Sales Are Hot Even in O.C., Where Rap Isn’t

As the nation extends a huge welcome to the Snoop Doggy Dogg album, Orange County is no exception.

“Doggystyle,” the debut album by the controversial rapper from Long Beach, is doing well even in stores where rap isn’t normally all that hot. “This one has more crossover appeal than most rap CDs do,” says Eric Wright, manager of Peer Records in Irvine, a store where alternative rock usually dominates. “There was a lot of buzz about this long before it come out.”

At Tower Records in Brea, general manager David Reyes reports that the CD “was already in the top 10 after the first day of sales.” By the end of the week, Reyes said, not only was “Doggystyle” No. 1 in the store, but about 200 copies had been sold--about 2 1/2 times more than is typical for a best-selling release.

He noted that “Doggystyle” is “hands-down outselling” heavily promoted new albums by Guns N’ Roses, Elton John, Beavis and Butt-head and Metallica. “The anticipation for the Snoop Doggy Dogg was so high,” said Reyes, that “the label didn’t need to do anything--just release it.”

Michelle Thomas, assistant manager at Sam Goody in Santa Ana, attributes the album’s phenomenal start to a combination of factors including the rapper’s past collaborations with hot rapper Dr. Dre, heavy MTV play of “Doggystyle’s” first single, and the publicity surrounding Dogg’s arrest in connection with a slaying in Los Angeles on Aug. 25.

“For two months, we’ve had customers coming in and saying, ‘When’s Snoop coming out, when’s Snoop coming out?,’ ” Thomas said.

At the Wherehouse in Fountain Valley, “Doggystyle” is doing “very well” considering “we’re really not an urban store,” said employee James Dodds. He too attributes the success to a combination of musical and non-musical factors, including several delays of the original release date.

Tempo Music Market in Costa Mesa normally is a big outlet for alternative rock; the new Snoop is running a strong second in sales there to Pearl Jam’s “Vs.” “People have been asking for it for weeks,” said manager Max Munoz.