Snoop Dogg’s Bell Centre party leaves Pitbull’s no-show in F1 dust

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If anyone asks who let the dogs out on Montreal’s F1 party weekend, here’s the scoop: Pitbull was a no-show, but Snoop came through.

The coincidentally scheduled back-to-back concerts by the two canine-monikered rappers — Pitbull at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saturday night and Snoop Dogg at the Bell Centre on Sunday — couldn’t have led to more diametrically opposed outcomes. Pitbull fans waited in the rain only to get slapped with a last-minute message saying the show was cancelled just as it was supposed to start while Snoop Dogg lovers partied all night at the Bell Centre with everyone’s favourite good-times OG gangsta rapper.

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Pitbull issued apologies on social media Sunday, blaming his absence on “transportation issues.” Snoop Dogg, luckily, had his ride sorted out. He rolled on stage in an old-school west-coast rap video classic, a convertible Cadillac, smoking (what appeared to be) a fat joint and rhyming his legendary lines from homeboy Dr. Dre’s The Next Episode. The crowd went wild.

And really, what’s not to love? Snoop Dogg became one of the most bankable — and beloved — rappers on the planet from the moment he appeared on Dr. Dre’s 1992 solo debut The Chronic. He sealed the deal with his own Dre-produced solo album, Doggystyle, a year later, his casual charisma setting him apart from seemingly everyone else in the game. And while the prolific MC never made another album that equalled Doggystyle’s success, he never lost his Midas touch.

He collaborated with top-tier artists in the ensuing decades, leading to some monstrous hits. And as a pop-culture icon, he has made friends in unexpected places — hello, Martha Stewart.

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Throughout his career, Snoop Dogg has been famous for his love of smoking weed, leading to nudge-nudge jokes with Stewart in their ads for BIC lighters (“for candles, grills… and more,” get it?). Last fall, Snoop had to come clean after stirring controversy by saying he had decided “to give up smoke,” Turns out he was just coyly promoting a smokeless fire pit.

There was no shortage of smoke at the Bell Centre, Sunday, from Snoop’s grand entrance, spliff in hand, to seemingly everyone in the audience puffing clouds into the air throughout the night.

And while the crowd skewed older, Snoop is still cool with the kids, as evidenced by my teenage nephews, Tenzin and Aonghus, who were all too happy to tag along for the occasion.

As seems to be the case with an increasing number of veteran rappers heading back out on tour, Snoop Dogg rolls deep. He came with a posse of old pals in tow, including smooth-rhyming opener Warren G, DJ Quick and dynamic duo Tha Dogg Pound, whose half-hour set was oddly plunked in the middle of Snoop’s headlining performance, while the star took a break backstage. The audience, admirably, went along with it, and with everything else.

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Everyone was just happy to be hanging with Snoop Dogg. And he delivered, as always, for one simple reason: He’s got hits. The Dr. Dre nods Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang, Deep Cover and Still D.R.E., punctuated the first part of his set, which also featured Snoop’s version of Slick Rick’s Lodi Dodi, as well as G Funk Intro (one of two songs for which he was joined by Lady of Rage) and Tha Shiznit. Renditions of Akon’s I Want to Love You and Lil Duval’s Smile (Living My Best Life) elicited massive singalongs, as did a say-what cover of House Of Pain’s Jump Around.

Only complaint: For several songs he was flanked by scantily clad pole-dancers, an artistic choice that verged on self-parody. But let’s be generous and say he was simply embracing gangsta rap clichés.

After Tha Dogg Pound’s interlude, Snoop reemerged in a Habs sweatshirt with a banger, the Pharrell produced Drop It Like It’s Hot. Later came an unabashed performance of his appearance on Katy Perry’s poptastic California Gurls, his 50 Cent team-up P.I.M.P., and his Wiz Khalifa duet Young, Wild and Free, which cued another joyous singalong to the chorus’ celebration of excess.

After starting with a smoke, he finished with a drink — Gin and Juice, a jubilant nightcap to a memorable soirée. Good Dogg, Snoop.

tdunlevy@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TChaDunlevy

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