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Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006)

Where the lyrics of Tha Blue Carpet Treatment take you, and where it was really made.

The blue in the title points to Snoop Dogg's affiliation with the Crips, whose gang color is blue, not to the red carpet of formal events alone.

Key places

Doggystyle Records Studio in Diamond Bar (2006)

Recording site Doggystyle Records Studio — The album was recorded from November 2005 to September 2006 in several studios. The studio listed for this album is Doggystyle Records Studio in Diamond Bar, California. The point is placed at city-center level, not at the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Tha Blue Carpet Treatment: eighth studio album by West Coast hip-hop recording artist Snoop Dogg
• Released November 21, 2006 by Doggystyle Records and Geffen Records
• Debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, selling 264,000 copies in its first week
• Promoted with Tha Blue Carpet Treatment Mixtape, released a few days before the album
• Snoop Dogg counts it among his favorite albums in his discography

Background

• Title refers to the red carpet traditionally present at formal events
• Blue color refers to Snoop Dogg's affiliation with the Crips, who often wear blue
• The rival Bloods' primary color is red
• Cover concept art first revealed on Snoop Dogg's website in August 2006
• Early concept: cartoon dog representing Snoop Dogg, displaying Crip gang signals on a blue carpet patterned like a bandana
• The cartoon design was drawn by his cousin Darryl Daniel and would have been the third Snoop album cover using that likeness
• Updated cover shown on the Late Show with David Letterman's 13th Anniversary Special on August 30, 2006
• Final cover parodies the Hollywood Sign and reads LONG BEACH; Geffen posted it as the final cover on its website
• Snoop Dogg directed that Long Beach be taken back to its gangsta roots
• Mixtape hosted by DJ Skee, DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Drama held the rumoured tracks cut from the final track listing

Recording

• Recording sessions ran from November 2005 to September 2006 in several studios
• Snoop Dogg told Billboard he worked on the album for nine months
• Dr. Dre produced several tracks and rapped a verse on Imagine; he had not produced a Snoop Dogg track since 2000
• Guests include Ice Cube, Pharrell, D'Angelo, Akon, Nate Dogg, B-Real of Cypress Hill and Stevie Wonder
• Think About It was composed by Frequency in his dorm room about a year and a half before the album
• Imagine was first slated for Busta Rhymes' album The Big Bang before being given to Snoop Dogg

Cover

• Cover art went through several revisions, from the cartoon dog on a blue carpet to the LONG BEACH sign parody

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., born October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California, known professionally as Snoop Dogg.
• American rapper, singer, record producer, record executive, songwriter and actor; a key figure in West Coast hip-hop who helped define G-funk and gangsta rap.
• Known for a signature drawled delivery and melodic flow; lyrics often address recreational drug use and gun violence.
• Rose to prominence in 1992 through collaborations with Dr. Dre on "Deep Cover" and The Chronic.
• Debut album Doggystyle (1993), produced by Dr. Dre, debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 806,000 copies sold in its first week; certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA.
• Signed with Master P's No Limit Records in 1998; albums Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told, No Limit Top Dogg and Tha Last Meal followed.
• R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004) produced "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), his first Billboard Hot 100 number one.
• Adopted the alias Snoop Lion for reggae album Reincarnated (2013); later albums include Bush (2015) and gospel album Bible of Love (2018).
• Acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group in 2022.
• Has sold over 35 million records worldwide; co-headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in 2022.
• Also active as an actor, business figure and coach on The Voice.

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone: Christian Hoard wrote that Snoop's eighth LP does not do much to break the trend, while praising the production as pretty hot
• Entertainment Weekly: Ryan Dombal wrote that Blue Carpet finds him refocused and reunited with Dr. Dre on four tracks, grade B+
• IGN: called it one of Snoop's strongest efforts in a long time, with the beats, rhymes and guests complimenting the Doggfather
• Vibe: wrote that it stands as a strong statement from a veteran still pushing his artistic boundaries
• Blender: called it a throwback to his trunk-rattling G-funk heyday, grade 3.5 out of five
• XXL: wrote that Snoop's lyrical fire seems resurrected, delivering arguably his most consistently scorching work post-Doggystyle
• The A.V. Club: Nathan Rabin called it shockingly good and a loose, revitalized follow-up to Doggystyle
• AllMusic, AllHipHop and About.com each gave it 4 out of 5

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number 5
• First-week sales: 264,000 copies
• Nielsen SoundScan 2006 year-end Best Sellers Top 100: listed 97th with 637,000 copies, despite a mid-November release
• United States sales as of June 2018: 903,000 copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album title's blue carpet is a reference to the Crips, who often wear blue, set against the red carpet of formal events.
• Snoop Dogg's cousin Darryl Daniel designed the cartoon likeness used in the early cover concept.
• The final cover parodies the Hollywood Sign and reads LONG BEACH.
• Imagine was first slated for Busta Rhymes' album The Big Bang, but the sample was not cleared in time, so the song went to Snoop Dogg.
• Dr. Dre had not produced any Snoop Dogg tracks since 2000 before this album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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