"Actor: Nate Dogg"

• Westside, Tha | DVD | (17/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  This acclaimed movie examines the explosion of the West Coast rap scene and features the very cream of the West Coast rap fraternity. Featuring never before seen live performances from the likes of Tu-Pac and Ice Cube and exclusive full-length videos from Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre. West Coast Rap has become the dominant form of music in America. It has grown from the mean streets of Compton South Central and Long Beach... to the main streets of middle America and beyond. 'Tha Westside'

• Welcome To Death Row | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Welcome to Death Row tells the unauthorised history of the most notorious rap label ever. And what a story it is, with enough blood and betrayal to satiate the Borgias and machinations that would make Machiavelli proud. The rise and fall of Death Row and its power-hungry CEO, Marion "Suge" Knight, makes The Godfather look like a bedtime story. The film centres on the testimony of Michael Harris--also known as "Harry O", as in octopus, because he had his business fingers in so many pies--who provided Suge Knight with the seed money to set up Death Row, and assigned his lawyer David Kenner to oversee the label's business affairs. The film traces the entire controversial history of the label, which at its height was turning over $500 million a year, and the impact it had on not only the music industry but American culture. "It was like working in a prison", says Doug Young, the label's record promoter, of Suge Knight's predilection for hiring gangsters and ex-felons. The film also details the relationship between Death Row and its biggest star, Tupac Shakur, and the effect that Shakur's sudden death in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting had on the label's fortunes (a story told in greater depth in Savidge's film Thug Immortal).Although none of the major players in this drama are represented on tape--Dr Dre and Interscope Records heads Jimmy Iovine and Ted Fields are as conspicuous by their absence as lawyer David Kenner and Suge Knight, the villains of the piece--the producers have unearthed an alarming number of believable behind-the-scenes sources including record promoters, managers, private investigators and former associates and employees of the label. Director Savidge wisely uses talking heads to tell his story, weaving into it a wealth of archive material and previously unseen home-video footage. The epic narrative is split into discrete chapters but, with so much information and opinion flying about, at times the chronology of events becomes confused. Yet this does little to spoil a documentary that goes a long way to revealing the intimate connection between the music industry and organised crime, and the desire for power and glory that drives them both.On the DVD: As if there wasn't enough information to digest in the documentary (which is presented in a clean 1:85.1 anamorphic format), the extra features on the DVD provide even more supplementary evidence. There are outtakes from the interviews used in the main feature, as well as additional interview footage of Snoop Dogg and Harry O. There is uncensored security camera footage of a fight in the lobby of the MGM Grand involving the Death Row entourage that preceded the death of Tupac Shakur by minutes, a music video for "Deep Cover" (the song that launched Snoop Dogg) and a fascinating audio commentary by director Savidge and producers Jeff Scheftel and Stephen A Housden, in which they relate the difficulties encountered in obtaining the trust of those they interviewed and the factors they took into consideration when constructing the film. Savidge recalls that the model they had in mind was the fractured, multi-perspective narrative of Kurosawa's Rashomon. --Chris Campion

• Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle | DVD | (01/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  If nothing else, Doggystyle indicates a remarkable, if not exactly commendable, honesty in the relationship between Snoop Dogg and his fans. Snoop recognises that his absurdly wealthy, sexually indulged, permanently stoned persona is admired chiefly by priapic 14-year-old boys who don't understand why girls won't speak to them, and young men who think a booming car stereo is a signifier of awesome masculinity. He has delivered to these constituencies precisely the kind of video they would want. Doggystyle does not trouble itself with any actual promotional clips or artist interviews. Though Snoop occasionally deigns to wander in front of the camera and mime half-heartedly along to one of his songs, this is essentially a porn film, which is appropriate given that most of what Snoop has recorded in the last few years resembles uncannily the glutinous muzak that usually serves as a soundtrack for such things. It is not without amusement value, wholly inadvertent though this is--the editing of this "Soft" version of Doggystyle, intended to make it saleable in shops which are not patronised exclusively by men in overcoats, occasionally lends the joyless copulations of Snoop's mates a certain comedic appeal. --Andrew Mueller

• 12 From The Streets | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Featuring twelve films in one collection When Thugs Cry: When Thugs Cry examines the struggles of two brothers from Alabama's sticky black clay prarie to rise above ghetto celebrity in the rap music scene and land a major record deal from Chicago's asphalt jungle. Winner Takes All: Two friends growing up in the 'Hood' go their separate ways after a botched robbery. One continues in a life of crime the other swaps sides to become a respected DEA agent and years lat

• Life In 310 | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £8.08   |  Saving you £7.91 (97.90%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hot girls phat cars big stars!! Kick it with Nate Dogg OutKast Truth Hurts Jamie Foxx and Young Rascoe with his hot bikini models on the set of this bangin' video shoot. Watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the sexy 310 Motoring 2005 Calendar model shoot. See tons of celebrity footage from the Super Bowl featuring WC Jeremy Shockey Raphael Saadiq Phil Buchanon Peter Warrick Hits From The Streets Blu Cantrell Warren G Battle Cat Alex Thomas AJ Johnson Rodne