In a recent interview with MTV, Snoop Dogg announced that his next album will not feature any guest appearances. Snoop is currently in the studio with Pharrell Williams working on the album, which is titled- appropriately enough -Ego Trippin’. Being that Snoop had guest appearances on 16 of the 21 tracks on 2006’s Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, this will be quite a departure.
“I’m [gonna] do the whole record, me by myself,†Snoop said. “I don’t want no guest rappers, no singer, nothing. Just Snoop Dogg. I want you to feel me. When I think of all the greats before me … I bought Rakim’s album the other day for the hundredth time, no guest rappers. I bought one of KRS-One’s albums the other day for the hundredth time, no guest rappers.â€
I kind of have mixed feelings about this; although he went a little bit overboard with the number of guest spots on his last album, hearing a different voice in there every now and then helps break the monotony a little bit. And some of the greatest songs in the history of hip hop have come from two (or three) artists working together on a concept and making it come to life. While not all of them were extremely noteworthy or groundbreaking, most of the collabos on Blue Carpet turned out for the better; none of the pairings sounded awkward or forced, and in my opinion, it ended up being one of the best mainstream albums released last year.
On the other hand, artists have become too dependent on guest verses from other artists to sell records these days. Although a lot of collaborative efforts end up working out for the better (including some that might not sound like they would), a lot of times two rappers end up on a song together and it just doesn’t sound right. If the styles are too different, or one rapper strays from his usual style or subject matter to conform to that of the artist whose album he’s appearing on, it just ends up being a disappointment in the long run. And I can’t count the number of times that I’ve gotten my hopes up after seing that an artist rounded up a group of talented emcees for a posse cut, only to be vastly disappointed because everybody came with second-rate verses, or more likely, the beat sucks.
Snoop has a good point- whatever happened to the days when one artist’s talent (alongside some solid production) was enough to carry an entire album? I applaud him for taking a chance on this one to bring some artistry back to the record-making process. We’ll have to wait and see if Snoopy D-oh-double can carry the weight on his own, but based on his experience, alongside the fact that he’ll have one of the best producers in the business manning the boards, I think his chances are pretty good.
And here’s this week’s City Guide
MAY 2ND- EVIDENCE WITH PLANET ASIA & PHIL DA AGONY
Also: DJ REVOLUTION AND "SPECIAL GUESTS"
05/02/2007 10:00 PM - JC FANDANGO CA
1086 N STATE COLLEGE BLVD
ANAHEIM, California
18 & OVER
GROOVETICKETS.COM
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