The Rundown: Snoop Lion, Reincarnated
A track-by-track review of Snoop's new reggae album.
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The Rundown: Snoop Lion, Reincarnated - Even a year after Snoop Dogg first announced his rebirth as a Rastafarian reggae artist, it's hard to know what to make of it. Following months of leaked singles, Snoop finally presents his new persona in full on Reincarnated, which drops today (April 23), accompanying the documentary of the same name released last month. Is it just a bit of ingenious marketing? Or is it a genuine attempt by one of rap's biggest, most consistently popular household names to turn a new page? Click on to find out with our track-by-track review of Reincarnated. —Alex Gale (Photo: Doggystyle Records)
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"The Rebel Way" - Snoop officially begins his rebirth with "The Rebel Way," which celebrates life's one inevitability — change — and by extension, his transformation into Snoop Lion. "Time is moving fast, can't dwell on the past," he sings in a perfectly passable tenor, with just the slightest hint of Auto-Tune helping him out. Dre Skull (working with Diplo under his Major Lazer moniker) produces, providing a moody pop-roots blend punctuated with guitar skanks and sound effects. (Photo: Vivien Killilea/FilmMagic)
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"Here Comes the King" - Diplo flexes his Major Lazer chops here more blatantly, surrounding the expected reggae guitar chops with a woofer-busting bass warble and electro relishes. But to really enjoy this song, you have to buy into Snoop's new incarnation, and the middle verse, a patois-rap sing-song, tests those limits. We're all for Snoop trying a new positive message and singing, but we're not sure where he got the Jamaican accent. (Photo: Manoj Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Photo By Manoj Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
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"Lighters Up" feat. Mavado and Popcaan - Snoop backs up his reggae aspirations by recruiting dancehall vet Mavado and newcomer Popcaan. Snoop's chanting on the second verse is pretty impressive for a 20-year rap vet, even next to the pros. Diplo's production is the star though, combining a muscular reggae horn line with a creeping guitar-bass line that recalls turn-of-the-millennium Dr. Dre. (Photos from left: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive, Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
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"So Long" feat. Angela Hunte - Diplo's production goes straight vintage roots here, with a live rhythm section and horns — which makes the slight but undeniably synthetic sounding Auto-Tune on Snoop's vocals stand out in an unfortunate way. "Empire State of Mind" co-writer Angela Hunte (who's also credited with co-writing and singing backup on much of this album) sings the hook. The pair's melodies are pleasing, but the relentlessly optimistic philosophical platitudes lay on the cheese a little too thick. (Photos from left: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup, Larry French/Getty Images)
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"Get Away" - Diplo goes to his other wheelhouse — EDM — here. It's straight Major Lazer, with ska horn skanks and chopped synths driving the four-on-the-floor kick pulse. Snoop's singing chops are surprisingly sharp — it's hard to see how this is the guy who debuted with "Deep Cover." (Photo: Matthew Eisman/Getty Images)
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"No Guns Allowed" - Snoop's roots ballad, already released as a single, features his daughter (a pretty decent singer, it turns out) and a Drake verse preaching non-violence over happy keyboard chords. It's well-intentioned, but also corny — in other words, a pretty decent pop single. For all the album's island aspirations, in the end it's really more of a dance mash-up with big crossover potential. (Photos from left: Samir Hussein/Getty Images, Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup, Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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"Fruit Juice" feat. Mr. Vegas - "Fruit Juice" features one of the album's most futuristic, glitchy dancehall beats and a great performance from sweet-voiced reggae vet Mr. Vegas. But Snoop's sharp chanting here is marred by a way over-the-top Jafakin' accent, more so than anywhere else on the album. (Photos from left: Jason Kempin/Getty Images, REUTERS/Christian Charisius /Landov)
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"Smoke the Weed" feat. Collie Buddz - Sampling Michael Palmer's dancehall classic "Don't Smoke the Seed," this song may be the most straight-ahead dope reggae production. Snoop again exceeds low expectations, layering the song's pro-puff sensibilities with environmental activism — as long as you ignore the occasional lazy mistep ("Take care of mother earth, 'cause she be the planet"). (Photos from left: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images, Dominic Chan/WENN.com)
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"Tired of Running" feat. Akon - "Tired of Running" all but amounts to an apology for Snoop's criminal past. "Serving fiends like these people ain't no kin to me, I can't believe I'm out here killing my community," he sings alongside Akon. He even admits to making cops' "job hard." It explains a lot in terms of Snoop's transformation — even if the middle-of-the-road, reggae-by-the-numbers production gets in the way. (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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"The Good Good" feat. Iza Lach - Singing about his marriage, Snoop Lion is reduced to a meow here. From the strangely small production to the meandering melodies and predictable love clichés, this song is syrupy pop reggae that's hard to take serious — even if it does show a rarely seen sweet and romantic side to tha Doggfather. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photo By Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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"Torn Apart" feat. Rita Ora - Diplo (and collaborator John Hill, who's produced for Rihanna and Santigold) gets back on track here with a driving dub production iced with jingle bells, horns and echoing snares. Snoop's singing inexperience stands out here — we can't help but wonder if this is one of the earlier tracks he recorded — but Rita Ora's convincing dancehall queen act saves the day. (Photos from left: David Wolff - Patrick/WireImage, Karl Walter/Getty Images)
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"Ashtrays and Heartbreaks" feat. Miley Cyrus - It would be easy to dismiss this song's obvious pop aspirations, with the radio-ready hook sung by Miley Cyrus, of all people. But it's damn catchy and Miley actually sounds pretty great (who knew?). Though Snoop's reggae impersonation often borders on unintentional satire, the floating melodies and overall great production still make Reincarnated an entertaining pop record at times, as this song in particular shows. (Photos from left: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive, Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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"Boulevard" feat. Jahdan Blakkamoore - Snoop closes the standard edition of the album (there's three more tracks on the deluxe version) by duetting with long slept-on veteran dancehall-rap singer Jahdan. Perhaps inspired by his collaborator, he delivers one of his better singing performances, lamenting street life and once again apparently attempting to make amends for his violent past. (Photo: Ben Rose/PictureGroup)
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"Remedy" feat. Busta Rhymes and Chris Brown - With Diplo getting trappy with the hihats, "Remedy" is the most rap-influenced song on the album. It also features the disc's best patois by a rapper, but unfortunately, it's not by Snoop: Busta, who's a first-generation Jamaican-American, kills it with an acrobatic verse. Sorry Team Breezy: Chris merely backs up Snoop on the hook. (Photos from left: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images, Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET, Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
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"La La La" - Snoop and Diplo pay tribute to slept-on reggae crooner Ken Boothe here, looping the opening bars of his creepy classic "Artibella." It's a nice dose of music history and the smoky psychedelic-dub vibe fits in with well with Snoop's chronic-fueled discography. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images)