Murder Was the Case

For the Gucci Mane album, see Murder Was the Case (Gucci Mane album).

Murder Was the Case
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	October 15, 1994
Recorded	1993-1994
Genre	West Coast Hip Hop, G-Funk, Rap
Length	68:30
Label	Death Row/Interscope
Producer	Dr. Dre Dat Nigga Daz Sam Sneed Soopafly DJ Quik Devante Swing
Professional reviews
The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space. Allmusic link The Source

Murder Was the Case is a 1994 short film and soundtrack album starring Snoop Doggy Dogg. The 18 minute film was directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy and chronicles the fictional death of Snoop Dogg and his resurrection after making a deal with the Devil. The album topped the Billboard 200 on the number one spot on November 5, 1994 with 329,000 one week sales as well as on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.

The following week it stayed on top with 197,000 copies sold and was certified Gold. The album is certified 2x platinum with 2,030,000 copies sold. The single "What Would U Do" was included on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996. The album was re-released with a bonus DVD containing 3 music videos on July 11, 2006.

Tupac Shakur was paid $200,000 dollars by Death Row Records owner Suge Knight to record a track for the album. The track was recorded but it was not used on the official soundtrack release. The rumored recording is debated between the song "Pain" which was later used for the Above The Rim soundtrack, "High Til I Die Interscope Version", which was later re-recorded for the Sunset Park album while 2Pac was on Death Row Records, and the Unreleased Version Of R U Still Down. R U Still Down is similar to the version that was released on the 1997 2Pac album "R U Still Down". However, the song has a different beat, unreleased first verse, female chorus, and has re-recorded second and third verses that are similar to verses 1-2 on the R U Still Down album version.

Reception

• Rolling Stone (12/29/94-1/12/95, p. 178) - "...[It] isn't the trailblazer that Dre's The Chronic was last year. But it is rap very nearly as strong. Featuring West Coast stalwarts...and new discoveries..., Dre and Dat Nigga Daz present gangsta- and R&B-infected fare that slams..."
• Entertainment Weekly (11/11/94, p. 76) - "...confirms...Dr. Dre as the new king of pop. In addition to the ominous remix of Snoop's title song, Dre reunites with Ice Cube...Dre's G-funk sound may be the hardest in the land, but it's also the most gut-wrenchingly soulful..." - Rating: A
• Q magazine (1/95, p. 258) - 3 Stars - Good - "...While most ears will be tuned to the bile'n'beats of `Natural Born Killaz'...the best track here is from Snoop's young protege, Nate Dogg....One of West Coast rap's more imaginative albums."
• The Source (1/95, p. 85) - 4 Stars - Slammin' - "...while Jodeci duets with Tha Dogg Pound and an all-star cast to try their hand at the G-Funk sound, Dre begins plotting his next move...heavy-metal bass meets chunky keyboards..."
• NME (12/24/94, p. 23) - Ranked #8 in NME's list of the 10 best compilation albums of 1994.
• NME (10/15/94, p. 53) - 7 - Very Good - "...anyone expecting this to signal Dre's decline is kidding themselves. Murder Was the Case shows the old dogg has plenty of new tricks..." ^[1]

Track listing

#	Title	Performer(s)	Producer(s)
1	"Murder Was the Case" (Remix)	Snoop Dogg	Dr. Dre
2	"Natural Born Killaz"	Dr. Dre; Ice Cube	Dr. Dre; Sam Sneed
3	"What Would U Do"	Tha Dogg Pound; Snoop Dogg	Dat Nigga Daz
4	"21 Jumpstreet"	Snoop Dogg; Tray Deee	Dat Nigga Daz
5	"One More Day"	Nate Dogg	Dat Nigga Daz
6	"Harvest for the World"	Jewell	Dr. Dre
7	"Who Got Some Gangsta Shit?"	Snoop Dogg; Tha Dogg Pound; Lil' C-Style; Swoop G	Soopafly
8	"Come When I Call"	Danny Boy	DJ Quik
9	"U Better Recognize"	Sam Sneed; Dr. Dre	Sam Sneed; Dr. Dre
10	"Come Up to My Room"	Jodeci; Tha Dogg Pound	Dat Nigga Daz; Devante Swing
11	"Woman to Woman"	Jewell	DJ Quik; G-One
12	"Dollaz + Sense"	DJ Quik	DJ Quik
13	"The Eulogy"	Slip Capone; CPO	Sam Man
14	"Horny"	B-Rezell	Kevin Lewis; Marc McWilliams
15	"Eastside-Westside" (Remix)	Young Soldierz	Big Wy; Lil' Stretch
16	"Hot One" (cassette only bonus track)	O.F.T.B.	O.F.T.B.

