PRINTSnoop Dogg will play The Blue Note
Snoop returns to CoMo with Ice Cube, fo’ rizzle
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Snoop Dogg is one of the legendary rappers to christen gangsta rap in America. He will be returning to Columbia for the first time since 2004.
July 29, 2010 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The Snoop show at The Blue Note on Fri, June 30 is now sold out. For live tweets from the performance, follow @VoxMag on Twitter. Also check the site on Sat, July 31 for photos and a recap of the show.
The year was 1992, and young gangsta Cordozar Calvin Broadus was getting his big break. After hearing one of Broadus’ freestyles on a mix tape, famous producer and rapper Dr. Dre asked Broadus to rap on his album, The Chronic. That day, the artist now known as Snoop Dogg was born.
Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube
Where: The Blue Note
When: Friday, July 30, 6 p.m.
Cost: $35
Call: 573-874-1944
Fast forward 18 years, and Snoop is a universally recognized name. He has taken the stage in Columbia once before and will again on Friday. Tyree Byndom, rapper and host of the Lokal Vokalz show on KOPN/89.5 FM, says Snoop’s different attitude made him successful. “He was the perfect person to come in and give a unique spin on the issues that the hip-hop community was dealing with, especially from his hood,” Byndom says. “It painted a picture on various things that everyone was dealing with in their own neighborhoods.”
Snoop gave a voice to youth with his songs about living in a California hood and getting high with friends. His 1993 debut, Doggystyle, started the trend of inserting gunshots, a familiar sound for many inner-city kids, into the middle of an album. The intro track, featuring veteran rap vixen Lady of Rage, announced something far greater than just another rap album — it was the start of an era.
As a founding father of gangsta rap, Snoop invented a subgenre that was more violent than any music on the market at the time. With the help of rap greats including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, Snoop built an empire centered on the West Coast. He inspired people across the country, including rappers and DJs from mid-Missouri. His impact on Columbia is clear as Snoop returns to Columbia for the second time in 10 years.
Jennifer Rothchild, a local DJ who will perform at the rapper’s after party at Necropolis, says Snoop and co-headliner Ice Cube have wowed her since she was a kid. “They coined the idea of rap music, and they started the idea of youth in revolt — the crime and the poverty,” Rothchild says. “That was gangsta rap. They brought those issues to light.”
Now, as creative director of Priority Records, Snoop will be able to influence a whole new generation of stars. The rapper, who was once known for lascivious late nights with ladies, has since traded his fiendish ways for life as a father. He even starred in his own reality show Father Hood, which focused on his life as a family man. But his inspiration to write gangsta rap isn’t waning.
“These guys are spitting what they know, and if they knew something different, it would be different,” Byndom says. “Their music evolves with them for the ones that let it.”
Blue Note co-owner Richard King says Snoop will put the 30th anniversary in the books. “The last show that Snoop did here in Columbia was unbelievable,” he says. “You’re talking about an artist (who) was really reaching out to the crowd. It was a great show, and it was more than I ever expected.”
