Just a year after he made a curious detour into faith-based positivity on the gospel-leaning
Bible of Love, veteran West Coast rap icon
Snoop Dogg returned to what he knows best on his 17th official LP,
I Wanna Thank Me. Settling into late-era comfort with a venerated pop culture status that had long surpassed his early G-Funk days, Snoop delivers competent rhymes and familiar street tales that benefit from his inimitable vocal delivery and charm. There's not much here to hail a return-to-form renaissance, but for those in need of a solid dose of the familiar,
I Wanna Thank Me is pure Snoop, complete with sly boasts, smooth production, and nostalgic, kush-loving comforts. Highlights include the personal history lesson of "Let Bygones Be Bygones" and the Crips anthem "Blue Face Hunnids" (with noted Blood YG), as well as a slew of guests such as
Slick Rick,
Swizz Beatz,
Mustard,
Wiz Khalifa,
Ozuna, and the late
Nate Dogg. Upon release,
I Wanna Thank Me debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200. ~ Neil Z. Yeung