Snoop's long in the works album due in October

NEW YORK - Snoop Dogg has set October 17 as the US release date for his next solo album, Blue Carpet Treatment.

Prospective tracks for the Doggystyle/Geffen disc were previewed for media in New York on July 10. Stevie Wonder, the Game, R. Kelly, Brandy and Daz & Kurupt are among the potential guest artists.

Lead single Vato featuring B. Real of Cypress Hill and production by the Neptunes addresses the conflict between African-Americans and Latinos in certain areas of California. The title is a Spanish slang term meaning "homie."

Snoop has been recording with longtime friend and collaborator Dr. Dre for the past few months, though it is unknown whether any of those tracks will surface on Blue Carpet.

Snoop is in the process of selecting roughly 16 album cuts out of 300 songs he recorded, according to a Doggystyle representative.

"I've been working on (the album) for nine months," the rapper told Billboard last month. "I have so much good material, it's about (figuring out) what I'm going to use on my record."

One confirmed track is the Neptunes-produced So Special featuring Brandy.

In conjunction with the album, Snoop will release the DVD The Adventures of the Blue Carpet Treatment in November. The disc will feature 10 animated videos for songs on the album and for additional tracks.

Snoop is in talks to feature the series on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and plans to leak two or three of the videos on the internet via iTunes or YouTube.

- REUTERS/Billboard