Snoop Lion teams up with Miley Cyrus for ‘Ashtrays and Heartbreaks’

Snoop Lion teams up with Miley Cyrus for ‘Ashtrays and Heartbreaks’

Snoop teams up with Cyrus. Will it work?

The artist formally known as Dogg is releasing new music, and he’s bringing Miley Cyrus with him. Titled Reincarnated, the 12 track album is a Rasta-fueled departure from the rapper’s previous work and features the former Hannah Montana star on “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks,” which released to the public on Wednesday.

A mellow tune that is cozying up to audiences just in time for summer, the song is a surprisingly somber reflection on “the ones who ain’t here” as the duo smoke their troubles away until they “fill up all those ashtrays.” While no one would fault anything inspired by the spirit of Rastafarian dancehall-rock its marijuana references, the song toes the line with insinuations without ever being specific, though “now my buzz is gone, and I need to re-up on reality” doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Sharing production credit with Ariel Rechtshaid and Dre Skull, Major Lazer’s Diplo debuted the track through the Major Lazer SoundCloud page to favorable reviews. MTV News spoke with Diplo last year, where the Philadelphia-based DJ said Snoop had been “really studying Bob Marley” and “likes to have the female backing vocals,” which includes Angela Hunte along with Cyrus on “Ashtrays.”

“We [also] have some West Coast attitude with the production, and I’m really excited about it. It sounds amazing,” he went on to say. Other artists appearing on the album include Drake and Akon.

Reincarnated was produced in Jamaica alongside a documentary film of the same name, chronicling Snoop Dogg’s resurgence and newfound identity as Lion. According to the Los Angeles Times, the film, directed by Andy Capper and produced by the Brooklyn-based Vice, plays like a making-of companion piece to the album when it isn’t digging into Snoop’s reasons for his stylistic shift. It released in 2012 to negative reviews.

As for Cyrus, the 20-year-old has been in the news recently in relation to her fascination with “twerking,” airing a video via Twitter where she suggestively grooves her body to “Wop” by J. Dash—all while dressed as a unicorn. MTV confirms that another Cyrus/Snoop collaboration is on the horizon with the veteran rapper set to appear on a single for Cyrus’s next album.

The announcement follows in the wake of Snoop announcing his name change. The artist, formerly known as Snoop Dogg, said a recent religious awakening during a trip to Jamaica left him reconsidering his name. According to Snoop, Rastafarian priests bestowed on him a name new, ushering in a new era of music making for the West coast superstar. The rap artist, who came to prominence in the 90s, has largely remained out of the spotlight in recent years, however, he has increased his campaign for legalizing marijuana.

It remains unclear whether Snoop’s partnership with Cyrus represents a fundamental shift in his music making strategy. The newly released album is described as Marley-esque, with a number of catchy sugary pop-styled hooks. The California-based artist has slowly shifted towards collaborating with various artists, including Katy Perry, Robyn, and Wiz Khalifa.

Reincarnated is due for release on April 23.

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