Presents Welcome To Tha Chuuch: Tha Album [PA] (CD - 2005)

Audio Mixers: Larrance Dopson; Dave Aron; Sam Lobue II; Nate Oberman; Kacey Phillips; Shon Don; Battlecat; Brian Warfield; Lamar Edwards; Mira Mira.

Koch Records took the opportunity to break some tracks from Snoop Dogg's WELCOME TO THE CHURCH mixtape series, which had been making the rounds in the West Coast underground for some time before this 2005 album's release. Members of Snoop's Doggystyle crew are featured across the collection's 13 cuts, with new voices like Tiffany Foxx, James, and Lady of Rage appearing alongside Daz, Nate Dogg, and the main Dogg himself.

Though WELCOME TO THE CHURCH lacks the edge of much of Snoop's best material, there is an appealing, blissed-out feel to the mix. The laid-back R&B flavor and the ubiquitous hip-hop party themes (namely, getting stoned and sexed-up) contribute to the vibe as well. This is a good bet for die-hard Snoop devotees (he makes several cameos throughout) and a testament to the longevity of the g-funk sound.

A collection of tracks from Snoop's Welcome to tha Chuuch mixtape series, Koch's Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Album gives these tracks their first aboveground exposure. There's a bunch of worthy newcomers, plus veterans of the West Coast like Daz, Kurupt, and Lady of Rage, but there's very little of Snoop himself and definitely less than was found on the original mixtapes. Still, the tracks retain their street feel and there's plenty of heat, even if the album as a whole is poorly sequenced with shabby packaging. The West Coast faithful and Snoop fanatics who don't have access to the shady world of mixtapes should check it if only for the raw feel, but everyone else can pass. ~ David Jeffries minimize