I’m concerned about the future of hip hop. I mean, I recently heard the genre compared to disco. Yikes. A survey of the current landscape doesn’t exactly inspire hope, either, as a serious lack of creativity and innovation seems to be the rule rather than the exception. Enter Bigg Snoop Dogg: newly minted creative chairman of Priority Records, looking much like a rap elder statesman and part of the record exec set reserved for living legends.

Snoop is fresh out with his 10th studio album, Malice N Wonderland, but if you’re looking for a game-changer — or for the D-O double G to shine the way forward — you will probably be disappointed. This is a steady, cohesive and mature album from a seasoned hip-hop veteran. The beats don’t stray far from middle of the road, running the gamut from R & B chill, to club jams (with only one auto-tune track — that’s a start) but I wouldn’t say they’re much more than mediocre. The rhymes are classic Snoop: smokin’ blunts, pimpin’, getting at ho’s, hatin’ on haters, stackin’ that cash and keepin’ it gangsta, and uniformly delivered in that patented smooth delivery that’ll never get old.

Given his influence on rap and lasting impression on fans, people will always be curious about what Snoop is up to and willing to give him a chance. That said, it seems like the game really needs him right now and I’m not sure this album delivers in that regard.
Although, you know, the more I think about it, maybe Snoop’s steady hand on the gat is exactly what hip hop needs right now.

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