Where Did Snoop Dogg Go Wrong?

So I just got this week’s Soundscan report and Snoop Dogg’s Ego Trippin' has only sold 291, 286 units to date. Dude used to nearly gold in the first freaking week.

I know artists have been bricking left and right in this climate, but this is Snoop Dogg we’re talking about. Little do we know, Snoop could fall short of a gold plaque for the first time in his 16-year career. He usually does at least 200k on the first week off GP. I thought he was set for sure when “Sexual Eruption” came out. Folks just kept buzzing about how consistent he had been with his singles, especially in recent years. I thought it was in the bag.

Labels usually make a bunch of excuses for underachieving records, but it looks like Snoop had most of the ingredients to win as usual. Hit single? We’ve already covered this. The single got beaucoup radio spins and peaked on Billboard 200. Let’s not forget the clubs. Vultures got their slime ball on and had chicks pinned in corners the second the song came on.

Promotion? There was definitely awareness around Snoop’s record. The Dogfather did his usual run. Appearances on talk shows like David Letterman, Jay Leno and of course the requisite visits to MTV’s TRL and BET’s 106 & Park. Furthermore, Snoop Dogg’s "Fatherhood" had people talking around the time his record came out, so he was definitely getting great exposure.

Controversy? Unfortunately, it never hurts. Snoop got arrested a million times and was temporarily banned from U.K. prior to his record dropping.

Quality? Sometimes albums have a strong first week, but then sales decline when word spreads that the CD is doo doo. I don’t know what you guys think, but last I heard folks were feeling the LP.

Connection? Come on! He’s Snoop Dogg. People buy into him arguably more than his music at this point. And maybe that’s the problem. It’s like there’s a point in an artist’s career when we keep loving them, but stop buying their music. Like me and the Roots. I done bought every album them dudes put out, even Organix, The Legendary EP and The Roots Come Alive. I doubt I’ll be copping Rising Down, though. The group kinda lost my interest. But I digress. Look at Diddy and Busta Rhymes for instance. Their last projects were critically acclaimed, featured monster singles, but both didn’t sell as expected. At least they went gold in a reasonable time frame. Snoop’s current numbers are just underwhelming. Rick Ross’ Trilla (465, 719 units sold to date) dropped the same day and outsold Snoop with a single nowhere near as buzzworthy as “Sexual Eruption.” Don’t get me wrong, “The Boss” was hot too. "Sexual Eruption" just made more noise.

So what is it? Is the album not fire? Do people not care about Snoop anymore? Personally, I can’t quite put my finger on it. Speak on it.