Snoop Dogg has had a busy few years. From the release of another hip-hop album with 2017’s Neva Left, to his debut gospel album Bible of Love in 2018, Snoop has been putting out content faster and more frequently than ever. Now, Snoop has added yet another entry to the list with the release of his 17th studio album, I Wanna Thank Me.

Throughout his well-rounded career, Snoop has stepped out of his G-funk comfort zone to experiment with new styles of music, including the release of reggae and gospel albums. He has appeared in movies, T.V. series, video games, multiple roasts, and cooking shows. If there’s one thing Snoop has proven he can do, it’s try new things. Yet somehow, the innovation is lacking in what made him actually famous in the first place: rap music.

I Wanna Thank Me seems to be yet another piece of evidence that Snoop’s creative tank may be running on empty. With 22 songs and features from big name artists and producers such as Slick Rick, Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, YG, Swizz Beatz, and DJ Mustard, the record is mostly forgettable. His lyrics are either uninspired or lacking in nuance, as he shifts rapidly from repetitive bragging and ambiguous threats, to societal issues taken on with minimal depth. All this is laid out across an arsenal of mediocre and uninteresting instrumentals, leaving the listener with no memory of the last song they heard.

There is an issue of authenticity that arises when listening to Snoop’s newer music. He raps about his lifestyle as if he’s still in Long Beach in 1993, yet with so many ventures in the entertainment industry, his presence in the upper echelon of society is unavoidable to anyone with connection to the internet. The listener experiences a disconnect when they hear Snoop rap “One down, got two to go / Spraying with the K and hit two in a row,” only then to see him on T.V. baking a spinach quiche with Martha Stewart. Those two realities do not merge easily — it’s hard to imagine a crip-walking pot roast chef, or a gangbanging Pee Wee football coach.

But it’s not as if Snoop is oblivious to this disparity between his current life and the tales of his youth. At two years shy of 50, he’s now the great uncle of the rap game. He’s found a new purpose to his work by understanding that he doesn’t have to be the future of the genre to continue making music. He uses his long-established influence to discuss issues with an unapologetic transparency that may be perceived as overly simplistic for a younger rapper, exhibiting exactly how he feels on complex issues of race, politics, and gang violence.

I Wanna Thank Me comes at a time when the West Coast needs it the most. Los Angeles was hit hard by the death of rapper and community activist Nipsey Hussle, and this album acts as a reassuring voice from Uncle Snoop. Mention of Nipsey Hussle is frequent throughout the album, as Snoop takes care to honor the late rapper. On “One Blood, One Cuzz,” he praises the newfound solidarity between Bloods and Crips, and on “Blue Face Hunnids,” he joins Blood-affiliated rapper YG to speak this message of unity into existence. While I Wanna Thank Me may be stale, it is an effort to serve a larger purpose as Snoop comes to terms with his new place in the rap game.