Gin and Juice

This article is about the Snoop Dogg song. For the cocktail, see Gin and juice (cocktail). For the DeVante Swing song, see Gin & Juice (DeVante Swing song).

"Gin and Juice" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on January 18, 1994 by Death Row, Interscope and Atlantic, as the second single from his debut album, Doggystyle (1993). The song was produced by Dr. Dre and contains an interpolation from Slave's "Watching You" in its chorus and a sample from "I Get Lifted" by George McCrae. Tony Green created its bassline; additional vocalists on the song include Dat Nigga Daz, Jewell, Heney Loc, and Sean "Barney" Thomas. "Gin and Juice" peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It earned a gold certification from the RIAA and sold 700,000 copies.^[6][7] The accompanying music video features a parody of the 1990 movie Home Alone.

"Gin and Juice"
Single by Snoop Doggy Dogg
from the album Doggystyle
Released	January 18, 1994 (1994-01-18)
Genre	G-funk[1][2][3][4]
Length	3:31
Label	Death Row Interscope Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Calvin Broadus David Ruffin Jr. (uncredited)[5]
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre
Snoop Doggy Dogg singles chronology
"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (1993) "Gin and Juice" (1994) "Doggy Dogg World" (1994)
Music video
"Gin and Juice" on YouTube

"Gin and Juice" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. It was listed as number eight on VH1's "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs".^[8]

Critical reception

Andy Beevers from Music Week gave the song four out of five, stating that "this laidback, funky rap track should follow 'What's My Name' into the Top 40."^[9] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "By now everybody knows his name. Maybe it's the alcohol, but this track is pretty sedative. On a 100% hypnotising bass line "Snoopy '94" is sniffing in the streets. Woof woof!"^[10] Stephen Dalton from NME wrote, "The Snoopster slopes back with a slinky low-rider of a groove and a spliffed-up wibbly-wobbly rap about smooching down the boulevard sipping happy juice in the sunshine. Slow, low beats and cheesy disco synth effects give a Parliament-style space-funk vibe, and Mr Dogg is obviously a cool drink of water on a hot afternoon, but his chilled-out musings are hardly a patch on Ice Cube's ultra-laid-back gangsta anthem 'It Was a Good Day'."^[11] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update named it a "languidly drawled sinuous 94.5bpm mellow "laid back" swayer" in his weekly dance column.^[12]

Lyrics

The lyrics depict a party filled with sex, marijuana, and alcohol continuing into the small hours of the morning. The iconic chorus, sung by David Ruffin Jr (D-Ruff),^[13] the son of former Temptation David Ruffin is:^[14]

Rollin' down the street smokin' indo
Sippin' on gin and juice
Laid back (with my mind on my money and my money on my mind).

One critic describes the chorus as representative of "the G-funk tableau" emphasizing cruising culture, consumption of depressants, and materialism.^[15] The last line is an example of antimetabole, a figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures. The focus on money is shared throughout hip hop, including It's All About the Benjamins,^[16] Money Makes the World Go Round, Get Money, and Foe tha Love of $.^[17]

Music video

The song's music video features a parody of the movie Home Alone called "Home Boy Alone" where a teenaged Snoop Dogg is left to do chores and take care of the house when his parents leave, and is instructed not to throw any wild parties. After he disobeys, his parents return home angry and evict the partygoers to confront Snoop Dogg. Ricky Harris plays Snoop's father, and Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Big Mike and Daz Dillinger make cameo appearances. Six-year-old rapper Lil Bow Wow plays Snoop's little brother who is jumping on the couch in the intro. "I was in the 'Gin and Juice' video," comedian Eddie Griffin recalled. "I pop out of this little Volkswagen full of weed smoke with my hair standing on end."^[18]

The small-budget idea was later re-purposed in videos such as J-Kwon's "Tipsy" and Oowee's "Why Cry", which features Snoop and is a shot-by-shot remake of the "Gin and Juice" video. The music video was parodied in the video for "DPG/K", where Snoop, carried on the front of a bicycle by Daz, gets hit by a car driven by B.G. Knocc Out and Dresta, two of Eazy-E's protégés with whom Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre had feuds at the time.

Live performances

Snoop performed the song live at the American Music Awards of 1994 on February 7, 1994, and on Saturday Night Live on March 19, 1994.

Track listing

• 12-inch single

1. "Gin and Juice" (radio version—no indo)
2. "Gin and Juice" (radio version)
3. "Gin and Juice" (Laid Back remix)
4. "Gin and Juice" (Laid Back radio mix)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[19] 49 Europe (European Dance Radio)[20] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 11 UK Singles (OCC)[22] 39 UK Dance (Music Week)[23] 17 UK Club Chart (Music Week)[24] 82 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 8 US Hot Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[26] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[27] 13 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[28] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[29] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position US Billboard Hot 100[30] 52 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[31] 73 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[32] 8 US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[33] 24

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[35]	Gold	700,000[36]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	January 18, 1994	12-inch vinyl cassette	Death Row Interscope	[35]
United Kingdom	January 31, 1994	12-inch vinyl CD cassette		[37]

Merchandising, retail, and promotions

In February 2024, Snoop and Dr. Dre launched a line of drinks called Gin & Juice. The first four flavors were apricot, citrus, melon, and passionfruit. Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits handled distribution.^[38] The concept, packaging, and graphic identity for the new brand was designed by Ini Archibong, with illustrations by Wayne Johnson.^[39][40][41]

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 1994
• Paradise (cocktail)