Link: Official Snoop Dogg Site
The Inside Pulse:
There’s an old sports cliché that says “great players are rarely great coaches”. The reason is obvious, as greatness can’t be taught to a team of players who are only average…it’s just something you’re born with, not something one becomes. Now, no one is saying that Snoop Dogg is a great rapper, but he has enjoyed more success on the mic than all but a handful of living or dead lyricists. Back in 1999, he parlayed his name into his own label, “Dogg House Records” (later rechristened “Doggystyle”, due to copyright concerns). The label has enjoyed mixed success over the years, with Snoop Dogg, himself, providing the big sales, and an ever-changing collection of understudies (most notably, The Eastsidaz) providing only occasional glimpses of retail brilliance. Snoop’s back at it with Welcome to Tha Chuuch: Da Album. He’s gone back to what he knows best and reunited his old Death Row Dogg Pound crew (Daz, Kurupt & Nate Dogg), along with handing out mic time to a handful of newcomers.
Positives:
Fans of the early Death Row Records days will be happy to know that acts like The Lady of Rage, Lil’ ½ Dead and, yes, RBX, are still alive. They’re all here and Rage even spits enough fire on Notorious DPG to make you think that she could still have a future…if she wasn’t already a grandmother. Among the new blood, Tiffany Foxx is the only one who shines here . She’s a clone of glorified rapping sex acts, like Trina or Lil’ Kim, but as a guilty pleasure, she’s tolerable on Shake That, which plays as a sequel to Drop It Like It’s Hot. She’s even better on Can’t Find My Panties, which is obviously empty calories for the ear, but so over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek, that it screams “single” and, at the very least, is an excellent strip club anthem.
Negatives:
There is nothing here that you haven’t heard before. Snoop Dogg rounds up the usual suspects for the generic cut We West Coast. All that’s missing is a Nate Dogg hook, which was apparently saved for the lead single Real Soon. It’s an awkward amalgam that ostensibly serves as a tribute to the late Stanley “Tookie” Williams, but the weird, bubbling beat effect hurts the message. The rest of the album is full of R&B efforts that range from awful to abominable.
Cross-Breed:
It’s the West Coast rap sound from 1998, mixed with the rap soundtrack blueprint from 1994.
Reason to Buy:
Just 13 tracks and less than 60 minutes of mediocre music for $15? Wow…this one’s for Snoop’s friends and family, only.
