There aren’t too many rappers who’ve been brazen enough to subtitle anything as “Volume 1”, who actually follow up with a 2, 3 or 4. So, for that alone, Snoop Dogg should get a little credit for droppin’ his second mixtape in a three month span. As you can probably guess, if we’re straining that hard to find praise for this effort…Once again, you can download the 23-tracks at the Official DPG Recordz Site.
Another single from 213 starts us off, as Snoop, Nate and Warren G do their thang over the beat from Tamia’s latest single. I’m Fly is getting ridiculous airplay here on the left coast, but the track is just OK. The chemistry is there, but all the “dizzles” and “fizzles” from G-Dub don’t do it for me.
There are a few unexpected guest spots that manage to succeed. RBX and newcomer Johnny Chronic come hard as hell on the belligerent posse cut Murder Muthaphucca. David Banner nearly steals the show from Snoop and Nate on Hey Ho with a flow that is refreshingly less bombastic than his usual efforts. Unfortunately, Banner pops up on two of the weaker cuts, which are both basically remixes of already weak joints from Down South: the lazy Like A Pimp and all around awful, This Is The Way We Pimp.
The unnecessary sequels continue on Beautiful, Part II. Snoop’s biggest hit from his Paid The Cost… album wasn’t all that great to begin with, but this time it’s just Charlie Wilson and Pharrell on the mic, which makes this sound like four minutes of hook. Let’s not say too much about the nearly sacrilegious jackin’ of classic beats for the 2K3 versions of C.R.E.A.M. and U Must Learn. Although, the latter features some passable Snoop verses.
Better production can be found on cuts like the smooth, funked-out 4 Tha Money which features tight storytellin’ and a definite James Brown vibe. The lyrical effort falls off a bit on Do It The Most, but again, the production is able to carry this one for the most part. Getaway is the best cut on the album, as it’s the only one that manages to combine the best of both the rhymes and production. It’s probably no coincidence that it’s one of the few times Snoop rides solo.
The supporting cast of Snoop’s record label has shown flashes of potential in the past, but that kind of work isn’t found too often here. E-White doesn’t get much to work with on Givin’ It Up. Meanwhile, LaToiya Williams really needs to get off’a this label and find someone who knows how to use her better than on the simplistic Love. The lyrical nadir, however, is a female called Pinky. When she’s not spittin’ over some leftovers from Snoop’s failed Doggy’s Angels act (Oh Fa Sho), she’s takin’ the rhyme bar to new lows with lines like this one from Succ Me:
F*ck around and you gonna kiss ground like Pope.
It’s good to know that His Holiness and Pinky are tight enough that she can drop “The” from his name.
