I was originally planning on writing full length reviews for both these releases, but the time sort of got away from me and it felt a bit past it to do a full length one each, so instead, I have collated my thoughts on both projects to put them down here and let you know what I think.
For me, the start to 2022 has been pretty exciting and fairly solid. Last month I had the reviews of new albums from Earl Sweatshirt and Cordae and now we have 2 more, and in the next few weeks I will be checking and reviewing the new KXNG Crooked and Joell Ortiz break off project.
Snoop Dogg - BODR
It is crazy if you actually look at the number of projects Snoop has on his streaming platform profiles. It did not surprise me in the slightest to see since I last checked a Snoop project (I Wanna Thank Me' in 2019) that there had been two projects sandwiched inbetween that I had absolutely no idea about. Opening the album we have Snoop rap over a typical G-funk instrumental that we are so accustomed to hearing Snoop over. Unlike when I heard the opening joint on Snoop's 2017 record 'Neva Left' which samples C.R.E.A.M. by Wu-Tang, I knew that although the opening beat had a classic 90's feel to it, the rest of the album would be way more contemporary.
Some of the beats on BODR (stands for 'Back On Death Row' in relation to him taking the ownership of the label) felt slightly cheap, but mostly, I do like what Snoop did with them. He showed some awesome versatility on this record, there were tracks that were super smooth and funky such as 'Coming Back', 'Get this Dick' and 'Snoopy Don't Go'. These moments were soulful and fun. He tried his hand nicely on 'We Don't Gotta Worry No More' with some low-key singing where he holds some nice melodies and cadences. 'Sandwich Bag' had the same backing vocals on the hook as 'Lord Above' by Fat Joe and I was absolutely racking my brain to work out where I had heard them before.
'Conflicted' felt a little like a throw-away from Nas' last 2 albums (he himself features on the song) but either way, this made for one of the harder and more lyrical tracks. The choruses on 'Daddy' and 'Pop Pop' were exciting and energetic and had the most commercial appeal to me, I thought they were catchy from the jump and Snoop letting the younger guys take the reins on them hooks really paid off. I like his work with the sample on the track 'Daddy'.
'Crip Ya Enthusiasm' hahah, if you listen to the track you will know why that song is funny. It is a bit of a meme track but the way the sample is chopped and interpolated is pretty good and makes for a song that has a nice groove and cool flow.
As well as 'Complicated' there were also hard moments for the greazier Hip Hop fans such as 'Jerseys In The Rafters', where The Game supplies another hard feature verse to add to his recent collection.
Overall, this album shows versatility in the correct way and doesn't feel like a bunch of random songs thrown together like his last album did (I Wanna Thank Me). The songs on here are much likely to stick with me. Snoop does a good job at coming across as this cool guy with a smooth flow and decent bars. The fun side of him continues to come across whilst also creating some Hip Hop tracks that contain a good-level of lyricism.
7/10
Star Track - Pop Pop
Big K.R.I.T. - Digital Roses Don't Die
When compared to 'K.R.I.T. IZ HERE' I have much less to say about this newer project, which tells me a fair bit. A smaller project compared to the aforementioned album, but this one is still made of 17 songs, but they are all of a much shorter length. Personally for me, this does not adhere itself to bringing out the best of Krit's music. I like his dialogue like lyrics, his ability to paint pictures in your brain and the nice ways his hooks link with the choruses. There were certainly some amazing moments on Digital Roses Don't Die, but the shorter tracks lacked some of those things that I mentioned as being plus points to Krit's music. Like some of Snoop's album, this album is rooted in funkier basslines and Krit's music contains a range of brass and orchestral instruments to make the music full and exciting. 'Show U Right' had an awesome hook that was fun and vibrant and catchy as hell. The single 'So Cool' was a nice little song. Unsurprisingly, one of my favourite songs was 'Generational - Weighed Down' which was the longest song on the project at 3 minutes 49 seconds. On this track Krit can show off some cool inflections and melodies with his voice and write some captivating material that listeners can vibe to nicely - both parts of this song were brilliant.
Overall, there is some cool production and lyrical moments worth talking about and checking, but I think this does fall quite below the other Krit album that I know - K.R.I.T. IZ HERE. However, because there was still ability on show I will certainly be catching whatever comes out next for Krit.
6/10
Star Track - Show U Right
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