New Snoop Dogg CD Continues His Downward Spiral
Ego Trippin' Shows No Growth From One of Rap's Biggest Stars
Oct 11, 2008
Once upon a time -- i.e., in the infancy of gangsta rap -- Snoop Doggy Dogg made his debut on Dr. Dre's The Chronic CD and took the music world by storm. His lyrics about urban life on the west coast, directly influenced by Dre and his N.W.A. colleagues (Ice Cube, Ren, DJ Yella, and Easy-E), brought previouslyy unheard stories to the ears of rap fans -- and haters -- across the country.
His delivery was marked by a southernesque drawl theat added charm and likability to his songs, making everything he said seem cooler than it actually was. To complement that voice, Dre' created a series of irrestible beats that echoed the party vibes of seventies funk bands such as Parliament (at a time when most East Coast rap groups seemed content with James Brown samples). The future looked boundless for the rapper, who eventually shortened his moniker to Snoop Dogg.
But alas, something happened on the way to rap immortality. The hip-hop game evolved, and many of his contemporaries did the same. Snoop Dogg, on the other hand, opted to remain in his comfort zone, Instead of growing as an artist, he depended on funky beats to compensate for a lyrical repertoire that had dwindled to spelling "woman" with a b and adding a syllable to the word, as though his voice could make any utterance cool. Over time, that process only continued until eventually Snoop unintentionally became a parody of himself. Before our very ears, the coolest cat since Shaft had morphed into Pootie Tang.
Ego Trippin', Snoop Dogg's newest release, offers little promise of an end to that trend. The beats are as solid as ever, but the lyrics fail to match the quality of the beats. Snoop enlists several guest collaborators -- including Kurupt, Everlast, Charlie Wilson, and Pharrell Williams -- but none of them sufficiently distract the listener from the album's lyrical shortcomings.
In the album's most symbolic track, Snoop Dogg fails to consider the distinction between a remake and a rip-off; his attempt to cover The Time's "Cool" seems a desperate attempt to maintain his cultural credibility -- and it fails in that it only makes the listener want to hear the original song.
Professor Arrington's Grade
Not even a set of quality beats and experienced collaborators can save this album from a failing grade. Snoop earns an F for excessive ego trippin' and for forgetting the potential for his genre to produce important, high-quality music..
