May 08, 2005|By Rashod D. Ollison | Rashod D. Ollison,Sun Pop Music Critic
One, two, three and to the fo' / Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre is at the do' / Ready to make an entrance, so back on up ...
We first met him in 1992: Calvin Broadus, a tall, lanky, 20-year-old from Long Beach, Calif. He went by Snoop Doggy Dogg then, but he soon dropped the Doggy part. Compton-raised Andre Young -- better known as Dr. Dre, perhaps the greatest producer in hip-hop -- introduced us to the rapper in "Deep Cover," the theme song from that year's dark Laurence Fishburne flick. A buzz started. Who was this cat with the laconic style outshining Dre on the producer-rapper's first solo record?
Snoop's star exploded the next year when he poured his drawled, brandy-smooth rhymes on The Chronic, Dre's breakthrough CD and one of the seminal albums in hip-hop. The West Coast gangsta rap movement -- with its vintage funk grooves and often-violent tales and images -- was in full bloom then. At its center stood Snoop: corn-rowed and stoned-faced, his baggy, nondescript gear hanging off his telephone-pole frame.
Since then, Snoop, who tonight performs at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., has made pop culture history. His masterful, 1993 Dre-produced debut Doggystyle was the first debut album ever to enter Billboard charts at No. 1. In the same year, he faced murder charges and was cleared of them. And, with brazenly misogynistic lyrics, he outraged industry elders, including the legendary Dionne Warwick, who in the early '90s spoke out against Snoop and other rappers.
But as hip-hop culture has become mainstream, the shrewd, undeniably talented Snoop -- today an attentive husband and father of three -- no longer seems quite so outrageous. His scheduled appearance on a 2002 Muppet Christmas Special may have been nixed and an appearance at Harvard University last month may have been canceled at the last minute, but the fact remains: Snoop was invited.
He's doing T-Mobile commercials these days. And late last year, the rapper garnered a Grammy nomination for "Drop It Like It's Hot," a deceptively simple, bass-heavy number from his platinum album, R&G -- Rhythm and Gangster: The Masterpiece.
It is not Snoop who has changed. His gangsta posturing, his exaggerated pimp persona, his explicit music remain essentially the same as they were in 1992. He still raps about smoking weed, chasing money and "pimping" women as he continues to perpetuate demeaning stereotypes of black masculinity.
"Snoop is an incredible representation of the way hip-hop has totally saturated American culture," says Todd Boyd, author and professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.
"As the mainstream came to hip-hop, he stayed consistent. He's not one of those rappers who came out hard then found the Lord or something and changed. He's kept it real, basically rapping about the same thing. And that sense of authenticity is important in hip-hop."
Gimme the microphone first, so I can bust like a bubble / Compton and Long Beach together, now you know you in trouble ...
What represented gangsta rap in the early '90s -- over-the-top violence, tougher-than-leather posturing, pornographic lyrics -- largely has become cliched today. Those images have been satirized over and over in movies and on TV by comedic actors the Wayan Brothers, comedian Chris Rock and even Snoop himself. Today, many stars of the gangsta rap era are either dead (Tupac, Eazy-E, Biggie Smalls) or irrelevant (Ice-T, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony).
The era in which mainstream media were outraged or frightened by hip-hop has long passed as its culture has permeated American music, style and language. The sound of hip-hop has evolved, incorporating more pop elements with catchy hooks and layered, sophisticated production techniques. But the ever charismatic Snoop, a rap veteran, has been able to stay in the game by tailoring cutting-edge musical styles to his unique approach.
"He's matured a lot," says Ivory Jones, an R&B / hip-hop staff writer for Billboard magazine. "He was the epitome of gangsta rap, but he got outside of that. He never allowed himself to be boxed in."
Marketability is paramount in pop culture. Rap music, whose shelf life has always been short, has served as a launching pad for many. Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, DMX, LL Cool J, Will Smith, Eve, Busta Rhymes, Ja Rule and several others have moved into artist management, music production, movies, TV, fashion. Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri recently became major label executives.
Truth be told, hip-hop is one big, multibillion-dollar hustle. And Snoop seems to know that very well as he sells his strangely charming persona to the highest bidder. He "hosted" his own porn video, 2001's Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle. He has made memorable appearances in such legitimate flicks as Training Day, Baby Boy, Bones and Starsky & Hutch. In 2003, MTV launched Snoop's hilarious comedy sketch show, Doggy Fizzle Televizzle. But his busy schedule prevented the show from lasting more than two seasons.
