The Doggfather of rap stepped onto Aggie soil for the first time Monday night and delivered an unforgettable performance.
Freeborn Hall was packed and steaming with over 1,700 rapping, singing, jumping and waving fans who had been standing outside in a long, cold line just to catch a glimpse of Snoop and to hear his signature voice live in person. Building up the tension, Snoop Dogg waited to come out from backstage until an hour before the concert was set to end. Trying to leave the best for last while keeping the crowd from being restless didn’t seem easy as the night went on, but once he came out onstage, everyone became a lot happier.
During the performance, Snoop played some of his most well known songs, such as “Gin and Juice,” “Sensual Seduction,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” and even Tupac’s “Hail Mary” in memory of his close friend. Rapper Warren G also showed up, adding to the excitement as the anticipated special guest. He performed his famous ’90s song “Regulate,” which is still played on the radio today.
Some spectators thought Wiz Khalifa, who made the popular Super Bowl-themed song “Black and Yellow,” was going to show up. However, Warren G seemed more appropriate for the occasion, being another famous ’90s rapper.
The Dogg Pound, Snoop’s entourage, was also in the building, keeping fans fired up before Snoop hit the stage. The bass shook the entire building, fans screamed “Snoop! Snoop!”, people sweated with eagerness, and some were even dancing as if they were in a night club. Most of the young ladies who attended happened to be in club attire, which definitely fit the occasion because not too long after he appeared, Snoop invited many of them onstage to dance.
“Where the single ladies at?” Snoop asked. “I wanna know who wants to come up onstage and dance.”
Some of the audience vocalized their disappointment in the girls’ dancing skills, but the girls onstage were smiling, laughing and dancing as Snoop and his Dogg Pound crew rapped and danced. When Snoop let the ladies go back to the audience, he playfully mentioned that they would’ve been doing his homework had he been a UC Davis student. Silly Snoop Dogg …
Throughout the course of the performance, people in the audience tried to push their way to the front to see Snoop from a more up close and personal perspective, but most didn’t make it. Freeborn provided such an intimate show that it didn’t seem necessary to push to the front. Their faces were all easily visible, and their voices were more than easily audible.
Freeborn’s sound system was an amazing success. The bass was so high it was almost as if everyone shared a second rhythmic heartbeat for just one night.
At one point, another old ’90s song by House of Pain called “Jump Around” came on. Snoop was rapping the song and every audience member and performer in the building was jumping. The floor seemed stressed beneath the weight of the audience, and some people around the area wondered if the floor was going to give way. Luckily, it didn’t.
Snoop’s 11th studio album, entitled The Doggumentary, which is set for release on March 29, sparked the Get Wet Tour. With only two shows left, one being up north in Chico and the last performance in West Virginia, Snoop has left his ‘paw prints’ all over the place; Davis was luckily one of them.
Snoop told the audience that whenever they wanted him back at UC Davis in the future, he’d be more than happy to return. From the reactions of the audience members around, it’s more than likely that Snoop will be back sooner rather than later.
LEA MURILLO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
