CD Review: More Malice by Snoop Dogg

In December 2009, Snoop Dogg released the full-length album Malice N Wonderland. It was a solid effort from the rapper spawning hits such as "I Wanna Rock," and "Gangsta Luv" featuring The Dream. Just a few months after releasing this album, Snoop returns with the new EP More Malice. Containing mostly new material, More Malice is more of a mixed bag than its predecessor.

More Malice contains eight tracks with five of them being brand-new. Three tracks are repeats from Malice N Wonderland. Two of them are remixes of songs that feature added guest stars ("Gangsta Luv" appears in its original version) . Fresh off The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z makes an appearance on "I Wanna Rock (The Kings G-Mix)." He pays tribute to "It Takes Two" in his verse, which is appropriate since "I Wanna Rock" samples the hip-hop classic.

Bun B joins Soulja Boy Tell 'Em on the G-Mix of "Pronto," one of the worst songs on Malice N Wonderland. Bun B does elevate the proceedings a bit but this track remains pretty bad. The main problem with this song is the terrible chorus by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em. Some voices still sound okay with Auto Tune but Soulja Boy's does not. Any momentum the verses have is killed every time the chorus is played again.

Kid Cudi joins Snoop Dogg on "That Tree," the best of the brand-new tracks. The unlikely duo work well together on this surprisingly fun song fueled by wonderful production by Diplo. "You're Gonna Luv Me" has Snoop showing a bit of his softer side. “So Gangsta” is notable mainly for its appearance by Butch Cassidy who tries mightily to fill Nate Dogg's shoes.

Things take a harder turn on "Protocol" and "House Shoes." Both tracks feature Snoop by himself rapping with no hook for at least three minutes. "Protocol" is more interesting lyrically with a dismissal of rappers who use Auto-Tune ("We hit licks and gang bang / You on some T-Pain shit") and a comment on the lack of recognition for West Coast artists ("How the fuck ya'll gonna keep havin' all these award shows on the West Coast but ain't no mother fuckers from the West Coast winning no awards?"). "House Shoes" has a more interesting sound with some Arabian-style strings mixed with some sparse drums.

While it's nice that More Malice isn't a re-release of Malice N Wonderland, there isn't enough here to warrant a purchase. The G-Mixes are kind of unnecessary especially when one of them is of a bad song. The new songs are the highlights of the release but most of them (apart from "That Tree") don't make much of a real impact. More Malice might be an okay purchase if you get the CD/DVD version or if you want just the singles from Malice N Wonderland. Otherwise, Snoop fans should just buy a download of "That Tree" and wait for his next full-length album.