News of September 28, 2006
Snoop Dogg: Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
In the fall of 2006, Snoop Dogg rolled out a blue carpet for the West Coast with his eighth studio album, on the same day as Jay-Z and Tupac.
West Coast music was currently “invisible”: with this assessment, Snoop Dogg stepped forward in the fall of 2006. On September 28, 2006, the site reported that his new solo album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment would be released on November 21. It was the follow-up to 2004’s R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. Snoop wanted to return to his roots and aggressively represent West Coast music. With the album, he wanted to roll out a blue carpet on which young and veteran rappers from the West could walk together.
Ten Years After Death Row, New York and the South Dominate
For the West Coast, 2006 was a year of searching. The massive successes of the Death Row era were a decade in the past; New York and the South dominated the charts. Snoop had risen to prominence in the early 1990s alongside Dr. Dre and later also with Tupac at Death Row. With this album, he wanted to reconnect with that tradition.
No. 5 on the Same Day as Jay-Z and Tupac
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment was released as announced on November 21, 2006, on Doggystyle Records and Geffen. It was Snoop’s eighth studio album. The recordings were made between November 2005 and September 2006, featuring production by Dr. Dre, the Neptunes, DJ Battlecat, DJ Pooh, Timbaland, and Danja, among others.
With around 264,000 copies sold in its first week, the album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The week itself was remarkable: that same day saw the release of Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come, which debuted at No. 1, and Tupac’s Pac’s Life (No. 9). Snoop can also be heard on Tupac’s album: on the remix of the title track.