Quick, name all of the established solo rap acts that have been in the game for 10 years or more and have never released a sub-platinum album. Snoop (Doggy) Dogg has gone through a variety of personas since he debuted with Dr. Dre on the title track to the Deep Cover Soundtrack in late 1991.
He was the preeminent gangsta rapper of the early ’90s. He then morphed into a mush-mouthed knock-off of Don Corleone. From there, he joined Master P’s No Limit camp to a lukewarm response. Finally, he appears to have settled into a “gangsta-pimp” persona.
During all of these changes, Snoop released five albums that ranged from groundbreaking (1993’sDoggystyle) to garbage (1998’s Da Game is to be Sold…). That brings us to Snoop’s latest: Paid The Cost To Be The Bo$$.
Snoop brings the heat with an album that effortlessly blends the familiar gangsta vibe with a nod to old school 1970s funk. Exhibit A is the first single, From Tha Chuuch To Da Palace, which features typically top-notch production from the Neptunes and a guest appearance from Pharrell.
Possibilities for the second single can come from numerous other cuts. From Long Beach to Brick City features a solid Redman verse and a chorus blessed by Nate Dogg. The One and Only is a track that you have to listen to more than once as it contains very brief snippets of production from some recent and classic hip hop joints, including hits from Ice-T, Dr. Dre and NWA.
Batman and Robin is even more unique and surprisingly, the best cut on the album. The incredibly underrated Lady of Rage rides shotgun with Snoop over a sample of the old 1960’s Batman TV theme while doling out justice against the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery. Trust me, you have to hear it to believe it.
On Pimp Slapp’d, Snoop goes off on former boss, Suge Knight. As diss tracks go, this one’s just OK, but there are also verbal jabs taken at Kurupt and Xzibit. Snoop also finds time to change up the flow and slide into a more mellow sound on tracks like Ballin’ and I Believe in You. The former features the old school soul of The Dramatics, while the latter serves as an ode to Snoop’s wife and spotlights label mate Latoiya Williams singing backup.
The only real flaws with Paid Tha Cost… are the tracks where Snoop falls into mindless and repetitive subject matter such as I Miss That Bitch. In addition, some of the high profile cameos (Jay-Z and Ludacris, most notably) are pretty much phoned in.
