Missionary in Bloomington, MN

In an interview leading up to the release of his 20th studio album,
Missionary
, West Coast rap legend
Snoop Dogg
alluded to the record being a sort of unofficial continuation of his 1993 solo debut,
Doggystyle
, with even the title being a self-referential nod to that concept. There's something to this idea, as
brings
Dr. Dre
's high-impact production back to the forefront, and several of the tracks stick to the G-funk formula that made
,
The Chronic
, and anything else
Dre
touched in the early '90s all-time hip-hop classics. It's there in the brief intro track "Fore Play," which flips
the Stylistics
' eerie 1971 minor-key hit "People Make the World Go Round" into a bumping, celebratory opener, and there are also some echoes of the raw excitement of
Snoop
's earliest days on the slow-burning "Gunz n Smoke," with group energy provided by features from
50 Cent
and
Eminem
. Tracks like "Hard Knocks" and "Outta Da Blue" are bass-heavy party starters, and the time-tested pop approach of reworking a rock song in new rap's clothing shows up in the
Sting
-assisted "Another Part of Me" (a tune that loops the riff from
the Police
's "Message in a Bottle" for an anthem designed to move stadium crowds) and "Last Dance with Mary Jane," a song using elements from the
Tom Petty
song "Mary Jane's Last Dance" in a fawning love letter to
's most enduring muse -- weed. Other notable guest stars fill the ranks throughout
, with
Method Man
Jhené Aiko
Alus
, and more all making appearances. ~ Fred Thomas