Snoop Lion roars with a new flavour

The Grand Arena boasts an impressive array of past performances from artists across the musical spectrum. These include Chris Brown, Michael Bublé, and even the rock band Bullet for My Valentine. It stands a lavish coliseum and, for the most part, the venue's sheer size, multiple bars and entry/exit points ensured minimal overcrowding, which ultimately led to a much more pleasant experience. Despite the enormous crowd, the staff did a stalwart, somewhat draconian, job of keeping everything and everyone in line and the event progressed smoothly without hiccups. Several well-kept lavatory areas within close proximity of the arena ensured that there was no need to do it like the "dawgs" do.

As a first-time visitor to the arena, I felt that the staff was largely ill-informed. Not knowing set times, interval lengths, or even the locations of crucial areas such as the VIP suite, had me ricocheting from wall to wall and stand to stand all in an effort to determine basic information that should have been made way more apparent for first-timers like myself. The amount of time wasted simply trying to find things was painstaking. Every second of missed concert that ticked by felt like a nail being hammered into a different part of the body.

Parrow on fire

Having eventually made it into the arena after being on my own personal episode of Lost, I arrived a little late to Jack Parrow's set and, for that, I must apologise profusely. I have seen Jack Parrow perform live a few times, but this time something was manifestly different. Perhaps his tweet on Monday evening had something to do with his sweltering aura.

The excitement expressed in the above tweet became almost palpable on stage! Never before have I seen Jack Parrow bring the heat and the energy that way. The amount of passion he exuded put him on the brink of spontaneous combustion. I was so moved by his fierce scorcher of a performance that I was rooted to the spot in awe as he leapt about with thrashing hand gestures that seemed almost violent. As he rocked out to the live band that accompanied him, he became a wild rampaging bull, only more Afrikaans. His raw Bellville uitgeskolliede essence evoked a burning desire for a polony chip roll within me! And he did a gevaarlike job of getting the audience hyped up for the "mane" event and the leader of the pride: Snoop Lion!

If by now you still haven't heard of Snoop Dogg's controversial pilgrimage, then let me briefly sum it up for you in this one paragraph. In 2012 Snoop journeyed to the island of Jamaica, where he then had what one would call a moment of enlightenment. It was there and then he made the decision to renounce his gangster ways and find a new purpose, spread a new message, and walk a new way - a hazy way - the Rastafarian way. Well a hazy cloud has pretty much always followed Snoop Lion throughout the ages, yes ages, that's how long Snoop's been around. He should have starred in the soap opera Days of Our Lives with all the other immortals. But, nonetheless, this time he would walk his new path not as a Dogg but as a reincarnated Lion. In fact, I'll just let this meme sum it up.

Appeasing the pride

The media was abuzz these last few weeks as the rapper's formal name change spurred mixed reactions. Many feel Snoop Lion's adoption of the Rastafarian teachings were nothing more than a calculated marketing gimmick to remain in the game, by tapping into the holy herb's expanding fan base. Regardless of the audience's varying stances, there was one question everyone wanted the answer to. Would Snoop drop the classics from the 90s and appease the pride whose support had been unwavering for over two decades? Or would he drop his new material and use the opportunity to lead his pride to new-found peaceful pastures, wherein all could share in the "budding" fruits of his Jamaican journey?

It all became clear in the opening few moments. What ensued wasn't tuneful reggae ballads, such as Peter Tosh and UB40 - oh no, quite the contrary. Despite his "reformation", the rapper advanced guns blazing as he blasted off with hard-hitting 1990s G-funk hits, such as What's My Name? , 2 of Americaz Most Wanted and Gin and Juice. Snoop's typical laid-back funkiness and slurred "lazy drawl" as it's been called, brought that West Coast demeanour. These opening hits, which sacrificed lyrical complexity for clarity, allowed the entire crowd to sing along and really got them going. Coupled with melodic synthified and funked up beats, the audience was whisked away to days of yore and the entire arena was transformed into one behemoth block party.

