In 1998, Snoop Doggy Dogg decided that he was leaving Death Row Records; and while appearing on several No Limit releases (Mystikal, Silkk...), it was no surprise to see that Snoop Doggy Dogg was quick to enroll to Master P's red hot No Limit enterprise. However, with the new record label, Snoop simply went from being one of the brightest rap stars in the '90's to nothing more than a member of the growing and growing No Limit Army. In no time Snoop began recording his No Limit debut, "Da Game Is To Be Told, Not To Be Sold", an album that, if put together right, had the ability to bring Snoop's career to the next level. However, this album does little to justify his status as a star. When Snoop signed to No Limit, he lost more than just his middle name, "Doggy". For, he was now simply Snoop Dogg. Perhaps "Doggy" represented Snoop's confidence as an MC, something that Snoop lacks to bring to the table on this one. The Beats By The Pound production team is weak to put it bluntly. The sometimes louder, banging beats represent everything Snoop Dogg wasn't about. Snoop had always kicked it over a slow, laid back, dope West Coast beat. It is now clear that those days would be far behind. Welcome to the No Limit factory line Snoop. Even further, Snoop's cold, chilling voice (something that made this star unique) was at times completely off; sounding as if he is struggling at the mic. To make things worse is the over abundance of No Limit guests on this album. At times their loud, almost yelling raps completely drown out that of the album's star, Snoop. Not to say that this is a completely bad album, not by No Limit standards. If you can forget for one moment that this is a Snoop Dogg release, and think of it as any other No Limit release you may even be impressed; granted it's no "Ghetto D" or "Da Last Don", but for No Limit standards, "Da Game..." may be on the upper end. It is very fitting that the first voice you will hear on "Snoop World" the opening track, is that of Master P welcoming Snoop Dogg as the newest No Limit soldier. As for the track itself, it is one of the albums best. The beat is more to Snoop's laid back liking, and Master P fills in nicely in the final verse. Perhaps his finest moment comes with Mia X on "Slow Down", confidence wise, Snoop sounds as good as he will on this album. Snoop also tries to rekindle sounds of old with "Gin & Juice 2" and "Still A G Thang", two of the few tracks finding Snoop go solo. While "Gin & Juice 2" is not another classic in the making, Snoop sounds fitting over an eerie beat, providing almost a dark atmosphere. However, this is yet another example of how sub par material sells in the world today. "Da Game..." sold 484,000 copies during its first week, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Pop Charts. That not all, the album spent a second consecutive week at the top spot, while falling to #3 in it's third week of release, and #9 in it's fourth week; spending an entire month in the Billboard top 10 while selling over a million copies during that span. The album went on to sell over 2 million copies, and was certified Double Platinum, as was "Tha Doggfather", his last Death Row release, and a much better album start to finish than this one... go figure...

Positives: I'm hard pressed to find positive things to say about this record. Snoop is one of the greatest and Doggystyle proved he can make premium rap music.

Negatives: This album proved Snoop is also not afraid to fall flat on his face. I don't know where to begin on this album. Any tracks that aren't "No Limitized" are just too soft. Snoop has that kind of soft flow but tracks like "Show Me Love" & "Doggz Gonna Get Ya" are not his patented gangster rap norm. I don't know how I managed to stick with Snoop after this attempt. Every other record Snoop has ever and will make is better than this one.

Snoop had the voice in the early to mid 90's.He was Rap's Version of Michael Jackson and Dr.Dre was The Quincy Jones.but after Dre Left Death Row Snoop was Forced To Play 2nd FIddle to 2pac and Never Recovered.The Dogg Father was Wack but not as Bad as This Mess.No-Limit &Their Beat-less Crew make a Mockery of Snoop here.Gin&Juice11&Woof are some of the Worst Tracks Snoops ever Recorded.well this Album is The Worst on a Whole.His Last Album was a step back in the Right Direction but he is one of those Artists that You Wonder What if?Instead of Getting Watered Down.for a while He was The Voice but you have to wonder how many more Albums Like This Before folks are thru with him?

This Cd is really cool. Snoop's style is really smoothe. It's a good cd. Snoop is definetly one of the best out there, he keeps layin the hits down.

To be honest, I HATE THE NO LIMIT STYLE OF RAP. That's why i was very skeptical at first about this album, but since i love Snoop so much I had to pick it up regardless. The way I see it, Snoop shows that he can still put out great material as evidenced by songs like 'Whatcha Gonna Do,' 'Gin and Juice II,' 'Still a G Thang,'and 'Ho's money and clout.' The biggest similarity with these tracks is that they harken back to a classic snoop style - bouncy basslines with smooth lyrics. The rest of the material is muddled with the annoying No Limit Soldier appearances by fools such as mystikal and Fiend, and much of the album suffers from lackluster, 'jiggly' beats from Beats by the Pound, who I have never really respected. So, when not caught up fully in the annoying no limit southern drawl, Snoop once again shows a lot of potential. When and if he does make another album with Dre, I'll be first in line cuz I know that he is back to form, and that combo will rock the house onc! e again. Overall, a solid but frustrating effort to listen to.