Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik concert at Club Nokia. In addition to those performances was the dance crew , The Syrenz, and Snoop Dogg Records artists, Nipsey Hussle and The Hustle Boyz. Apparently, there was quite a lot of hustlin’ goin on that night! But word, I was a little too late to catch The Syrenz and The Hustle Boyz after dealing with the hassle of parking at LA Live. It was pandemonium out there with the Lakers playing at Staples Center and American Music Awards rehearsals going on at Nokia Theater.
It would have been nice to see The Syrenz do their thing, whom are a very sexy group of women. I’ve met some of them in the past, but they just got down for the first 10 minutes of the night. And who would have thought, but things run right on time at this spot! I must say that Club Nokia is very plush and lavish. My guest and I kicked it in the V.I.P. area for a while until Nipsey Hustle came on. Now I’d heard of him before but wasn’t too familiar with his work. He wasn’t great, but he was better than what I expected. Mr. Hustle even played with a live band, so madd props for that one.
After Nipsey Hustle was done came DJ Quik, who was accompanied by long-time affiliates, 2nd II None. Quik was in a highly animated mood grooving and dancing throughout his set. Quik went through a 40 minute set off all of the classics such as “Born & Raised in Compton”, “Tonight”, and “Pitch In on A Party”. DJ Quik has always been one of the most underrated artists in music period, and he never fails to put on a dope show. 2nd II None also played their hit song from the early 90’s, “If You Want It.” That was a dope sing-a-long that took all of the old schoolers back. The only thing that was missing from this set was Suga Free. Now if he would have come out, that would have turned the place out!
A half hour later, The Doggfather himself was ready to show out for the city of LA, sporting a full blue rag jumpsuit and a Snoop Dogg embroidered four finger ring. Snoop Dogg’s show was full of surprise guest performances . However, the most predictable of appearances was Tha Dogg Pound. Daz and Kurupt were on hand for the entire set as Snoop’s hype men. Snoop also played with a live band, which played every single track for the nearly two hour set.
Snoop went all out on this show, even being backed by a quartet of backup dancers that came out for his biggest hits, such as “Beautiful” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” Indeed these ladies were hot, coming out in a different outfit appropriate for the particular song.
The Lady of Rage was in the house to perform her contributions to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and Snoop’s Doggystyle LP. And best believe she rocked her classic joint, “Afro Puffs.” Tha Dogg Pound took us through some of their memorable releases over the years, as well as RBX, who contributed to Dre and Snoop’s projects as well. Snoop blasted off several more bangers before really getting the crowd hyped with the introduction of the legendary Too Short. Together they played the joint “Life of The Party” and Short went on to keep the party going with “Blow The Whistle.” With Hip hop crooner Nate Dogg in bad health over the last couple of years, he was unable to attend, however, his cousin, Butch Cassidy of The Eastsidaz filled in for him on “Ain’t No Fun,” which is the ultimate party song that even your mama knows the word to! There was no Warren G. though, so the song was not complete.
The final surprise of the night came from Xzibit, who performed his part from “Bitch Please” as well as one of his hit singles I currently can’t recall. Snoop played two new songs and even covered House of Pain’s upbeat classic, “Jump Around.” He closed out the song that launched his solo career, “What’s My Name.”
When you go to a Snoop and/or DJ Quik show, you can expect it to the real deal.
With damn near 20 years in the business, it’s gotten to that point where they put on shows for the grown folks. I was definitely glad to have attended. It was a well run show in a packed house. Snoop and Quik have shown that they know the key to keeping their longevity in the game and reinventing themselves when need be.
–Jelani Kimble
