Album Review: Snoop Dogg – The Doggumentary

With twenty plus years in the game under his belt, the big boss dogg is still going strong as he drops his eleventh album, The Doggumentary. The Doggumentary is a well-balanced album that offers something for everyone from casual radio listeners to old school G-Funk junkies. This is easily Snoop’s most complete body of work since 2006’s The Blue Carpet Treatment, and arguably one of his better albums since the 1993 classic Doggystyle.

America has witnessed Snoop Dogg evolve from a controversial West Coast weed smoking MC (who was once on trial for murder) to a fundamental figure in popular culture who has appeared in everything from blockbuster comedy films to soft drink commercials.  As his career has taken a more mainstream route, so has his music.  As a result Snoop has gained a whole new fan base that branches outside of the world of Hip Hop and into the world of Pop.  On The Doggumentary, he laces those poppy fans with numerous songs blatantly built for the radio as he enlists hook masters such as R. Kelly on “Platinum” and T-Pain for the single “Boom”.  That’s not to mention songs like “Wet” and “El Lay.” Snoop also has a joint with his new smoking pal Wiz Khalifa called “The Weed Iz Mine,” which contains a head-bouncing beat that blends Snoop’s trademark style with Wiz’s scorching hot swag perfectly.  This is a good song to sit back and listen to while you burn one to the face.

But don’t get it twisted – unlike his previous two albums, which primarily consisted of mainstream garbage, the Doggfather does not discriminate against any of his true fans on The Doggumentary. Snoop gets uncharacteristically nostalgic on the album with songs like “My Own Way”, “Cold Game” and “The Way Life Used To Be” giving old school fans that classic Snoop Dogg fix they’d been feigning for years.  One of the best examples of Snoop Dogg really getting back to his musical roots is found on the track “Wonder What It Do” featuring Uncle Chucc.  This song really takes listeners back to the G funk era and probably has Nate Dogg smiling down from heaven. Snoop continues to roll out the A-list of cameos with “Take U Home” featuring West Coast legends Too $hort and Daz. He also enlists Young Jeezy and E-40 for “My Fucn House.”   One song that both Hip-Hop heads and top 100 fans can bump is “I Don’t Need No B*tch” featuring Devin The Dude and Kobe Honeycutt.  Snoop gives listeners that authentic player music with “I Don’t Need No B*tch” as the song can be exemplified with the clever line from his first verse, “I preach pimpin’ not pussy”. Another track that everyone is sure to enjoy is “Eyez Closed” which features a familiar verse from Kanye West and John Legend on the chorus.  Kanye West fans will recognize this song as a release from Ye’s G.O.O.D. Friday series, which featured collaborations courtesy of everyone from Elton John to Swizz Beatz.  However one artist that even Kanye hasn’t worked with is country legend Willie Nelson.   Snoop Dogg is the only rap artist to collaborate with Nelson, and he has done so multiple times.  Willie is featured on the seventeenth song on The Doggumentary called “Superman”.  Surprisingly, “Superman” is a legitimately enjoyable unlike, and not one done for bragging rights like their first duet “My Medicine.”  “Superman” is a commendable track that displays Snoop Dogg’s diversity as well as his courage as an artist.

The Doggumentary consists of twenty one tracks so one is inevitably going to find songs that they do not fancy. However there is sure to be something you will enjoy as D-O-Double-G dishes out a little something for everyone. In an era where left coast Hip Hop is making somewhat of a comeback, the Big Boss Dogg shows why he has held down the Westside for multiple decades and still continues to do so.

3.5 Mics Out Of 5

Purchase The Doggumentary On Itunes