Snoop Dogg is Long Beach’s renaissance

man. He has been a crack dealer, a

gang banger, a gangsta rapper, a comedy

show host, a pornographer, a marijuana

enthusiast, and, more recently, a reality

television star. Part of Snoop Dogg’s appeal

is that he is a pop culture icon who

seems to defy logic with his resiliency and

profile in the rap game. Snoop is just as

visible now as he was in 1992, when he

was the runaway guest star of Dr. Dre’s

west coast classic “The Chronic.” That

said, the question of whether you’ll enjoy

“Ego Trippin’” is dependent upon what

you’re looking for. If you want another

“Doggystyle,” you’re shit out of luck. But

for the lovers of the new-age Snoop Dogg,

this album is his greatest stretch into the

creative unknown yet. The production

and lyrical material are sometimes wildly

inconsistent, but the album still manages

to be decent, and in any case, it’s definitely

worth a listen for all fans of the D-Odouble-

G.

Case in point is “Sexual Eruption,”

the anointed radio single of the wonder

that is “Ego Trippin’.” While the song is

certainly unique, the video is a complete

mindfuck. What is with the voice box and

retro outfits? What are all these smoke

machines and Van Buren-esque mutton

chops doing in my gangsta rap video?

How did Snoop’s bed gain the momentum

to break Earth’s gravitational pull?

Snoop Dogg has made the unusual

decision at this part of his career to resurrect

the spirit of the Zapp Band—an

80s electro-funk phenomenon. A lot of

the production on this album is a soup

of keyboards and soul samples, syrupy

R&B crooners, and cheesy synthesizer

grooves—a collage of post-gangsta postcrunk

electro experimentation. The video

for “Sensual Seduction” takes itself only

half-seriously; depending on your opinion,

it’s either the dumbest move in the

man’s career or a hilarious retro homage

to the important figures of pre-hip-hop.

The 21 tracks on “Ego Trippin’” are a

generous helping of Snoop, which is both

a good and bad thing. There are a number

of good songs, such as “Press Play,” on

which DJ Quik samples funk legends The

Isley Brothers. The brass and background

vocals mesh well with the dependably laconic

Snoop Dogg drawl that we all know

and love. There’s also “Neva Have 2 Worry,”

a surprisingly deep and mature piece

about everywhere Snoop Dogg has been

in the game. Turns out, he’s changed record

labels multiple times and even beaten

a murder charge: “I fought that case,

wonder where the West would be if I’d

have lost that case / I slowed mine down,

swimming with the sharks and I almost

drowned.”

On the other hand, “Ego Trippin’” tries

to experiment with genre in too many

ways and ends up producing some huge

bombs. Take “My Medicine,” a Johnny

Cash cover with strumming guitars that

are unafraid to admit they’re country: no

irony here. Sorry Snoop; you’re just not

ready for Nashville yet.

It also doesn’t help that the song is

immediately followed by “Ridin’ in my

Chevy,” a straight hip-hop track with

stuttering hi-hats that are more Lil’ Jon

than Johnny Cash. Nor does it make sense

that Snoop raps about being gangsta and

scooping honeys immediately before discussing

middle age and his past marital

problems with wife Shante. The album’s

diverse styles succeed in some ways and

fail utterly in others.

All in all, “Ego Trippin’” is a decent album,

and certainly the strangest one that

Snoop Dogg has ever made. The tracks

could have been selected more carefully,

and the album should have been shorter.

Despite these flaws, the production on

this album succeeds in being fantastically

experimental and retro at the same time.

It’s worth your listening attention, but

only if you’re willing to give Snoop Dogg

a chance to work his game on you.