The first thing I noticed about the “Doggumentary” track listing was that out of 22 songs, only 4 were done without features. This is becoming an epidemic in Hip-Hop with artists rarely carrying an album on their own weight. The opening track is listed as “featuring Bootsy Collins”, but “Toyz n da Hood” is really a long intro from Bootsy Collins that barely includes Snoop at all. I thought it was odd that Jake One produced the track, but he nailed the Bootsy funk vibe. Is it just me or does Uncle Chucc really sound like John Legend on “Wonder What I Do”? Anyone who has ever dug in the crates will probably recognize the sample ripped from Boz Scaggs “Lowdown” immediately. The producer Battlecat slowed the BPM’s and added some elements, but the rip is lazy and obvious. As far as overall production for the album; I’m interested to dig out all the samples used, as “Doggumentary” is heavy with a lot of different samples used. “Boom” is an obvious rip of Yazoo’s “Situation” which really reminds me of Man Parrish’s “Boogie Down Bronx” (not sure which came first). I’m a fan of sample-based production, but not when it’s just screaming obvious. I would much rather the producers snatch samples from obscure albums and put some effort into flipping the samples into something new – not just recreate an instrumental that is easily recognized. One last tidbit about the production, I found it funny Lex Luger’s “Platinum” almost didn’t make the final cut for the album considering his name has been buzzing so heavy over the last year. Even though “Platinum” is often abused by other music critics, it is one of my top picks from the album.
Out of 22 tracks, I only take 3 away for spins in my mixes: “Wet”, “Platinum” and “GangBang Rookie” which is really highlighted by Jake One’s production and could have been done without the cameo feature from Pilot. “Wet” has a funny background story:
The song was recorded specifically for Prince William's bachelor's party. Snoop's spokespeople bill the song as a sequel to 2007's "Sexual Eruption." Produced by the Cataracs of Far East Movement fame, Snoop spoke of the gift “When I heard the royal family wanted to have me perform in celebration of Prince William’s marriage, I knew I had to give them a little something." He continued, “’Wet’ is the perfect anthem for Prince William or any playa to get the club smokin’."
Overall I am not impressed at all with the album and couldn’t recommend anyone buying this with a straight face. Maybe his west coast audience will take to it since it is definitely geared towards the west coast bounce, but I can’t imagine this album honestly doing well in other regions outside of a couple singles. If everyone would strip away the politics of the game and Snoop’s name wasn’t on this album I think it would flop hard. This will get sales and good reviews on Snoop’s name only. Yeah, I said it.
No comments:
Post a Comment