Snoop Dogg wants his MTV. The rapper/reality show star, fresh out of his long-term deal with Interscope Records, has inked a deal with MTV to release his next album, "Malice in Wonderland."

According to Billboard,  the album will come out later this year.
"Malice" will include guest spots from Pharrell and composer Lalo Shifrin (he wrote, among others, the "Mission Impossible" theme), as well as Dr. Dre. "We're in the process of trying to help him [Dr. Dre] with the 'Detox' record and working on mine at the same time," Snoop Dogg told Billboard.

Snoop and MTV have a long history through his videos, of course. He starts a new reality show, "Dogg After Dark" on the cable station. The show is billed as a "party/talk show" and will feature special guests and performances. The second season of Snoop's reality show, "Father Hood," wrapped Jan. 25 on E!

It's shaping up to be a busy super year for the Snooper- he will also appear at Bonnaroo in June.

From a business standpoint, we expect to see more and more deals like the MTV/Snoop deal. As record companies trim their rosters (that's not to imply Snoop Dogg was cut, as opposed to leaving) and as artists come to the end of their label contracts, there's no reason to re-sign if you can find a media partner as humungous as MTV. Sure, we know MTV doesn't play videos anymore, but you best believe any clip from Snoop Dogg will get banged in heavy rotation as a way to promote "Dogg After Dark," if nothing else. Plus, it costs a network very little, relatively speaking, to release a CD as an ancillary revenue source. We have no idea the terms of Snoop's deal, but it could even include usage of Snoop's music from his MTV-released album across other Viacom-owned platforms for a decreased licensing fee.

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