Murder Was The Case

Murder really was the case for Snoop Dogg, who before releasing this song on his debut album Doggystyle was charged in the murder of a gang member named Philip Woldemariam. Snoop didn't pull the trigger: He was driving a Jeep with his bodyguard McKinley Lee in the passenger seat when they drove up to confront Woldemariam, who was eating some Mexican food with friends. After a verbal altercation, Lee stood up in the Jeep and shot Woldemariam, killing him. Lee and Snoop were both charged with murder and freed on bail posted by Snoop's label, Death Row. This song isn't specifically about the case, with Snoop Dogg envisioning himself as a shooting victim who awakes from a coma, only to then commit a crime and get murdered in prison. The guy in the song gets a second chance and blows it, a mistake Snoop doesn't want to make in real life. In 1996, with help from their lawyer Johnnie Cochran, both Lee and Snoop were found not guilty. Snoop heeded his own warning, adapting his lifestyle to steer clear of anything that could get him killed or thrown in jail.

The line "murder was the case" comes from a Snoop Dogg verse on the Dr. Dre song "Lil' Ghetto Boy," released on his album The Chronic about a year earlier, before Snoop's real murder charges. Snoop's guest spots on the album were his introduction to most listeners, and Dre was instrumental in his solo career, producing the Doggystyle album.

The rapper Daz Dillinger appears on this track, portraying the Devil and tempting Snoop Dogg.