By Julian Kimble
Over the course of two decades, Snoop Dogg’s adaptability has allowed him to move from the G-funk of
"Gin and Juice" to the sweaty club anthems of "Down 4 My N’s" to the reggae of Snoop Lion. His voice
sounds good over all kinds of production, but some of his best late-period work has come when
collaborating with the Neptunes. The success of "Beautiful" established Snoop, the Neptunes, and Charlie
Wilson as a powerful team, and led to the Virginia producers contributing several tracks (including the
chart-topping "Drop It Like It’s Hot") to his 2004 album, R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. With
Bush, fans who might have yearned for a Snoop album produced entirely by the Neptunes at the time
(almost) get their wish: Pharrell Williams handles the boards here, with occasional assistance from his former
production partner Chad Hugo.
Bush was conceived as a tribute to the funk and R&B of the 1970s, and the familiar wail of Stevie Wonder’s
harmonica on the stand-out opener, "California Roll", establishes the mood. Over an instrumental as
smooth as a ride down Rodeo Drive on an 85-degree day, Snoop's croon is convincing enough to sell lines
like “So if you wanna go to Melrose/ Let’s hit Adidas, girl, we got our own shell toes." Pharrell positions L.A.
as the nucleus of luxury and vice ("Baby you can be a movie star/ Get yourself a medical card, yeah/
‘Cause that’s how California rolls") on the sticky hook, and Wonder accents P’s trademark falsetto with
background vocals.
Both Snoop and Pharrell are products of the '70s, so it makes sense that they'd embrace the ambiance of
the music they grew up l istening to, and that they'd be pretty good at it. The mood holds from the bubbly
disco of "R U A Freak" to the Nile Rodgers-inspired guitar work on "Awake", a song that brings to mind the
second wind you get during a party’s final 20 minutes. On "Peaches N Cream", Snoop, Pharrell, and Wilson
combine once again for an infectious retro-funk fusion. From start to finish, Bush is a feel-good record.
Snoop has said that he tapped Pharrell for creative guidance because he wanted a cohesive sound for
the album. At just 41 minutes long, Bush is indeed an easy listen, but the songs also bleed together. "I Knew
That", for example, opens with the same motif as the one used on the superior "Peaches N Cream". And
although the album features just 10 songs, it feels like there are only about six. Bush is designed to function
as an old funk record that you can let run for an entire party’s duration, but its uniformity might make it less
appealing over the long haul.
Still, it makes sense for Snoop to be making this type of music at this stage of his career, as he approaches
his mid-forties and rap recedes into his past. The music puts past images of him grooving to Bootsy Collins
while stoned in Baby Boy or dancing to Funkadelic in The Wash in perspective—funk has long been his
lifeblood. So while Bush is strong enough musically, you can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if
this crew had followed R&G with a full-length a decade ago, when everyone involved was still in his prime.
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