Dr. Dre has been by Snoop Dogg’s side since the start of the rapper’s more than 30-year career, which started with the release of Snoop’s 1993 debut album Doggystyle. Now, fresh off the 30th anniversary of the album that instantly put him on the map thanks to his debut single “Gin and Juice” and other Dre-produced hits, the longtime collaborators have joined forces once again on his new album, Missionary.
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Featuring previously released singles “Gorgeous” featuring Jhené Aiko, “Outta da Blue” featuring Alus, and “Another Part of Me” featuring Sting. The 15-track feature-heavy project also includes collaborations with BJ the Chicago Kid on “Fore Play” and “Now or Never,” Tom Petty and Jelly Roll on “Last Dance with Mary Jane,” K.A.A.N. on both “Pressure” and “Sticky Situation,” the latter of which also features Cocoa Sarai, who also shows up on a track called “Fire.”
The album also sees Method Man and Smitty team up with Dre and Snoop on “Skyscrapers,” Other Dre signees 50 Cent and Eminem lend a hand on “Gunz n Smoke,” and Dem Jointz, Stalone, and Fat Money collab on “Gangsta Pose.”
When speaking about teaming up with Dr. Dre once again, on what marks his milestone 20th studio album, Snoop said that Dre was able to bring out a new side of him as an artist. “When you hear what we have and how he’s got me rapping, it's like a grown Snoop Dogg. There's some growth to him. It's the way he selects his bars, it's the way he uses his voice,” he shared in third person on the All the Smoke podcast back in January.
He also noted that Dre “uses me like a f***ing robot, and I love it because I love to be produced. I love to be challenged.”
“If I’m being produced, we’re creating this piece together, and this s*** is masterful because my voice is a part of your music. It is actually an instrument, as opposed to it just bouncing around the track. Use my voice like a f***ing instrument. Let me be a part of the music,” Snoop went on, adding that all of his collaborations with Dr. Dre have been as such. “Every song that you’ve ever heard from Dre and Snoop, my voice is never on top; it’s always in there because it’s an instrument. That’s what he’s doing. He’s using me as an instrument right now to create this masterful album.”
As Snoop's ever-growing empire and career has expanded to avenues outside of the music realm. Between team-ups with Martha Stewart to his Olympic torch-carrying and correspondent pursuits. Snoop’s reunion with Dre came, about after the producer noticed that the rapper’s music needed to once again match the same level Snoop had reached with his other pursuits and products.
“[Dre] was watching me in the entertainment world and figuring that my music hand ain’t matching my entertainment hand,” Snoop recently told The Associated Press. “He wanted to put music back in the foreground with his production, leadership, and guidance on the project.”
Listen to Missionary below.