Snoop Dogg – Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
Geffen Records (release date: 11/21/2006)
Rap
As someone who’s followed Snoop Dogg’s career for almost 15 years, I can honestly say that Tha Blue Carpet Treatment is his most anticipated album since Snoop’s Doggystyle debut. There are lots of factors driving the hype (in no particular order):
-The return of Dr. Dre to Snoop’s side for the first time since 1999’s No Limit Top Dogg album.
-An all-star guest list, including R. Kelly, Jaime Foxx, Stevie Wonder and The Game.
-A promised “return to lyricism”, which is odd since lyrical fierceness has never been Snoop’s strong suit.
Pharrell Williams assisted on the first single, “Vato”. Its heart’s in the right place as Snoop attempts to squash the so-called “Black and Brown” beefing in the streets with help from B-Real, but ultimately, the track is enjoyable without being exceptional.
There was some head-scratching from those in the know who wondered why Snoop would choose a “message” track as the first shot fired from his album, but it’s actually one of the few radio-made cuts on the CD. “A B*tch I Knew” (which absolutely ain’t FM-friendly) is a wonderfully raunchy ride through different women of different colors in different SoCal locales.
Nate Dogg helms the hook, while Fred Wreck cements his status as one of the most underrated producers on either coast with the bumping funk of “Crazy”. Meanwhile, Pharrell returns on the beat for “10 Lil’ Crips”. Snoop spins a layered gangbang storyline over a minimalist dirge of a baseline. Not to be outdone, Timbaland takes over the boards on the electrically effective “Get A Light”.
So, let’s get back to the hype.
Dr. Dre hasn’t done much in between teases of Detox and his reunion with Snoop was assumed to be instant goodness. “Round Here” works as a haunting tale of dread and despair. Dre’s use of church bells is a perfect fit for the theme. The other Dre tracks (“Boss’ Life” and “Imagine”) fall flat, though. Akon and a meandering piano beat hinders the former, while that same piano and an annoyingly nasal hook from D’Angelo drags down the latter.
The cameos are also more “miss” than “hit”. The Game is decent on “Gangbangin 101”, but, again, a horrible hook kills this one after the first verse. Ice Cube is just collecting an appearance fee on “LAX”, which is made much, much worse by the repeated sample of Biggie and Puffy from the opening of Big’s “Goin’ Back to Cali” track. And, that R. Kelly cut, “That’s That Sh*t”, is a flaccid failure.
Lyrically, Snoop is better than he usually is, but he’s never really raised the bar to the point where this is an accomplishment or anything.
“Tha Blue Carpet Treatment” isn’t a bad album, so much as it’s more compelling evidence of the inertia that’s enveloped Snoop’s once groundbreaking sound. It’s fun at times and frustrating at others. Production-wise, the album is strong from beginning to end. On the mic, however, Snoop steps aside too many times for too many MCs and never really builds any momentum from track to track.
A decent CD that could’ve (and should’ve) been better.
Rating:
