Snoop Dogg - Malice N Wonderland

Snoop Dogg. Photo / Supplied

Rating: * *

It's not that Snoop is out of hip-hop practice, it's just, well, one can only guess a music mogul like himself has more strings to his bow than just music these days. There are the TV shows, the multimillion-dollar endorsements, and the porn films.

So maybe it's because of these distractions that his 10th album suffers from a lack of creativity and life.

Not since 2002's near-classic Paid Tha Cost To Be Tha Bo$$, which included his inspired duet with Pharrell on Beautiful, has Snoop ever really come close to matching his 1993 debut Doggystyle.

What made him unique was his sleazy charm, and a wry, murderous wit. And it's not that he's lost his personality on Malice N Wonderland. There's nothing wrong with his down and dirty sense of humour on tracks like Gangsta Luv and Pimpin' Aint EZ, the latter of which features some smooth vocal sleaze by R Kelly. But musically it's bogged down by artificial poppy synth, bleepy electronics, and even horrid Euro house that threatens to climax on Pronto (but thankfully never does). Opening tracks I Wanna Rock and 2 Minute Warning are ineffectual - blighted by drab and dated beats - and Secrets, with its sampling of The Romantics' Talking In Your Sleep, is embarrassing.

It's as if he's deliberately taken a more understated approach. But while Snoop is a chilled-yet-staunch chap, he's not renowned for his subtlety and he's at his best when he's in a biting, wry, and piercing mood. More malice needed.