Snoop Dogg

Ego Trippin' (Geffen Records)

By Michael Roberts

published: March 27, 2008

The Snoopster uses his ultra-cool stoner persona to make up for a multitude of sins—and Ego Trippin' will only enhance his increasingly cuddly image. Thanks to his charming obliviousness, Snoop generally gets away with lyrics and arrangements that range from timeworn to ridiculous.

Despite his current reality-show stardom, he's still prone to casual misogyny—e.g., "Bitch get outta line/I put my 'chucks on her throat," from "Press Play." More typical, though, is "Sexual Eruption" (neutered to "Sensual Seduction" for radio); he croons most of the ditty through a Vocoder like an ersatz Roger Troutman, and couplets such as "All that we ever do is play in the sheets/Smoke us a cigarette and go back to sleep" are guffaw-worthy. Fortunately, the D-O-Double-G seems in on the joke, as he is during "My Medicine," a countrified goof he dedicates to Johnny Cash, "a real American gangsta."

Silly? Damn straight—but anyone who thinks it'll hurt Snoop's career must be Trippin'.