Review by Niva Bringas
One of the original gangster rappers rolled into Chicago last Saturday night with a seemingly big chip on his shoulders. Snoop Dogg was originally scheduled to go on at 9 PM at the Metro last Saturday evening. While the sellout crowd was anxiously awaiting for the innovative rapper to hit the stage, the promoter filled in time with a DJ spinning a dizzying array of rap music. As time marched on people were getting restless. By 10 the crowd, who were drinking and still jamming to the canned music, seemed amicable enough, but by 11 the tables quickly turned as patience wore thin and angers flared. Fights started breaking out as security tried their best to calm the angry mob.
Photos by Daniel Locke
Midnight rolled around and the lanky Snoop Dogg finally hit the stage along with his 30-odd posse, including Chicago's own Don Wade. Despite the late start, the show went surprisingly well. Snoop Dogg ran through much of his own old-school rap before he launched into a new song in support of his forthcoming CD Doggy Style Allstars 'Welcome to the House,' which is set for release on August 13, 2002.
Snoop had his audience, who were 95 per cent white, eating from his paws - either rapping along with him or dancing to the beats. Dressed in loose fitting sports wear and smoking a Churchill cigar, the Dogg moved from side to side as he cooly spat out every deep gutted groan over the slick street rhythms. With some of the most original rap stylings to date, Snoop continued to entertain his audience, who soon forgot about him showing up 3 hour late.