- Music
- 03 May 11
A million canine puns later, Snoop still has a few teeth left
Surprising as it may sound, actor, celebrity, porno producer, WWE wrestling guest-star, football coach and BFF of David Beckham, the venerable Mr. Snoop Dogg actually makes music in his spare time too (I know, right..?). In fact, Doggumentary is his 11th album. Comprising of a sprawling 21 tracks, the star-studded record features collaborations from the likes of Bootsy Collins, Young Jeezy, Kanye West, R. Kelly and John Legend and is an undeniably entertaining project from one of hip hop’s most enduring icons.
These days it’s hard not to be charmed by the character of Big Snoop Dogg though, and the rapper formerly known as Calvin Broadus has grown to become everyone’s favourite guilty pleasure over the last couple of decades. Doggumentary goes a long way in helping to cement his status as one of hip-hop’s more entertaining voices, but perhaps more importantly it also proves that after 20 years in the business he’s still got some surprises up his sleeve. A cartoonish concoction of 70s soul, funk, traditional hip hop and pop, nearly every track is a potential hit single in the making. But it’s his blues and country tinged effort with Willie Nelson (‘Superman’) and raga influenced work with Gorillaz (‘Sumthing Like This Night’) that particularly stand out affording us a rare glimpse at a side of Snoop we haven’t seen in while – a bona fide songwriter in his own right.