Snoop is Slippin'

Not much of a rap fan but I do love Snoop and this was dirt cheap ($6.99) for whatever reason, in a sale bin along with a couple vinyl samplers, another rapper I forget, and Janet Jackson's last 4 albums. All sealed, perfect condition.. Janet's were also double albums, and all $5.99 with multiple copies of each. The samplers were .99 cents, I picked up each of them and Snoop. Sorry Janet, as nice as the albums look, I just know I'd never listen to ya.

I know this isn't the best Snoop album, and probably the worst received by long-time fans, but it is a pretty sweet, laid back set. As with most of his albums, it's packed tight with too many grooves where the best cuts get no room to breathe. Only a few of the 21 cuts even make it past the 4 minute mark.

My fave tracks: Waste of Time with nice vocals by Raphael Saadiq; a good (not great) cover of The Time's Cool; Sets Up, SD Is Out. Let It Out is excellent but buried under the albums 3 worst tracks and a 4th just ok (Been Around Da World), then followed by a tribute to Johnny Cash featuring Everlast- which is 10 times better than Snoop's contribution to I Walk The Line from the Johnny Cash Remix album. Problem is, it's more Everlast's style than Snoop's- so it seems too out of place here. Can't Say Goodbye with Charlie Wilson is the perfect last track. If they had let the songs One Chance (Make It Good), and Gangsta Like Me stretch into longer grooves, this could have been a much better set. Until you get into the ghost writing bit...

It doesn't matter to me he didn't write some of the stuff here- seems only natural considering how much of the music tracks are built from samples they didn't write either. The end product is more important to my ears. But rap fans, and long-time Snoop fans don't seem to feel the same way. What's not cool to me is that except for three tracks noting their major guest vocalist, there's not a credit of any kind listed. The inner sleeves are just die-cut paper cheapies, and the jacket is very flimsy.

SnoopDogg.com