Snoop Dogg has been an icon in the rap game dating back to 1992, and he has continued to show his longevity, releasing music over 30 years later. The 53-year-old’s discography is filled to the brim with over 75 different albums spanning three decades. Snoop is known for his more chilled-out version of “gangster rap,” and his newest album, “Missionary,” doesn’t disappoint. “Missionary” was released Dec. 13, and is a nice, medium-sized bundle of 16 songs with a run time of 46 minutes. I had such a fun time listening to this album.
Snoop Dogg has continued to be in the spotlight after all these years, and he is still finding ways to be the topic of conversation. Throughout 2024, Snoop has been all over the place, appearing on “College Football Gameday,” the 2024 Summer Olympics and even in the popular video game “Fortnite” where he had his own virtual performance. To finish off his great year, he decided to release “Missionary.” Snoop dominates the vocals and proves he can still hang with the best in the game. The track “Thank You” caught my attention due to its upbeat and fun nature. During the chorus of the song, Snoop sings, “thank you for letting me be myself again, Can we get high-ya-yigh-yigh-yigh? Please excuse me while I kiss the sky.” The part I love about this song is that it’s Snoop’s way of showing he hasn’t changed. He has continued to stay true to his roots and not switch up even after all of his time in the spotlight. Also helping produce “Thank You” is Dr. Dre, who ties in with Snoop all the way back to the beginning of Death Row Records. He has helped produce some of Snoop’s greatest hits. Dr. Dre continued to uplift Snoop with his amazing music production, and together they created something great.
Another song that amazes me is “Last Dance With Mary Jane.” Snoop brings Dr. Dre on again while also including current and former icons Jelly Roll and Tom Petty, respectively. When I looked at the tracklist, I was astonished that Snoop Dogg made a song with Jelly Roll and Tom Petty due to their wildly different styles of music, but after listening, I was not disappointed. Now, obviously, everyone knows what Snoop Dogg’s favorite pastime is and he continues to incorporate this into his music. To open the piece, Snoop sings, “don’t bother asking me to ever give my lady up…It was love at first light, I fell in love the first night.” This immediately screams Snoop Dogg and demonstrates his playful style of writing. Another concept I appreciate is the duality between Snoop and Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll’s opening lines begin with, “I’ve seen some things in my life…I’m saying goodbye to the dangerous side.” Snoop Dogg is known for his love of marijuana and Jelly Roll is a strong advocate for recovering addicts. The way these two mesh together in this song is outstanding, as they’re two people who come from two different views on experiences with substances. Snoop’s raspier tone of voice and Jelly Roll’s amazing country twang lead to an excellent song about two humans speaking about their experiences.
Snoop dips even more into other areas of music on “Gorgeous feat. Jhene Aiko.” Aiko, known for her very melodic and alluring sound in R&B, brings those aspects to the table in this song. Snoop’s voice fits perfectly into this kind of medium-paced, instrument-heavy beat. The way Snoop whispers, yet is so vocally clear, pairs great with Aiko’s singing voice. The piano and chime-like sounds elevate this song and reminds me of a lot of mainstream music while keeping its own originality.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have always been seen as an all-time rap duo. In a Drink Champs interview, they talked about their love and respect for each other. Dr. Dre spoke about how he doesn’t work for just anyone and said, “Snoop is my brother, we just go in the studio and work. We don’t even talk about money.” Dre produced one of Snoop’s very first albums, “Doggystyle” back in 1993 and has circled back to work on this album. In “Missionary” they reunite with Dr. Dre taking the production route and helping Snoop explore this new era of music while also keeping the air of G-Funk in mind. G-funk, or “Gangsta rap,” is characterized for its heavy use of synthesizers and bass, and these features still power through.
Overall, this album is great. Snoop has always made great music that you can just turn on and chill out to, and his streak continues here. I found myself bumping my head with almost every song on the track and found myself just enjoying Snoop trying new beats and music while also staying true to G-Funk. Even though a few tracks weren’t the greatest, the album was still amazing and is great background music.
“Missionary”: ★★★★☆
