Snoop Dogg has something to say about the response to his new album Missionary – mainly the critics who initially voiced negative opinions.
Taking to Instagram with a video on Thursday (December 19), Snoop thanked his fans for the support and shared his thoughts on everyone else.
“First of all, thank y’all for the support for Missionary,” he began. “Long time coming. Love the reception, but let me say this. I’ve been watching podcasts and people doing reviews – a couple of them specifically where they started off saying, ‘I wasn’t into this album, I don’t like Snoop Dogg, I wasn’t anticipating this, I don’t care…’ Really just listening just to listen. Started off hating.
“Get to song three/four, demeanor change a little bit. By the time they get to song eight/nine/10, they love Snoop Dogg, loving the production, loving the growth. By the time they get to the end, they’re in tears because they’re emotional behind the body of work that me and Dr. Dre put together trying to show how to make a body of work, a project, well received. I love the hate and the love. That’s why we do it. We do it because we love what we do. Thank y’all!”
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In the caption, he added: “Thin line between love and hate [prayer emoji] ya kids and ya mama love me [laughing emoji]. Carry on.”
Missionary is set to penetrate next week’s Billboard 200’s chart — just not as deep as people were probably expecting.
According to HITSDailyDouble, the long-awaited album from Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre 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.
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.
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.