Samples

21 Jumpstreet

• "Nobody Can Be You (But You)" by Steve Arrington

Who Got That Gangsta Shit"

• "P.S.K. What Does It Mean" by Schoolly D

Come When I Call

• "Let Me Love You" by Michael Henderson

Woman to Woman

• "Woman to Woman" by Shirley Brown

Dollaz & Sense

• "I Like (What You're Doing to Me)" by Young & Company

Eastside-Westside

• "Dazz" by Brick

Singles

"Woman to Woman" Released 1995 Recorded 1994 Writer(s) James Banks / Eddie Marion / Henderson Thigpen Producer(s) DJ Quik, George "G One" Archie & Jewell Jewell's first and last official single so far. It samples Shirley Brown's "Woman to Woman" Chart positions #72nd US #16 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs "Natural Born Killaz" Released 1995 Recorded 1995 Writer(s) O'shea Jackson / André Young Producer(s) Dr. Dre, Sam Sneed Video director F. Gary Gray First collaboration of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube since the split of NWA. The song was intended to be a prequel to their joint album entitled "Heltah Skeltah", which never saw its release. Chart positions #45 UK "U Better Recognize" Released 1995 Recorded 1995 Writer(s) Sam Anderson, André Young Producer(s) Dr. Dre, Sam Sneed *First and last to date single of Sam Sneed. It had a moderate success. Keyboards : Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas Published by Suge Publishing Chart positions #48 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs #18 Hot Rap Tracks #16 Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales

"Murder Was the Case" Released 1994 Recorded 1993 Writer(s) Delmar Arnaud, Calvin Broadus, André Young Producer(s) Dr. Dre Video director Dr. Dre The song was nominated Video of the Year at the 1995 Source Awards. It was performed live at the 1994 Video Music Awards. Background vocals by Nanci Fletcher, Danette Williams, Barbera Wilson, Angela Dauphine Engineer : Dr. Dre Published by Emonis Music/Nuthin' Goin' On But F****n/Suge Publishing, ASCAP Engineered at Dre's Crib Assistant Engineer : Keston Wright Keyboards : Stewart Bullard Percussion : Carl "Butch" Small Chart positions #36 Rhythmic Top 40 "What Would U Do" Released 1994 Recorded 1994 Writer(s) D. Arnaud, R. Brown C. Broadus J. Caples D. Williams Producer(s) Dat Nigga Daz Video director Dr. Dre Nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group.

Chart positions

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1994	The Billboard 200	1

Credits

• Executive Producer: Suge Knight
• Soundtrack director: Dr. Dre
• Overseer: Dat Nigga Daz.
• Recorded at Can-Am Studios
• Mixed at Dr. Dre's studio
• Death Row Engineers: Kesten Wright, Tommy D, Daughtery & Danny Alfonso.
• Photographers: Yoko Sato, Simone Green

Cover versions

• Jeremy Messersmith with Andy Thompson performed a cover of "Murder Was the Case" at The Cake Shop in Minneapolis, MN for a 'Murder and Death' concept show on 1/10/2010.

• South Park Mexican's song "Woodson N' Worthin" is a cover of "Murder Was the Case".

See also

• Number-one albums of 1994 (USA)

References

1. ^ http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7215659

External links

• Review

Preceded by II by Boyz II Men

Billboard 200 number-one album November 5–18, 1994

Succeeded by MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1994 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1994 (U.S.)