With 16 studio albums and 26 years under his belt, it's surprising to see that Snoop Dogg has only five top ten "lead artist" hits to his name — and his Saturday night (July 13) headlining slot at Ottawa Bluesfest showed it.
As rains and lightning ground the festival to a halt earlier in the evening, Snoop's set was pushed back 45 minutes. By 10:30, Snoop sent out his DJ to play 10 minutes of trap music, effectively killing the momentum created by Wu-Tang Clan's earlier performance. That was followed by an on-screen video of his latest single, "I Wanna Thank Me," which was mostly ignored by the massive audience who chatted throughout. When he finally hit the stage, he serenaded the crowd with his 2009 single "I Wanna Rock," brought out two hype men and a joint-smoking dog mascot, and performed truncated versions of DJ Khaled's 2010 hit "All I Do Is Win" and 50 Cent's 2003 smash "P.I.M.P." (both of which featured the 47 year-old as one of many guest artists).
Snoop reached back to his G-funk era to perform "This D.J.," which Warren G joined for — then he played "Do You See" and Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang." Moving into Akon's 2006 single "I Wanna Fuck You" and his own 2007 hit "Sexual Eruption," Snoop brought out four dancers to grind on stripper poles while he shot fake hundred-dollar bills into the air. After a lively rendition of "Gin and Juice," which featured onscreen animation that reached cable access levels of production, the stage show truly ventured into the absurd as Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" blared across the speakers while Snoop bobbed his head and asked the crowd to sing along.
Following tributes to Nipsey Hussle, Eazy-E, the Notorious B.I.G. and 2pac, which found Snoop rapping overtop his fallen comrades' verses, the show was brought to an end with a straight cover of House of Pain's "Jump Around" and a well-received sing-along version of "Young, Wild & Free." As the crowd dissipated politely — even failing to call for an encore — it was perplexing that a stage show designed to celebrate the hard work Snoop Dogg put into his fruitful career would end up as such a shoddy production.
As rains and lightning ground the festival to a halt earlier in the evening, Snoop's set was pushed back 45 minutes. By 10:30, Snoop sent out his DJ to play 10 minutes of trap music, effectively killing the momentum created by Wu-Tang Clan's earlier performance. That was followed by an on-screen video of his latest single, "I Wanna Thank Me," which was mostly ignored by the massive audience who chatted throughout. When he finally hit the stage, he serenaded the crowd with his 2009 single "I Wanna Rock," brought out two hype men and a joint-smoking dog mascot, and performed truncated versions of DJ Khaled's 2010 hit "All I Do Is Win" and 50 Cent's 2003 smash "P.I.M.P." (both of which featured the 47 year-old as one of many guest artists).
Snoop reached back to his G-funk era to perform "This D.J.," which Warren G joined for — then he played "Do You See" and Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang." Moving into Akon's 2006 single "I Wanna Fuck You" and his own 2007 hit "Sexual Eruption," Snoop brought out four dancers to grind on stripper poles while he shot fake hundred-dollar bills into the air. After a lively rendition of "Gin and Juice," which featured onscreen animation that reached cable access levels of production, the stage show truly ventured into the absurd as Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" blared across the speakers while Snoop bobbed his head and asked the crowd to sing along.
Following tributes to Nipsey Hussle, Eazy-E, the Notorious B.I.G. and 2pac, which found Snoop rapping overtop his fallen comrades' verses, the show was brought to an end with a straight cover of House of Pain's "Jump Around" and a well-received sing-along version of "Young, Wild & Free." As the crowd dissipated politely — even failing to call for an encore — it was perplexing that a stage show designed to celebrate the hard work Snoop Dogg put into his fruitful career would end up as such a shoddy production.
