The album title consists of four names that need no introduction: Snoop,Cube, 40, $hort. These rap icons just claim themselves as architects of WestCoast hip-hop. As Mount Westmore, they’re a supergroup whose presence isetched in the California landscape.
Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, and Too $hort also represent a wave of old-schoolrappers sustaining recording careers well into their 50s, long after the hitshave subsided, and fans have moved on to fresher trends. (Tellingly, theysnark about “IG” and TikTok.) New work by first-wave golden-age heroes tendsto be throwback affairs that hearken to the past – Chill Rob G’s recent_Empire ‘s Crumble_ is a recommended example – or pop confections where theelsewhere gamely try to party with the kids. Throw Snoop into the lattercategory: last summer, he scored a top 10 Billboard hit with BTS and BennyBlanco on “Bad Decisions.”
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Yes, Uncle Snoop’s guileless ability to personify the “How do you do, fellowkids” meme is what makes him so beloved to everyone. It may also be why hesounds slightly bored on Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort. This is very much an IceCube affair, and he sculpts this album in his loud, punchy, hard-funkin’style. Too $hort acquits himself well, too, striking a balance between mustypimp raps and surprisingly effective community-oriented lyrics. E-40 remains astyle ambassador, gliding with its liquid, off-center flow. Snoop is a dutifulpresence by comparison, though he occasionally gets a good verse in, like whenhe reminisces about attending the legendary Fresh Fest arena tour in theEighties as a young hog on “Do My Best.” All four men are multimillionaireswith innumerable business ventures, and this Mount Westmore project wasoriginally planned for release in 2021. One gets the sense they had to aligntheir busy schedules before they found time to drop it.
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thankfully, Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort doesn’t dabble in newfangled gimmickslike trap and drill. The music is no frills G-funk and mob music. Part of thefun is scanning the credits for all the OGs who contributed, like Rick Rock,Soopafly, Battlecat, Fredwreck, Droop E, Ant Banks, and Simon “ProHoeZak”McKinley, whom some diggers may recall for his Nineties single as C- Funk,“Coconut in Ya Lime.” Even Cube’s old NWA partner Dr. Dre drops in to saywhat’s up on “Too Big.” Incidentally, that song might be the album’s bestconcession to current tastes since it’s produced by P-Lo, an East Bay star whoalso garlands “Too Big” with its chorus.
Otherwise, this is a grown folks’ party. There are some goofy lines from thefour GOATs about threesomes on “Motto.” “We burn rubber, me, her, and herlover,” raps Snoop. Ice Cube keeps making references to old pop lore like T.J. Hooker and Clash of the Titans. “It’s a new day, still got the AK/Ifthese bitches want to take it back to 88,” he warns on “Big Subwoofer.” Thequartet settles into a zone about midway through the 16-track album, and “Havea Nice Day,” “Ghetto Gutter,” and “I Got Pull” all satisfy. They also offerplenty of “Free Game” to the kids who happen to wander into the room. “I seethe homies outside, sellin’ crack/There’s no way out if you stuck in thetrap,” raps Too $hort on “Ghetto Gutter.”
The beats are generally good, but the choruses are often perfunctory excusesto get from one verse to the next. The days when these four could drop hookslike a gut punch have largely passed. And Ice Cube, whose political stormsinclude a “Contract with America” meeting with former President Trump, remainsprone to saying shit like, “We’re victims of elites” on “Have a Nice Day.”However, it’s also a ridiculously thrilling moment. Cube talking reckless, Too$hort as the pimp with a heart of gold, E-40’s deep slanguage, and smooth ol’Uncle Snoop: this is Mount Westmore’s appeal to their graying base.
“If I had four of my favorite rappers on a track/I would expect it to havesome slaps that sound like hella far back,” raps E-40 on “Do My Best.” “Iwould expect it to have some shit like this to make me reminisce/When I was upin the dope game, having my money, getting rich.”
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