The fruits of Mrs. Miley Cyrus Hemsworth‘s labors over the past two years are finally making their way to our ears —and going up in flames.
For his upcoming album Reincarnated, Snoop Dogg—now reborn as Snoop Lion—recruited the smiley pop princess for a song called “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks,” co-produced by Major Lazer (that’s Diplo‘s side project) and Ariel Rechtshaid (Sky Ferreira, Solange, Charli XCX, et al.)
An unusual pairing? Certainly. But together, the two make sweet, sweet sounds.
Gliding across a summery, slightly melancholy reggae beat (a la Rihanna—or even Paris Hilton‘s iconic “Stars Are Blind”), Snoop and Milerz light it up, breathe it out and air their troubles in between the haze for an anthem dedicated to life’s many injustices. “Tonight, there’s going to be a whole lot of smoke in the air/Blow it on for the ones who ain’t here,” Snoop softly declares.
Miley joins in soon thereafter, adding her raspy vocals to the mix: “Is there any possibility that everybody feels like me?” Miley cries out. “Fill up all those ashtrays!” It goes without saying that “Ashtrays” is a far more grown-up production from the artist formerly known as Hannah Montana—and the payoff couldn’t be better. She sounds incredible, and the sound suits her perfectly. Another sign that her upcoming LP is going to be one of 2013’s best? You bet.
Not only is the song catchy, it cuts deep too: Life gets pretty rough, so light it up and pour a glass—I’ll drink to that.
