The “Gin and Juice” Standardized Test: How Well Do You Know Snoop Dogg’s Classic Song?

It will take exactly four statements to tee up what follows:

1. If we are allowed to speak in general terms, the center of rap has shifted throughout history as follows: First it was in New York in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and then Los Angeles started to pull it toward the West Coast during the back half of the ’80s, and then New York pulled it back in 1990, and then Los Angeles fully had a hold of it by 1992, and then New York had it again, then L.A. again, then New York again. And listen: There were offshoots and asides during that period, of course. By the time we got around to, say, 1995, for example, we’d already gotten records from Atlanta (Outkast), Houston (the Geto Boys), Houston by way of Port Arthur (UGK), Chicago (Common), New Orleans (Master P), Atlanta again (Goodie Mob), Cleveland (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony), Memphis (Three 6 Mafia), etc. But, again, regarding the center of rap, it basically just bounced back and forth between New York and Los Angeles for a while as everyone else in the country built up their own war rooms and battle plans. (In 2019, the internet is the center, and it will remain so until the internet is deleted.)

2. Dr. Dre’s album The Chronic, which came out in 1992, is the most important G-funk album, and also probably the most iconic. That is undeniable. (It’s the album that made gangsterdom feel fun and accessible. It’s why the center of rap was situated in Los Angeles in 1992.) But Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, which came out in November 1993, is the best G-funk album, and also probably the most idyllic one. It’s the one that perfected the style, because Snoop—melodic, charismatic in an extremely specific way, and intimidating but somehow lacking the malice of N.W.A (which is really wild when you remember that Snoop was, at one point, literally charged with murder)—was perfect for the style.

(A fun thing regarding the New York–vs.–Los Angeles battle for rap supremacy: Two weeks before Doggystyle came out in 1993, Wu-Tang Clan released Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), a masterpiece album. Five months after Doggystyle, a masterpiece album, Nas released Illmatic, a masterpiece album. Five months after Illmatic, Biggie released Ready to Die, a masterpiece album. What a fucking stretch run.)

3. We are, this very week, at the 25th anniversary of Snoop’s “Gin and Juice” two-week run atop Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. “Gin and Juice” was the second single released from Doggystyle. It was, and still is, masterful.

4. As such, below you will find a modified state exam like the kind you used to take when you were in school. The main difference here, though, is that rather than being a bunch of questions about finding the length of the long side of a triangle or balancing chemical equations, it is instead a bunch of higher-order questions relating to “Gin and Juice.”

There is an answer key at the bottom. Try to answer the questions without looking at the lyrics or listening to the song. Thank you. Good luck.

Answer Key

1. D
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. B
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. A
10. B