Snoop Dogg Gets An Extra Letter Grade For A Time Cover
Nearly every week, we used to round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today’s triumphant return is for the album with the song for that video you liked a few weeks ago: Snoop Dogg’s Ego Trippin’, which hits shelves today:
• “For periods of ‘Ego Trippin’,’ Snoop does sound focused. The first half is chocked with bangers, including a wistful look back at his career, ‘Neva Have 2 Worry,’ and the bass-heavy, Neptunes-helmed, ‘Sets Up.’ But two-thirds in, it’s clear that Snoop has trouble editing himself as he crams in odes to a range of musical influences. ‘Cool’ is an average remake of The Time’s synth-funk party-starter. ‘Staxxx In My Jeans’ meekly mimics the trunk-rattling Southern rap sound and contains an inane, slo-mo hook: ‘My pockets look like Re-Run’s/ your pockets look like Raj.’ Snoop even goes country-western on the Everlast-produced ‘My Medicine.’ However, that track, like most of the disc, is an undeniable good time, and further proof Snoop’s still not wasting his breath.” [San Francisco Chronicle]
• “‘Ego Trippin” isn’t bad, but it is disjointed and a bit jarring for the normally savvy Snoop to trot out so haphazardly. Maybe pushing up the release date to accommodate the success of the single wasn’t the best idea.” [Newsday}
• “Overall, the new CD is redundant and much too long. Studded with a few duds, the CD still offers several cuts that showcase Snoop’s peerless skills on the mike. Refreshing dashes of humor surface here and there. But Ego Trippin mostly comes off as a confused character study. The rapper clearly wants to continue selling the over-the-top gangsta-pimp image. But he wants to show more of the aging hip-hop superstar who’s settling into family life. One side has long been repackaged over and over again; the other seen on Father Hood is still evolving. But on Ego Trippin, he hasn’t quite figured out how to reconcile the two.” [Baltimore Sun]
• “Helped by old-school R&B producer Teddy Riley and other guests, Snoop doesn’t skimp on variety; technologically nostalgic bump-and-grind numbers such as ‘Sexual Eruption’ sit alongside party jams such as a cover of the Time’s ‘Cool’ and one honest-to-goodness country-fried effort titled ‘My Medicine.’ But despite loading the disc’s second half with eccentric gems — ‘Why Did You Leave Me’ and ‘Can’t Say Goodbye,’ with the latter featuring the Gap Band’s Charlie Wilson — Snoop doesn’t sustain the inspired glitter across the album’s span.” [Dallas Morning News]
Snoop Dogg [Official Site]
