Release Date: April 23, 2013
At 41, Snoop Dogg (now the self-renamed Snoop Lion) should have been out of the game a while ago. In the intro to his latest LP, Reincarnated, he alludes to this by solemnly explaining that “many great musicians are lost to death and misunderstanding.” Through all the tribulations of legal trouble and of his failed R&B project, Nine Inch Dicks, Snoop is still here, 12 albums in and 20 years past Doggystyle and the Dr. Dre era. However, he has put his branding genius to the test and gone AWOL on the rap game in favor of Rastafarian incantations.
On the opening track, “Rebel Way,” Snoop says the time we spend on earth is sacred and it’s hard to disagree (as a matter of perspective, not fact). On the contrary, the music hardly feels sacred, despite Snoop rapping about opening his “third eye.” (Maybe he cleaned out his third eye and removed the sleep that accumulated from all his stoned naps?) However, the best moment of “Rebel Way” was the outro, where an ominous guitar riff repeats over Snoop singing, “Do it the rebel way.”
That dissonant energy is uplifted when “Here Comes the King” pops on. Essentially an announcement of Snoop Lion’s kingship, “Here Comes the King” is a good example of the reggae roots sound that Snoop and producer Major Lazer were aiming for. “So Long,” “The Good Good,” and “La La La” also beckon those Rastafarian vibes with brass instruments, the classic palm-muted guitar pluck, and bright organs.
Reincarnation touches on a handful of different genres, working as a sort of showcase of Major Lazers’ skill in the studio.
There are tracks like “Get Away” that pull from the sound of his club music side project, Diplo, and others that fuse dub, if only subtly, to classic Snoop vibes on tracks like “Lighters Up,” “Fruit Juice,” and “Smoke the Weed.”
On “Boulevard,” “No Guns Allowed,” and “Tired of Running,” Snoop brings back even more familiar ideas and sounds that his fans will latch onto. “Remedy” stands out with a nostalgic sound, including an electric ping in the beat that may have been plucked from “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” It hits an early-2000s-rap vibe with its main synth lead and featured artist Busta Rhymes.
Reincarnated may be an outright silly album to some (notably Bunny Wailer), but the man seems genuine in his polar shift from Pimp-Rapper to Rastafarian. It’s an accessible album, so Major Lazer and folks did their job, but it’s not exciting as a 1970s roots reggae tape collection, like Snoop Lion wanted it to be.
Ultimately, the whole thing went out of Snoop’s hands at some point, so it’s hard to lay blame, but one thing is certain: Reincarnated isn’t bringing anything new to the table.
Snoop Lion – Reincarnation tracklist:
- “Rebel Way”
- “Here Comes the King (feat. Angela Hunte)”
- “Lighters Up (feat. Mavado & Popcaan)”
- “So Long (feat. Angela Hunte)”
- “Get Away (feat. Angela Hunte)”
- “No Guns Allowed (feat. Drake & Cori B)”
- “Fruit Juice (feat. Mr. Vegas)”
- “Smoke the Weed (feat. Collie Budz)”
- “Tired of Runnin (feat. Akon)”
- “The Good Good (feat. Iza)”
- “Torn Apart (feat. Rita Ora)”
- “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks (feat. Miley Cyrus)”
- “Boulevard (feat. Jahdan Blakkamoore)”
- “Remedy (feat. Busta Rhymes & Chris Brown)”
- “La La La”
- “Harder Times (feat. Jahdan Blakkamoore)”
