Snoop Dogg
Plays convention centre, Thousands stoned
DAVID IAN LIPNOWSKI STAFF
The last time I saw a rap concert was Ludacris in 2003; he was kind enough to show up more than three hours late. This time, I arrived at the Convention Centre on time for Ice Cube, to find out that it had already started!
After sweet-talking my way past security, coat check, and the complimentary pat-down, I managed to watch the last few minutes of Ice Cube’s set. I have to be honest and say up front that along with country music, rap is my least favorite genre of music. I don’t know Ice Cube’s history in rap, but I had a hard time taking him seriously as a rapper, having recently wasted 95 minutes of my life watching the PG-rated Are We There Yet?
The 20 minutes between Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg were especially entertaining, as it involved a lot of watching drunk people fall down and get pulled out by security, bottles of booze and CDs falling out of their jackets. At one point I wasn’t sure if I was at a rap show or at Sleep Country Canada, with people passing out all around me.
The lanky Snoop Dogg took the stage around 9:40 dressed in a purple jumper, with a modest amount of bling. I was extremely happy to actually see Snoop Dogg walk onto the stage Jan 23, worried as I was that his legal problems might have gotten in the way; luckily his latest arraignment was delayed until Jan 24, 2007. He didn’t appear concerned, and busted out the moves in traditional laid-back Snoop style. He didn’t wait long to pull out his most well-known track, “Gin and Juice.” When Snoop asked the crowd what his favorite drink was, I felt very proud to answer in sync with the 6,000 others in the crowd, that I too, enjoy the gin and juice.
