Matson on Music
Music news, concert reviews, analysis and opinion by music writer Andrew Matson.
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa album shows rappers in the zone
Posted by Andrew Matson
Warning: swearing
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa "Mac and Devin go to High School" (Atlantic)
There is a certain excellence that can only be reached by not trying too hard. Stop worrying about the physics of basketball, for example, and let your body float — and all of a sudden you're making consecutive three-pointers. Athletes call it 'the zone." Rappers Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa live there, every day. But these pimpish marijuana enthusiasts are even more locked-in on their new album "Mac and Devin go to High School," perhaps because the stakes have never been lower: it's a soundtrack to a movie that isn't out and might never be released. The result is an appealingly Zen-like album from rap's current Cheech and Chong. Standout tracks include "I Get Lifted," "Let's Go Study" and "OG" (feat. Curren$y), where the lyrics hover in weed/sex territory, and the rappers match the lush, lounge-y music with their deliveries. Other emcees might try harder over sought-after production by Drumma Boy, Cardo, Exile, Warren G, Nottz, The Smeezingtons and Seattle's Jake One, but Snoop and Wiz aren't the most technical rappers anyway, and wisely let the tracks breathe.
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