reCAP :: Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion :: 2014.07.09
A sold-out crowd at The Capitol Theatre waited quite a bit before pop culture icon Snoop Dogg hit the stage on July 9, but when he finally did roll on at about 9:30 p.m., they were all putty in his paws. The LBC legend commanded the stage from the very first lyric – the fitting opener “Here Comes the King” (off his recent reggae-centric Reincarnated album) – to the show ender “Young, Wild, & Free,” a recent hit he recorded with Wiz Khalifa and Bruno Mars.
Over the course of an hour-and-a-half, fans rapped along, sang with, and danced to the vocal stylings of Snoop D-O-double G. Heck, they even jumped around. One of the evening’s biggest surprises was a Snoop cover of the House of Pain classic “Jump Around,” which he sang a few verses of before plowing into his mega-hit with Pharrell Williams – “Drop it Like it’s Hot.” Snoop did just that all night - running through his discography (has it really been over 20 years since he released Doggystyle?) and throwing in a bunch of eclectic cover tracks.
Original tracks like “Snoops Upside Your Head,” “Wiggle,” and “Ups & Downs” fit right in with remakes of classic songs from mentor Dr. Dre to 50 Cent to Joan Jett. Speaking of the latter, it’s important to mention Snoop really sang or rapped along to portions of a bunch of songs. For example, he only sang along with and had the crowd sing to the chorus of Jett’s “I Love Rock & Roll.” But, it didn’t matter. It was all unadulterated fun with so many surprises – from the aforementioned “Jump Around” to the inclusion of tracks he collaborated on – it was awesome for him to rap his parts on Katy Perry’s “California Girls,” and more importantly, the hip-hop groundbreaking tracks “The Next Episode” and “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang.” Tributes to the Notorious B.I.G., Nate Dogg, and Tupac Shakur were also highlights of the night.
All in all, Snoop took the audience on a magical ride, smoke-fueled ride. He was a weed-smoking Willy Wonka delivering the crowd musical treats and, of course, some gin n’ juice. Here’s hoping he comes back to The Cap again. Until then, I guess we can all just chill ‘til the next episode.