Which Doobie U B?
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Album Summary
Funkdoobiest — the Los Angeles-based hip-hop trio of Son Doobie, Ralph M, and DJ Tomahawk — came out swinging in 1993 with their debut full-length 'Which Doobie U B?', released through Immortal Records with distribution muscle from Epic. The production reins were handed to none other than DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, and baby, that man brought every bit of his dark, heavy, sample-drenched genius to the sessions. Recorded during one of the most electrifying periods the West Coast had ever seen, the album was steeped in the Soul Assassins collective's DNA — that unmistakable blend of deep bass, shadowy atmospheres, and raw street lyricism that was carving out its own lane in the early nineties underground. Funkdoobiest wasn't riding anybody's coattails; they were running with a crew that was rewriting the rules, and this record was their declaration of exactly where they stood.
Reception
- The album earned genuine respect from hip-hop critics who recognized DJ Muggs' dense, loop-driven production and Son Doobie's kinetic, high-energy delivery as a formidable combination, establishing Funkdoobiest as a serious presence in West Coast rap.
- The single 'Bow Wow Wow' generated meaningful airplay and buzz, serving as the album's most visible calling card and drawing hip-hop audiences into the Funkdoobiest world throughout 1993.
- While the album never crossed over into mainstream pop territory, it built a loyal and devoted underground following — particularly among listeners already locked in to the Cypress Hill and Soul Assassins frequency.
Significance
- 'Which Doobie U B?' stands as a genuine artifact of the early nineties West Coast underground — a record that captured the Soul Assassins' production philosophy at full power, with its heavy bass, eerie sample architecture, and unapologetically raw lyricism representing a defining aesthetic of the era.
- DJ Muggs' loop-based, sample-heavy approach on this album placed it squarely inside one of hip-hop's most important artistic conversations — the legitimacy and creative power of sample-driven music during a period when the legal landscape around sampling was shifting dramatically and putting that art form under serious pressure.
- The presence of Tomahawk, a Native American DJ, gave Funkdoobiest a multicultural identity that was genuinely distinctive within the early nineties hip-hop landscape, quietly expanding the conversation about who belonged in and behind the music.
Tracklist
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A1 The Funkiest 93
3:22
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A2 Bow Wow Wow 102
4:14
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A3 Freak Mode 90
3:28
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A4 I'm Shittin' On 'Em 87
4:03
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A5 Who's The Doobiest 103
2:53
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B1 Doobie To The Head 90
3:28
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B2 Where's It At 95
3:40
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B3 Wopbabalubop 92
3:43
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B4 The Porno King 140
0:27
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B5 'Uh C'mon Yeah! 87
3:18
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B6 Here I Am 100
3:51
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B7 Funk's On Me 104
3:12
Artist Details
Funkdoobiest was a hard-hitting hip-hop trio out of Los Angeles, formed in the early 1990s and featuring Son Doobie, Ralph M, and DJ Tomahawk, bringing a raw, funky West Coast flavor that sat somewhere between hardcore rap and the groove-drenched soul that made heads nod from coast to coast. Signed to Immortal Records and connected to the Cypress Hill family through DJ Muggs's production work, they dropped their debut *Which Doobie U B?* in 1993 and carved out a respected niche in the golden era of hip-hop with their unapologetic rhythms and streetwise lyrical style. Though they never quite broke into the mainstream spotlight the way some of their contemporaries did, Funkdoobiest remains a beloved piece of that early-90s West Coast underground tapestry, a reminder that real hip-hop was always about the funk beneath the fire.
