Tha Doggfather

Tha Doggfather is the second studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg; released by Death Row/Interscope Records on November 12, 1996. The album was re-released July 11, 2005. Prior to the successful release of his debut album Doggystyle, Snoop was charged with murder. Snoop spent much of 1995 preparing for the case, which finally went to trial late that year. In February 1996, he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album, this time without Dr. Dre as producer. This was Snoop's last album on Death Row Records, and as Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Although the album debuted at number one in the week of November 12, 1996 with over 478,971 copies sold, it failed to match the commercial success of Doggystyle. Part of the reason for the moderate success of Tha Doggfather was the decline of gangsta rap. 2Pac, who had become a friend of Snoop during 1996, died weeks before the release of Tha Doggfather, and Dre had left Death Row to his partner Suge Knight, who was indicted on racketeering charges by the end of 1996. Consequently, Snoop's second album got lost in the shuffle, stalling at sales of two million, which was disappointing for a superstar. It was released only one week after another Death Row release, the first posthumous album by slain Tupac Shakur, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which also debuted at number one. Though Snoop remained a star, he no longer had the influence he had just two years before. The illustration on the back cover of the CD is done by Joe Cool; the same artist who did the front cover of his hit 1993 debut album Doggystyle.