Death Row's 15th Anniversary

They Say...

Review by David Jeffries, All Music Guide

It's not like the racks needed another Death Row Records compilation, it just needed the right one, and this is it. Featuring two CDs' worth of vital tracks from the West Coast and gangsta rap's glory days, Death Row's 15TH Anniversary doesn't bother with the obscure tracks or the fringe artists that the other comps have, and while that might mean it doesn't tell the whole story, you just don't need or even want to know about how label boss Suge Knight signed MC Hammer or what R&B singer Danny Boy sounded like. Death Row crumbled hard after the material you find here, but these tracks made them seem unstoppable, and 15 years later they're still as ferocious, cocky, and funky. The problem remains that true hip-hop heads will overlap the tracks they already own on The Chronic, Doggystyle, All Eyez on Me, and the Above the Rim soundtrack, but getting hard-to-find gems like the Lady of Rage's "Afro Puffs" or Daz's "Initiated" -- spelled "Intiated" in the booklet in a typical and fitting Death Row screw-up -- next to them makes up for a lot of redundancy. Plus, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a better mixtape of the label's output, and once a longtime fan throws the collection in their ride, the feel-good hood memories rain down and make every penny spent on the collection worthwhile. If you aren't familiar with the label, you're in for an overwhelming experience, but if you know which Dogg is which and what it takes to be a G in the city of Compton, this is your history in two killer slices. [Death Row's 15TH Anniversary was also made available in a clean version, with all explicit material removed.]