Snoop Dogg has set Oct. 17 as the release date for his next Doggystyle/Geffen solo album, “Blue Carpet Treatment.” Prospective tracks for the new disc were previewed for media in New York yesterday (July 10). Stevie Wonder, the Game, R. Kelly, Brandy and Daz & Kurupt are among the potential guest artists.
The album boasts production by the Neptunes, Timbaland and Rick Rock, among others. Snoop has also been recording with longtime friend and collaborator Dr. Dre for the past few months, though it is unknown whether any of those tracks will surface on “Blue Carpet.”
Lead single “Vato” featuring B. Real of Cypress Hill and production by the Neptunes addresses the conflict between African-Americans and latinos in certain areas of California. The title is a Spanish slang term meaning “homie.”
Snoop is in the process of selecting roughly 16 album cuts out of 300 songs he recorded, according to a Doggystyle representative. “I’ve been working on [the album] for nine months,” the rapper “told Billboard last month. “I have so much good material, it’s about [figuring out] what I’m going to use on my record.”
Tracks under consideration include the jazzy “Think About It” (produced by Frequency), the Hyphy-influenced “Candy” featuring E-40, MC Eiht, Goldie Loc and Daz & Kurupt (produced by Rick Rock) and “That’s That S**t” featuring R. Kelly. One confirmed track is the Neptunes-produced “So Special” featuring Brandy.
Stevie Wonder met up with Snoop a year ago to record a remake of his song “Have a Talk With God.” Snoop has also produced several tracks for the album (“Gang Banging 101” featuring the Game) under the alias Ni**aracci.
In conjunction with the album, Snoop will release the DVD “The Adventures of The Blue Carpet Treatment” in November. The disc will feature 10 animated videos for songs on the album such as “Getting Heavy,” as well as additional tracks that are all threaded together. Snoop is in talks to feature the series on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” and plans to leak two or three of the videos on the Internet via iTunes or YouTube.
In addition, the soundtrack to his upcoming movie “A Woman’s Touch” will arrive in February, a month before the film hits U.S. theaters.
