http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/02/10/snoop-dogg-partners-with-mtv-for-talk-show-new-album-rock-band/

Snoop Dogg Partners With MTV for Talk Show, New Album, “Rock Band”

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Photo: Bouys/AFP/Getty

Just hours after revealing that he has split from Interscope/Geffen, Snoop Dogg has mapped out his next conquest: A 360-like deal with MTV that includes a new album, television show and a Rock Band tie-in.

Snoop’s new album, Malice in Wonderland, the follow-up to last year’s Ego Trippin’, features “seemingly unlikely musical guests” and tracks produced by Dr. Dre and Pharrell. As part of his new MTV deal, a selection of songs from throughout his career will be added to Rock Band, marking the first time an overtly hip-hop artist has made the game’s rock-heavy track list.

The variety talk show, dubbed Dogg After Dark debuts Tuesday, February 17th. “Screw ya wigz on tight and tune in on Tuesday nights for the first step to the next level of Snoop D-O-double-G,” Snoop said in a joint statement with MTV. “Dogg After Dark is the only nightclub TV show hosted by you know who. So take a journey with me through the mind, body, soul and musical mind state of the most prolific, authentic game spitter. And tha shit is funny, so show me da money!” The show will run for seven weeks and feature the Snoopadelics as a house band. Of course, Snoop is no stranger to TV, having starred in both Father Hood and MTV’s DoggyFizzle Televizzle.

“As the world of entertainment keeps changing, we felt it was the right time to let Snoop Dogg back on MTV so we could continue to run thangs with music, movies, DVDs and bring hip-hop to Rock Band,” Snoop Dogg added in the third person. As many complain that a Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger would eliminate any competition, who would have thought MTV would appear out of nowhere as a possible music industry contender.