THE DR. IS OUT

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Tupac Shakur is dead, but gangsta rap isn't. Yet. Shakur's posthumous CD, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which he recorded under the name Makaveli, entered the Billboard charts at No. 1. Last week Snoop Doggy Dogg released his new CD, Tha Doggfather, another likely big seller.

But neither of these albums, both on Death Row Records, delivers the goods. The 7 Day Theory boasts complex production and some great tunes but is overwhelmed by exhausted gangsta imagery. As for Tha Doggfather, some of the songs have a narcotic seductiveness, and Snoop slips in a few positive messages. But much of the album is boorish and boring.

One reason is that Snoop's innovative ex-producer, Dr. Dre, has moved beyond Snoop, beyond gangsta rap (a genre he helped found) and beyond Death Row Records for a new venture: Aftermath Entertainment, a label that will explore genres like soul and pop. Dre's new CD, Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath (out Nov. 26), features performers from his label, from soul singers Kim Summerson and RC to rappers Nowl and Sharief.

Dre, who produced the CD, gives all the music gangsta grit--minus much of the usual gangsta venom. Dre contributes one solo performance on the record, the brooding Been There Done That, which takes a swipe at the gangsta genre. "I try out some different things on this album," Dre says. "Yeah. It will surprise some people." --C.J.F.