When
Snoop Dogg took the Doggystyle 2 title off his planned 2011 release, it was a heads-up to fans that this is not the worthy sequel to his landmark debut. Judging from the highlights, it could have been heading there at one time, but
Doggystyle was filler-free and flowed while
Doggumentary adheres to mixtape standards, dropping all its bangers into one big bowl along with the B-list material. No doubt, the
Yazoo-sampling “Boom” with
T-Pain sits on
Snoop’s top shelf when it comes to pop, and if you crave that crooked West Coast style, "We Rest n Cali" rocks off-kilter, worships at the altar of
Zapp, and sticks both regional hero
Goldie Loc and
P-Funk legend
Bootsy on the track, just so all the elements are in place. The gimmicky “Wet” is a fine follow-up to “Sensual Seduction,” and the surprises are either extremely rewarding this time out (the
Gorillaz collaboration “Sumthin’ Like This Night” is beautifully broken reggae that can lift the listener to a higher plane) or pleasantly amusing (the
Willie Nelson team-up “Superman” is sloppy, front porch, and very cute). Navigating this 21-track session is the hard part, but once fans do the necessary trimming and pull out their favorite 14 or so,
Doggumentary becomes a fine addition to
Snoop’s catalog. ~ David Jeffries