Remember when Snoop Dogg had skills?

After tantalizing hip-hop fans for a year and a half on collaborations with his mentor Dr. Dre, Snoop (Doggy) Dogg released the most anticipated hip-hop debut of all time, Doggystyle, and didn't disappoint. His laid back, relaxed flow suggested a more menacing version of hip-hop pioneer Slick Rick. Dr. Dre's production was impeccable. We looked forward to many more years of classic hip-hop from the lanky kid from Long Beach.

Then sh*t blew up. There was the murder case. Then Dre left Death Row, Snoop made an awful album for Suge and co., then spilt for then-hot No Limit. As time went on, he managed to deliver a couple of moderately credible albums, but never brought anything new to the table. Same as it's been since 1993, Snoop's favorite topics on wax here:

A) How gangsta he is.
B) Weed.
C) How he don't love dem hoes.

Somewhere along the way, Snoop went from lyrical giant to multimedia icon. He did movies. He did TV. He produced po-no. He appeared on records by everybody and their momma. Snoop went from vaguely menacing to cool and cuddly. His albums, after an initial dip, balanced out quality-wise by the time "Top Dogg" announced his reunion with Dre. While none of the albums since have been classic, they've all been consistent.

On 2002's "Paid Tha Cost To Be The Boss", Snoop realized his biggest hit with "Beautiful". Featuring production from The Neptunes and a video set in Brazil, it was also notable for being something resembling a love song. "Beautiful" sets the template for at least half of Snoop's new album "R&G-The Masterpiece". On this, his seventh studio album, Snoop alternates between gangsta cliche, dance jams, and mellow soul jams that'll make the lay-deez rub their tit-tayz. From a musical standpoint, it's a pretty decent listen, although older hip-hop heads who realize how much of a classic "Doggystyle" was will shed a tear as it looks like Snoop Dogg, lyrical giant, has disappeared for good.

On this album, The Neptunes handle the production for about 40% of the tunes, and their songs are more musical than most of the rest of the album, owing a huge debt to late 70s/early 80s soul. That excludes the first single, the decidedly minimalist "Drop It's Like It Hot". It's not much of a song, but it's unbelievably catchy and danceable. "Let's Get Blown" has a mellow, summery appeal. Snoop raps melodically, while Pharrell re-creates Slave's early-80's roller-skating jam "Watching You" (a song Snoop recreates for the second time-it also created the melodic structure for the chorus of "Gin & Juice"). "Perfect" establishes itself as "Beautiful" part two. Snoop kisses up to the ladies, and The Gap Band's Charlie Wilson swoops in with the chorus and lots of vocal ad-libbing. Wilson (and a highly caffeinated horn section) returns for the super-upbeat "Signs". This song also features Justin Timberlake crooning "don't f*ck with me!" in squealing falsetto.

Elsewhere, Lil Jon & Trina join in for the raucous "Step Ya Game Up"-a song I'm completely ashamed to admit that I like. Over a typical Lil' Jon "crunk & B" beat, Snoop, Trina and Jon himself drop absolutely ribald lyrics such as "turn around b*tch, pit that *ss on a n&gga!/grind on his d*ck, make it grow a little bigger!", culminating in shouts of "chuuch, preach, tabernacle!!". Something tells me The Lord would not be proud.

All the female *ss kissing makes Snoop's stumbles into misogny sound humorous. "Can U Control Yo Hoe" features a deliriously whiny chorus by Snoopafly. It's so cartoonish that you can't take it seriously. Never mind the fact that Snoop (multi-tracked to infinity) damn near sings the whole song. Snoop the vocalist returns at the end of the album, doing his best Curtis Mayfield impression on the Hi-Tek produced "No Thang On Me".

"Oh No" begins with the Samuel Jackson "say what again!" speech from "Pulp Fiction" before Snoop joins forces with 50 Cent over swirling synth strings and a dramatically mumbled chorus. It's meant to sound menacing, but any sense of Snoop appearing menacing probably disappeared when he started doing those wireless commercials. And 50 still can't rap. Another bad move is the recruitment of Nelly for the ultra-poppy "Girl Like U", a song that sticks out like a sore thumb on this album.

While this album isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, it just seems a little too much like a retread. Snoop's subject matter remains the same, and although his voice is one of the most unique in hip-hop and he can still flow with the best of them, there's too much of the same-ol' same-ol' on the lyrical tip. The only song where he really tries a different kind of flow is on the Bootsy Collins-assisted "Can I Get A Flicc Wit Chu", where he rocks a sarcastic, almost Eminem-like flow. What ultimately ends up being "R&G"'s saving grace is the production. There's a whole lotta ear candy on this album-from the sped up Andrae Crouch sample that runs through the album's opener "I Came To Give You Light" to the warm vocals of female singer Treasure (who??) on "Promise I", this album would be perfectly fine as an instrumental.

All of this leaves me...enormously conflicted about this album. "R&G" adheres so closely to formula, there's really no good reason to like it. But I do anyway. Why? Snoop has good taste in collaborators (Nelly and 50 aside, you gotta give props to anyone who keeps the likes of Bootsy Collins and Charlie Wilson in his employ), and his sense of humor and charisma remains intact, even if he's spouting variatoions of the same sh*t he was spouting 12 years ago. "R&G" ain't exactly reinventing the wheel, but it's as solid as any of the last 2 or 3 Snoop albums, and that's gotta be good for something. Fo' shizzle.

Michael Speed