In 1992, the world was introduced to one of hip-hop’s most recognizable voices via a soundtrack single with Dr. Dre.

Ever since he spat, “It’s 1-8-7 on a undercover cop,” the world has been captivated with Snoop Dogg’s flow. Now, 14 years later, his influence on pop culture extends far beyond his hip-hop roots.

You would think he’d be taking it easy, but on his ninth album, “The Blue Carpet Treatment,” Snoop raps with the hunger and vigor of a young emcee.

The album starts with a standard P-Funk inspired intro, and then jumps head-first into “Think About It.”

This track is three minutes and 37 seconds of Snoop spitting; no hooks, no breaks…just fly emceeing. This type of lyrical prowess is what made the world fall in love with him. Seriously, I dare any true hip-hop fan to listen to this track and tell me that Snoop can’t flow. This record lets you know he’s definitely not slacking on his skills

The Neptunes-produced “Vato,” the album’s first single featuring Cypress Hill’s B-Real, is a definite highlight.

It’s the type of hardcore spitting that I look for when I buy a Snoop record. His flow is solid and the beat allows him to be the star of the show. Everything comes together nicely on these tracks. Normally I don’t dig singles, but this works for me.

Another record, “Boss’ Life,” finds him spitting over a breezy track with the current hip-hop, go-to hook singer, Akon. This dude has to be the most monotone singer ever recorded, but Snoop’s flow and minimal use of the one-note-wonder make up for his appearance in the otherwise flawless track. This track manages to shine, despite Akon’s “whack” singing.

I’ve always loved the fact that Snoop can do hardcore records, but still be versatile enough to have fun on a track. “Which One of You,” a playful ditty that finds him doing his best Morris Day impression, is a perfect example of this.

It’s just a fun track that’s tailor-made for rolling around on a Saturday night. It’s this album’s “Ain’t No Fun.” I guarantee cats will be riding around singing along to this one.

“Imagine,” a track that features the only vocal appearance of Dr. Dre and the return of reclusive, soul-singer, D’Angelo, is another favorite. The song finds the two rappers pondering what the world would be without hip-hop.

The mellow track, complimented by D’Angelo’s soulful vocals, fits well with both rappers’ flows and the subject of the song. The combo sounded weird to me on paper, but it worked out well on wax.

Overall, this is everything you could want in a Snoop Dogg record, and it’s the best I’ve heard him sound in years. I dug “Rhythm and Gangsta,” but this album has nothing but bangers; seriously, no skip button necessary.

Most of the time when an artist gets to their ninth record they’re on the decline, but Snoop Dogg is sounding better than ever. In a genre where artists seemingly have just a two-year shelf life, it’s great to see someone who has been in the game so long remain relevant. Snoop rolled out the “Blue Carpet” and put on one of the best shows of lyricism I’ve seen this year.