California still knows how to party

Just when you thought the G-Funk era was over, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg have delivered an excellent but unheralded hip-hop release called The Hard Way.

Under the imprint of TVT Records, an eclectic independent label with a catalog that includes Spinal Tap-esque boy band 2gether, the soundtrack to Grumpier Old Men and local favorites The Connells, the SoCal supergroup has delivered an album over a decade in the making.

For the group, which employs the name 213 to signify their boyhood area code, this album fulfills a promise they made to each other in their teens. The 17-song composition, recorded entirely in Snoop’s home recording studio, which was featured prominently in episode 2.2 of The Man Show, is refreshingly nostalgic.

Delightfully reminiscent of Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and the artist-formerly-known-as-Snoop-Doggy-Dogg’s Doggystyle in its sound, The Hard Way’s lyrics focus on the ups and downs of the recording industry. However, “Joysticc,” “Groupie Luv” and “My Dirty Ho,” employ lyrics and subject matter of the same explicit and arrogant nature that characterize far too many hip-hop recordings.

A huge asset of the album is the silky baritone of Nate Dogg, the greatest hip hop singer you are likely to hear. Unfortunately, there are a few songs in which he illustrates his vocal range simply for show. Another bright spot is the Rick James cover, “Mary Jane,” which reminds us that James was, in fact, a musician before he got mixed up with a boatload of coke.

Within a slew of O.G. tracks, you’ll find what seems to be the standard issue lately, a catchy soul-inspired, Kanye West-produced cut called “Another Summer.”

The trio, or perhaps more appropriately, triumvirate, may not unite the splintered West Coast scene as they hope. But in showing that their Westside sound is still viable, they have provided nostalgic fans with a terrific trip in the way-back machine. I think Snoop D-O-Double-Gizee said it best when he told the press, “It’s a great record with a lot of good songs on it.”