon Don – engineer * E-40 – vocals * Lamar Edwards – bass guitar * Jamie Foxx – vocals, producer *

– vocals * Abel Garibaldi – engineer * Tasha Hayward – hair stylist * Josh Houghkirk – assistant * Richard Huredia – mixing *

– vocals * Mauricio Iragorri – engineer, mixing * Julio G – vocals, interlude *

Kam Kaam (Gurmukhi: ਕਾਮ ''Kāma'') in common usage, the term stands for 'excessive passion for sexual pleasure' and it is in this sense that it is considered to be an evil in Sikhism. In Sikhism it is believed that Kaam can be overcome ...

– vocals *

– vocals * Kurupt – vocals *

Anthony Mandler Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...

– art direction, design, photography * Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearance * Damian Marley – vocals * MC Eiht – vocals * Jeff Meeks – assistant * Ian Mereness – engineer *

Raul Midón Raul Midón (born March 14, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Mexico. Biography Early life Midón was born prematurely in a rural hospital in Embudo, New Mexico, Embudo, New Mexico, to parents of Argentines, Arg ...

– guitar, trumpet * Fredwreck – producer * 9 Inch Dix – vocals *

Dawaun Parker Dawaun Parker (born May 9, 1984) is an American record producer and rapper. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2005, he became a producer for Dr. Dre’s record label Aftermath Entertainment. He received his first formal credit o ...

– keyboards * Orlando Rashid – engineer * Robert "Roomio" Reyes – assistant * J. Peter Robinson – art direction, design * April Roomet – stylist * Alexis Seton – mixing *

– primary artist * Soopafly – vocals, producer * Chris Soper – engineer * Chris Starr – background vocals *

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

– mixing * Timbaland – producer * Warzone – vocals * LaToiya Williams – vocals * Marlon Williams – guitar * Barbara Wilson – vocals *

– vocals, producer * Young Jeezy – vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links