Review Summary: Excellent production, downright awful lyrics from the Doggfather himself.
Being a fan of hip-hop, I've always gone on and off when it came to Snoop Dogg. I enjoyed his acclaimed debut Doggystyle, especially with songs like "Gin And Juice" that have been consistently played over and over on my iPod. I hated Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told and it actually became the first album I've ever deleted from my iPod, that was indeed terrible. The same can be said for Snoop's career really, a roller-coaster of highs and sheer lows, along with some real mind-boggling twists with his time as Snoop Lion. After going reggae in his last album under that moniker, here he brings to you his latest solo album, as Snoop Dogg at least - the fittingly-titled Bush.
Unlike in Snoop's last outing under his Dogg moniker, 2011's Doggumentary - he is relaxed and cool in his thirteenth album. Being 45 years old and rapping professionally since '91, who wouldn't be? It happens to fit the title of this album, Snoop laying back and 'sniffing' a 'bush' - slang for saying he's cracking a joint. The laid-back atmospheric tone set on Bush fits with the premise of this album, one intended to be more accessible than all of his previous content and to be enjoyed by all. Do you notice the lack of a Parental Advisory label on the album? Out of the many rappers in the game today, I'm pretty surprised to see that Snoop cut any sort of explicit material in this one. Does it work? It works, but in a way it also fails.
Cutting to the chase, a showcase of this 'relaxed' sound is the milky "Peaches N' Cream". First of all, the production is solid - with long-time friend Pharrell Williams being executive producer. However, with the single having some '70s influence with the familiar funky guitar we've heard time and time again from other summer hits such as "Get Lucky". Considering that, the add-on has frankly grown a little too old - as a result coming out as both generic and repetitive, looping in the backdrop. Lyrically, it is undoubtedly the worst Snoop has conceived since his Lion days. Lines like 'she too fly for words/I'm too high for birds' come off as lame and corny, just a complete flop in trying to rap cleanly about cannabis and what we're used to hearing from him. That said, he rarely raps in this album, replacing it mostly with crooning vocals that can be pretty annoying.
While the production is on-point for this final record, it's marred by the sub-par, just downright horrific lyrics in which Snoop throws down. Tracks like the fancy, sun-bathed R&B sound of "California Roll", which features a beautifully-played harmonica piece by none other than Stevie Wonder, showcases the same exact issue that is prominent throughout the album. Lyrics like 'I'm in it, I'm not in it/but Poochie says women' on the peachy "So Many Pros" come off as awkward and just really stupid, taking me back to the days of when I cringed whenever anything from that 1998 disaster of an LP shuffled into my iPod. Oh, the humanity.
When you hear Snoop comparing women to a peach-flavored yogurt parfait in "Peaches N' Cream", it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that he's coming on another low with this album. While the Pharrell-led production is definitely one of the best things to note from Bush, what Snoop conveys lyrically in the bulk of the record is nothing short of horrendous, and in full honesty - just not being himself. To put it all in simplicity, if you're into good R&B beats - this album is for you because it definitely shows. If you're a Snoop fan and into lyrics, it's best to keep yourself away from this one. Not quite as awful as that '98 disaster, but it is as close as it will be to it. Fortunately, he's on another collaboration album with Wiz Khalifa soon for the sequel to Mac And Devin Go To High School coming soon. Hopefully that one fares out better than this sheer disappointment.
