ALBUM REVIEW: Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort – Mount Westmore

There’s barely a person alive that doesn’t recognise at least one of the names that make up hip hop’s latest supergroup MOUNT WESTMORE. Comprising SNOOP DOGG, ICE CUBE, E-40 and TOO $HORT, this slew of West Coast legends brings a combined 125 years of experience to an album that bears their names, as if that’s all you really need to know coming into this. To be fair, having sold a combined 100 million records and representing the evolution of gangster rap, they’ve earned something of a pass when it comes to just slapping their names on something before shipping it out the door.

After all, that’s the mentality and the ethos that has seen these formerly controversial figures amass great business empires, applying their entrepreneurial minds to a range of industries. SNOOP DOGG has his own wines, gin, lighters and cereal while also owning the infamous Death Row Records; ICE CUBE has a glittering Hollywood career and the BIG3 basketball league; E-40 has stuck his name on a bunch of drinks and fast food joints; and TOO $HORT runs his own record label. There’s so much business savvy and industry knowledge among this group that MOUNT WESTMORE borders on a foregone conclusion. It’s a wonder it took them this long, to be honest.

But more than that, Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort is the perfect sum of its parts musically as well. They throw everything from G Funk and hyphy to gangsta rap and wider hip-hop into a melting pot that swaggers and teems with street knowledge and hard wrought wisdom. There’s a lot of hometown pride on display, as we’ve grown accustomed to throughout their careers. With SNOOP DOGG and ICE CUBE repping Long Beach and LA, and E-40 and TOO $HORT showing love to the Bay Area, opener California is a bouncing bundle of bravado that pays homage to their hometowns. Meanwhile, Lace You Up speaks more directly to the youth of the area, sharing tales and tips on how to survive and make a name for yourself.

Amidst all the sage advice though, there’s a healthy helping of fun woven throughout Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort. From E-40‘s rapid fire delivery on Activated, to the rallying verses of ICE CUBE on the likes of Free Game and the general production so heavy with bass and 808s, this is an album to get you moving. Ghetto Gutter is a raging banger dripping with squelching basslines and I Got Pull is just an out and out good time. 

For the wealth of experience on offer, the lyricism can fall a little flat and pedestrian, but the vibes are flawless and any shortcomings are overshadowed by an MVP performance from SNOOP DOGG. His ability to switch flows and cadence is at a masterful high and continued proof of his musical resurgence that has seen him step up his game on a technical level in recent years.

All told, Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort is a perfectly serviceable addition to the vast tapestries that make up each individual’s career to date. This won’t necessarily go down as an essential release for any one member, but legends do what legends do and when the legacies are written already, what does it matter?

Rating: 8/10

Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort is out now via Mount Westmore/MNRK Music Group.

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