Snoop Dogg’s new single from his upcoming Dr. Dre produced album missionary is largely inspired by the 1979 Police single “Message in a Bottle” and uses a sampled or repeated version of Andy Summers’ guitar line and part of the melody – as well as fresh vocals from former Police frontman Sting.

“Me and Snoop did a recording of ‘Message In A Bottle,’ which he calls something else,” Sting recently told BBC Radio 2. “I played guitar and sang on it, but Snoop sings on it too, which is nice. “A revelation to me.” Sting added that he found Snoop to be “a very nice man.”

Snoop’s confident vocals are as prominent in the track (produced by Dre and the ICU) as his rapping, and Sting fits in seamlessly alongside him, adopting some of Snoop’s flow into his own part. At one point, the two singers even manage to to create harmony.

“We were hanging out and chilling,” Snoop recently said of his time with Sting. “Like a child who is fascinated by someone as a singer and you get the chance to meet him and he gives you everything you expect. This happens to me all the time: I meet people I’ve always wanted to meet, and they’re everything I wanted them to be.”

missionary will be released on December 13th, a date that also marks the 30th anniversary of Snoop Dogg’s Dre-produced debut. Doggy style. “We were just kids back then,” Dre said in August. “Snoop was maybe 18 or 19 years old, and I’m, I think, six years older than him… This one is going to show a different level of maturity with his lyrics and my music.”