Posted by Curtis Serafin on May 27 2015

Snoop Dogg has recently revisited the sounds of the 70s in his funk-heavy and 13 ^th studio album, Bush. Snoops's uniform use of Pharrel Williams's production throughout the album gives it a very cohesive sound that continues from the first track to the very last. It boasts big name features from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Rick Ross, and Kendrick Lamar.

The trend of Top 40 hits emulating sounds of "oldies music" has been a popular one this year; what makes Snoop's album unique is that he and Williams grew up during the age of funk. Therefore, they are not cheaply imitating past artists of the genre. The rapper and producer duo have found their golden sound in the familiar mid-range tempo and catchy basslines that dominated the music from their youth.

In this album, Snoop has taken a noticeable step away from a pure hip-hop project: shifting the balance to approximately 75% singing (even if some is noticeably auto tuned). The rest of the music retains his trademark smooth, almost whisper-like, flow. Themes of parties, west coast pride, weed, girls, and money saturate the track list. Standout songs include Awake featuring Charlie Wilson and Peaches N Cream, the latter of which was released as a single with a music video that lasts exactly 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

Kendrick Lamar's verse in I'm Ya Dogg and Stevie Wonder's harmonica playing in California Roll were both note-worthy highlights from the featured artists. While Snoop Dogg flirts with the possible artistic issue of telling a similar story over and over in Bush, the musical background provided by Williams still ensures that songs from this album will easily find their way into you party and pregame playlists.

Give it a listen.