Snoop Dogg has confirmed that his album Missionary, produced by Dr. Dre, will arrive in December.
The new album, which the 53-year-old rapper’s fans have anticipated for years, has a December 13 release date.
It comes nearly three years after Snoop, born Calvin Broadus Jr., acquired Death Row Records.
Dre, 59, told ET about the new project in August: ‘This one is 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.’
At the time, he teased a November release, saying, ‘I wanted 14 songs, Snoop wants 16, so we have that thing happening [bumps his fists together].
‘I’m on song number 11 as far as the mixes go. I have to be done and delivered by September 1st to have a November release.’
The Drop It Like It’s Hot hitmaker’s forthcoming music follows in February 2022 release BODR, his first album on the revived legendary music label.
Dre, full name Andre Young, and Broadus last released a full-length album together in 1993.
The follow-up record is believed to be in homage to the sex-charged collection of songs, which was titled Doggystyle.
While appearing on the podcast All The Smoke in January, the Pharrell collaborator said, ‘I’m in the lab with Dr. Dre right now. He’s a perfectionist, you know.’
‘When you hear what we have and how he got me rapping, it’s like a grown Snoop Dogg. It’s a growth to him,’ he described.
The iconic star explained, ‘It’s the way he selects his bars. It’s the way he uses [my] voice. This n**ga used me like a f**king robot, and I love it because I love to be produced. I love to be challenged.’
Asked about the album’s lag, the father-of-four explained, ‘The n**ga called me one day about two years ago.’
He hilariously added, ‘He was like, “N**ga, come over, let me do a couple of songs with you.” I go over there, and he like, “N**ga, let me do your album.” And I’m like, “Alright, let’s go.” We go in, knock out a couple of songs. He hit me back, “I need two more days.” I got that call probably about 85 times. This n**ga need two more days all the time.’
The Frontin’ rapper has been posting about the new sounds on social media over the last few days, using simple captions like, ‘Missionary album drops 12.13. Produced by @drdre.’
After buying Death Row Records in 2022, Snoop said in a statement: ‘I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value.’
He added: ‘It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members. This is an extremely meaningful moment for me.’