Tha Blue Carpet Treatment

by

Snoop Dogg

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Snoop Dogg is one of my favorite rappers. I've grown up listening to him since I was a child while he was rhyming on Dr. Dre's "The Chronic". I've even stuck by him when he put out bad albums ("The Game Is Sold...") and when he dropped a decent album ("Paid The Cost..."). "The Blue Carpet Treatment" would probably be his best in over a decade if you ask me.

This album is full of laced beats and good rhymes. "Think About It" comes off real strong from Snoop laced with a dope beat. The radio hit "Thats That..." with R. Kelly gives listeners a nice R&B tune to listen to. As well as the other hit "I Wanna Love You" with Akon, another hit for this album.

As I said in my title, this is what "Cali Iz Active" should have sounded like. That CD was so horrible and failed to follow it's concept. This album followed what that concept should have been. Most of the guest appearances are form Cali. "Candy" would feature Goldie Loc, MC Eiht, E-40, and The Dogg Pound, and a real nice tune to ride to. "LAX" with Ice Cube is another standout tune that featured a sample from Biggie's "Going Back To Cali" in the hook. I'd say for some reason, my favorite song is toward the end with "Imagine" with Dr. Dre. and D'Angelo. Possibly because that piano laced throughout the song. Snoop would close the album with "Conversations" with Stevie Wonder, showing off that he's trying to get his mind right. Other guests include The Game, B-Real from Cypress Hill, George Clinton, and Kam (where the hell have YOU been Kam???).

Although this is a good CD I've heard from Snoop in a minute, it still has some rough parts. "10 Lil' Crips" sounded kinda weak to me. And I wasn't feeling the song "Beatin' Up On Yo Pads" although it's a positive song about him coaching and playing football, but it's a good song, so I'll make it my honorable mention track.

If you heard that this album was his most consistant since "Doggystyle", you heard correct. We're more than aware that he's not going to drop another one of those albums, but this is a real good one from Snoop. If other west coast artists drop albums like this, we might have the West Coast making a comeback. And being a fan of West Coast rap music, I am more than ready for it. If you thought Snoop fell off, well he gives doubters "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment".

Lyrics: A-

Production: A-

Guest Appearances: A-

Musical Vibes: B

Overall: A-

My Favorite Tracks From This Album: Think About It, Thats That..., Candy (Drippin' Like Water), Gangbangn 101, LAX, Which One Of You, I Wanna [Love] You, Psst!, Imagine, Converstions

Honorable Mention Track: Beatin' On Yo Pads

Peace Everyone!!

Over the past decade or so Snoop Dogg has become more than a brand than a rapper staring in movies, commercials, his own variety show, even lent his name to a porno, started up his own clothing line including a pet accessory line, hosting his own satellite radio show, starred in video games, and founded the Snoop Youth Football League. But the biggest impact was giving new slang for suburbanite white dudes everywhere to annoy their parents. But among all the extracurricular sometimes his music gets overlooks; most casual music fans probably can't named any of his songs between Jin & Juice and Drop it Like it's Hot. Even Snoop's son fully respects his dad's rapping because when the elder ask him who his favorite lyrist, the Bigg Snoop Dogg wasn't on the list.

The disrespect from Lil' Snoop is the catalyst for Snoop Dogg's latest album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. The title naturally comes from his affiliation to his former gang the Crips who get their own song on the Neptunes produced 10 Lil' Crips. To give his advisories equal airtime, Snoop brings in The Game, a Blood to spit a couple verses on Gangbangin' 101. Longtime producer Dr. Dre shows up behind the boards on four songs and Dre's old running mate Ice Cube drops a couple verses on LAX. And no Snoop album would be complete without a hook from Nate Dogg who lends his trademark baritone for Crazy while Tha Dogg Pound and Kurupt also show up on the album. New collaborators the Neptunes actually deliver a banging track, one of the few this year, and is only heightened by having B-Real of Cypress Hill on the hook.

Snoop Eastwood embraces the new school too as he brings in Akon, who seems to show up on all rap songs lately despite having a voice that sounds like nails on a chalk board, for two songs but he's not as bad as the sorry Jamie Foxx appearance. Damien Marley brings some dancehall to the Timbaland produced Get a Light, another stand out track. Snoop also brings in a catchphrase maker in his own right E-40 for Candy but the two can do much better than the over obvious double entendres that show up on Candy. And regardless of his falling out with Jay-Z, tha Doggfather still collaborates with R. Kelly, straight from the closet, for That's That (Expletive Deleted) which humorously samples the best line from Coming to America.

Tha Blue Carpet Treatment though is way too long at seventy-eight minutes. Plenty of mediocre tracks could have been cut to make a much more complete hour length album. Then they stuck some of the best track at the end including the introspective Imagine which sees Dre step out from behind the boards and takes the mike and D'Angelo on the hook. For the closer, Snoop brings in the legendary Stevie Wonder to rework Have a Talk with God into Conversations. So many rappers sneak in a religious song at the end of their albums, imagine is one would fill up a album with songs like this instead of re-treading the "G" that has overtaken the genre foe over fifteen years.