The production, consisting of offerings from some of 2011’s hottest mainstream and underground names - Drumma Boy, Cardo, Exile, Jake One and ID Labs, to name half - is supremely pleasing to the ear.
#Mac and devin go to high school sex mac
That lack of creativity or adherence to character might make for an album that isn’t exactly engaging lyrically, but that doesn’t mean Mac & Devin isn’t an album worth your consideration, particularly if you ignore the film most of us aren’t likely to witness any time soon. Other times, Snoop just seems out of his element, like on “Let’s Go Study”, an ode to study buddy hookups that doesn’t feel totally comfortable coming from a 40-year old. Even the synopsis provides plenty of fodder for Wiz Khalifa to expand his range as a rapper, but nothing is shocking here as he repeatedly informs us of his joint rolling lessons he provides women, how good his weed is and how high he is while rapping. In the film Wiz Khalifa plays a valedictorian who is struggling with his sacrifice of “life experience” for the sake of studying and befriends 10-year senior Snoop Dogg in a mutual agreement to help Snoop finally graduate if he’ll show Wiz a good time in return. What’s a little unfortunate is that the songs are mostly comedic in nature but not in the spirit of the film they’re supposed to be based on, at least not overtly. But because of the album’s awkward conceit - truthfully, Mac & Devin Go to High School is also a straight-to-DVD film starring the two rappers - Snoop & Wiz do try to play themselves off as longtime smoking buddies rather than new acquaintances a generation removed.
The attitude of Mac & Devin isn’t exactly parallel to Khalifa’s previous collaborative project, How Fly with Curren$y, mostly because Snoop’s age and experience can’t allow him to rap from that perspective comfortably. Snoop is able to play the role of big brother to the younger rapper, a role that’s cast in a sort of frat boy light for sure but one that definitely suits him well. Both artists have a delivery that arrives with a sense of calm and comfort, but the subtle contrasts between Snoop’s relaxed drawl and Khalifa’s animated goofing compliment each other rather well. Financial safety net or not, teaming with Wiz Khalifa turns out to be a pretty successful idea for both parties. Sadly, Snoop’s loosening of the reigns on his music’s sound hasn’t translated well at the register, and while I can’t confirm that has anything to do with the Mac & Devin project, it’s hard to keep the idea from looming in the background. Whatever one might levy against the majority of his projects, it’s hard to argue Wiz Khalifa is an unlikable character, and those with their eyes on the trendline would be hard-pressed to find a more zeitgeist-capturing mixtape in 2009 than Kush & OJ. Khalifa’s formula, in turn, owes much to Snoop Dogg’s persona in films like Soul Plane and Starsky & Hutch, the way he presents his identity as an effortless amalgam of slacker ethics and CEO-like acumen. Much of that is due to the Internet’s young roster of rappers who rap almost exclusively about weed, fashion and success, an ever-expanding group headlined and pioneered by Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa. This has led him to appearing alongside acts as divergent as Quincy Jones and Tech N9ne, pen Prince William’s bachelor party theme song “Wet”, sing a country song with Willie Nelson about medical marijuana and, more to that point, embrace his role as hip-hop’s most infamous pot smoker more than he ever has. Having long proven that his cultural worth is measured in more than great, or at least popular, music, Snoop had spent the past three or four years settling into an increasingly playful, iconic role as a performer. Snoop Dogg’s career is quietly approaching its 20th anniversary and - as far as the mainstream is concerned - Wiz Khalifa is really just getting started, but the two men happen to be currently in a similar headspace.