Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Snoop’s latest effort, Ego Trippin, is yet another one in line of the many classic volumes of the Doggfather saga. His career has taken him from having the most hyped debut album ever, as Doggystyle was when it was dropped in ’93; to translating his sexual voraciousness from the mic to the lens with his directorial debut as Michael J. Corleone on his debut adult film, aptly titled “Doggystyle” as well; to now being the poster child for maturation through Hip-Hop on his show “Snoop Dogg’s Fatherhood”.  And yet he always produces albums on pace with the Sinatra’s and Presley’s of the world, and the quality rarely misses a beat. 

As his latest hit single announces, Snoop is always the Life of Da Party (which is a banging track no matter how you flip it), and regardless of who’s behind the boards for Tha Top Dogg, he’s always in command, making the music work for him rather than forcing songs.  I mean, how else could he have made Sexual Eruption?  Rather, who else could have made that song?  It’s this aura that Snoop carries around him like a cloud of thin smoke that eases every song he drops to sound that much more funk’d.  Peep Staxxx in My Jeans and Ridin’ in My Chevy if you wanna know what I mean. 

Not only are his producers on point this time around, but so are his collaborators.  Kurupt comes through with a seemingly effortless chorus that you won’t soon forget on Press Play, one of the many early songs on the album that are dominated by Teddy Riley’s melodic presence.  And anyone that is a fan of real American music must give the Everlast assisted “My Medicine” at least one spin.  If it ain’t a straight up hit, it’s because you’ve yet to hit, ha!

Even though it does clock in at about 80 min with the 21 tracks, Ego Trippin is very succinct in that once he gets A Word Witchya and you Press Play and let a couple of songs go by, you’ll be saying, damn, I ‘Can’t Say Goodbye’.  And although it may be a lame way of describing the listening process for Snoop’s album, if you had a fun day on April 20th this year, then you know what I mean.  Burn it!