Twenty-four years ago today [Saturday, April 9], Dr. Dre introduced the world to a then unknown Snoop Dogg in his debut song, “Deep Cover,” the first track Dre released after the dissolution of N.W.A. and one of the hardest tracks in rap history.
Also known as “187,” the track was pushing some heavily controversial content with Snoop rapping, “Cuz it’s 1-8-7 on an undercover cop,” a clear warning to the boys in blue. The term “187,” of course, is the police code for murder.
Originally, the song was featured on the soundtrack for the film Deep Cover, starring actors Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum. The album peaked on the Billboard 200 albums chart at #166 on July 25, 1992. It also appeared as a single and on Dr. Dre’s First Round Knock Out, which spent two weeks on the Billboard 200 starting at #52. It was then included on several greatest hits albums, including: Doggy Stuff and Doggy Style Hits.
In the music video, the set resembles the movie. The plot revolves around an undercover cop, who goes deep in the hierarchy of the underground mafia to bust the bosses. He goes too deep and winds up getting addicted to drugs while trying to not to blow his cover.
The video begins with Snoop, (Snoop’s first appearance in a music video), Dre and a black kingpin in a smoky office in the middle of an initiation, where Snoop has to decide between the pipe and being caught up. After the initial introduction, the rest of the video shows takes in black and white and some pictures from the motion picture.
The scenes take place in a decrepit concrete bungalow around several crack addicts and a projector flashing the movie itself on the wall, with a rooftop of a building with the skyline of Downtown Los Angeles behind. The house is later raided by the drug squad. There’s also a scene with Snoop and Dre wearing business suits in a car, but it offers no additional meaning to the plot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO0QQKjfaPw&nohtml5=False