Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre‘s Missionary is set to penetrate next week’s Billboard 200’s chart — just not as deep as they, or anyone else, were probably expecting.
According to HITSDailyDouble, the long-awaited album from the legendary duo is projected to earn just 36,000 equivalent units in its first week.
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With that figure, the project will likely debut at number 20 on the Billboard 200, behind previously-released rap albums such as Tyler, The Creator‘s Chromakopia and Kendrick Lamar‘s GNX.
If the forecast is accurate, Missionary would be one of Snoop’s least commercially successful albums and by far Dre’s worst performing release.
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Tha Doggfather has dropped a series of low-selling projects in recent years, with Bible of Love, Algorithm and Bacc on Death Row all struggling to crack the top 100 on the Billboard 200.
Dre (who produced Missionary but isn’t technically billed as a lead artist) has never debuted outside of the top 10 or sold less than 200,000 first-week units.
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Despite this, the N.W.A legend has heaped high praise on Missionary in terms of its quality, calling it one of the best efforts of his decorated career.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight earlier this year, Dre said: “This one’s gonna show a different level of maturity with his lyrics and with my music. I feel like this is some of the best music I’ve done in my career […] I’m not playing.”
The 16-track album boasts appearances from fellow Hip Hop heavyweights Eminem, 50 Cent and Method Man, as well as Sting, Jelly Roll, Jhené Aiko, BJ The Chicago Kid and the late Tom Petty.
The former two feature on “Gunz N Smoke,” which marks the first-ever collaboration between Snoop, Dre, Em and 50 as a four-man unit in their long-running working relationship.
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The groovy track contains several nods to the late, great Notorious B.I.G., with 50 and Snoop both borrowing from the former Bad Boy MC in their verses.
In addition to a star-studded guest list, Missionary was supported by a cinematic short film directed by the Grammy-winning Dave Meyers.
