No One Can Do It Better

No One Can Do It Better
Studio album by The D.O.C.
Released	June 16, 1989
Recorded	1988-1989 at Audio Achievements, Torrance, California
Genre	West Coast hip hop Golden age hip hop
Length	47:59
Label	Ruthless Records Atlantic Recording Corporation
Producer	Dr. Dre, Eazy-E (exec.)
The D.O.C. chronology
No One Can Do It Better (1989) Helter Skelter (1996)
Alternative cover
Inside the booklet of No One Can Do It Better

No One Can Do It Better is The D.O.C.'s debut album, released on June 16, 1989. It reached number-one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for two weeks, while peaking in the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified gold by the RIAA three months after it was released, and platinum on April 21, 1994.^[1] This was the only solo album The D.O.C. was able to record before a car accident resulted in crushing his larynx, permanently changing his voice. He would not release another album until 7 years later, with Helter Skelter (1996).

Album information

Idolizing East Coast acts such as Run-D.M.C., The D.O.C. always showed more of a lyrical style, not talking about guns, drugs and violence. The album received a Parental Advisory sticker because of the final track on the album ("The Grand Finalé"). Most of the songs were influenced and sampled from funk artists such as Marvin Gaye, Parliament, and Funkadelic, but one track in particular was influenced by other genres, "Beautiful But Deadly", a rock-hip hop track, influenced by Run-D.M.C. with a heavy guitar riff throughout the song (it borrows from Funkadelic's Cosmic Slop).

All five then-current members of N.W.A contributed to this album. Beats were produced by Dr. Dre, with Eazy-E being the executive producer and DJ Yella co-producing "The Grand Finalé".^{[citation needed]} Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy all provide vocals for "The Grand Finalé", while Ren also provides vocals for "Comm. 2". Yella performs on "Comm. Blues", "Comm. 2" and "The Grand Finalé" as a drummer.

No One Can Do It Better also features additional vocals by Krazy Dee (who also co-wrote the N.W.A song "Panic Zone" from N.W.A. and the Posse), J. J. Fad, Yomo & Maulkie and Michel'le, who were all part of Ruthless as well. Andre "L.A. Dre" Bolton and Stan "The Guitar Man" Jones, who play keyboards and guitar on some of the tracks respectively, also worked for the label.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
RapReviews	[3]
Artistdirect	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Rhapsody	(Favourable)[6]
Answers.com	[7]
The Source	[8]
dooyoo.com	[9]

No One Can Do It Better was praised by most music critics. Chris Rock ranked No One Can Do It Better 11th on a 2005 list of the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums ever.^[10]

Allmusic - "It's a shame that the D.O.C. never got the chance for a proper follow-up, but in No One Can Do It Better, he at least has one undeniable masterpiece."

RapReviews - "It's hard to adequately describe how much of an unbelievable pleasure it is to listen to "No One Can Do it Better," an album that not only exceeds the expectations anyone had for D.O.C. at the time but which goes down as an unqualified classic in the history of hip-hop."

In 1998, the album was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.

Track listing

Cut Tracks

• "Bridgette" - cut from the album because of the sexual content,^[11] later released on the Dr. Dre bootleg First Round Knock Out

Singles

Chart positions

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1989 (U.S.)

References