The fact that Snoop was also accompanied by the live band didn't just make the moment feel live but real life! I was there, a part of it, literally witnessing a Snoop Dogg, not Snoop Lion, but a Snoop Doggy Dogg D.O.Double.G performance unfold before my very eyes! It also seasoned the set with stirring alternative rock sensations, which appealed to the rocker aficionados in the audience without compromising the music's "gangsta" integrity. Referencing Snoop may well be the only opportunity I'll ever have as a writer to use the words "gangster" and "integrity" in the same sentence. So let's just let that sink in. Augmenting the hype even further was the unleashing of the "Nasty Dogg", a man - or woman (gender equality up in here) - in a full dog costume who proceeded to deliver what looked like a Titan-class vibrator to the rapper. I'm almost certain it was a vibrator, but whatever it was, it was definitely phallic. After all, this is Snoop we're talking about.

From gangster rapper to sensual seducer

As the musical journey through Snoop's defining decade drew closer to the millennium, he began dropping some of his more recent chart-toppers such as That's That Sh@t, Signs, Sexual Seduction and Drop It Like It's Hot. His seamless transition from gangster rapper to sensual seducer wasn't just in music but also in character. This was reinforced by three beautiful women in tight skimpy outfits who encircled the icon in an erotic dance. As he traversed the stage back and forth, his predatory grin oozed with an air of promiscuity. Even though Snoop Lion was still in his infancy, it became evident that performing is something he's done countless times before. Can you image the roaring crowd at this point? Amidst the thundering bass you could hear the ever so faint sound of women's underwear hitting the floor. The deafening boom of the speakers reverberated so loudly that my heart slammed in my chest.

I was in the golden circle area in front of the stage so, to me, the sound was simply galactic. But I'm certain that even those near the rear must have felt Snoop Lion banging a solo on their eardrums at some point. I mean, the arena's enclosed roof and spherical belly do make for excellent acoustics - a little too excellent. The bass was so loud that it significantly muffled the vocals and drowned out so many of the flavourful honeyed sounds coming from the band. As a whole, the audio quality was greatly diminished. This is a crying shame because the crux of the matter is that the sound was so good that it was terrible. Though I wouldn't mind owning a Toyota Quantum with sound system like that in it - I'd be the pride of the taxi rank. Up until this point, the most Snoop Lion thing the crowd had witnessed all night was probably when Snoop removed his rather plain leather jacket to reveal a not-so-dazzling Rastafarian shirt. Although there are several rumours doing the rounds as to why he did this, reliable sources speculate that he was most probably feeling hot (rolling eyes).

Nonetheless, his performance had all the hallmarks of the Snoop Dogg of old, but it had become evident that the rapper clearly wasn't giving it his all. I wouldn't go as far as to say his heart wasn't in it, and saying that he expressed a lack of enthusiasm probably isn't a fair statement. Snoop did admit to being tired of the rap game in his new documentary, Reincarnation. But I don't think there exists a single person who wouldn't show signs of apathy if they were forced to relive a part of their life that just wasn't them anymore, day in and day out. This in mind, you have to give Snoop credit for taking the time to appease the thousands of adoring fans, who came to support him. Anyone with even a shred of people skills could tell that the energy he exuded didn't come from his core and may have been feigned to an extent. Looking around I could even see that there were brief periods wherein he actually lost some the audience. Yes it's impossible to captivate every single individual in a massive audience, but there were sections where the crowd simply wasn't as hyped as one would anticipate them to be. But terrible sound quality undoubtedly contributed greatly to that happening. So, once again, I'll say that I do feel he deserves a huge scoop of credit for putting the fans above his personal strife with the rap game, and trying his darndest to put on a convincing performance. Judging by the crowd's ecstatic reactions, he pulled it off masterfully.

Old dogg brings new tricks

Snoop was visibly itching to try his new material on the expectant audience. With the crowd having lapped up their fill from the G-funk pool, the opportunity had finally presented itself for Snoop Lion and his new brand of reggae to be unchained. There was no intro and no announcement, it's as if he simply saw a moment and seized it. Bam! The lights were cut and tragic stream of bone-chilling news reports were projected onto the big screens on either side of the stage. The news stories depicted various gun murders that had taken place in the United States. The atmosphere suddenly became very grim, but it was all part of the Lion's master plan to build up the audience for the drop of his latest release, No Guns Allowed. By showing the destructive impact of guns, he ensured that his new song, which preaches gun regulation, was exceptionally well received.

It suddenly dawned on the fans that Snoop Lion didn't just come home with a virtuous new moniker. He also brought home a brand new positive message. A message delivered with a sunny eddy of sweet bass lines and electro synths. The sexy lionesses that encircled him before were now fully adorned in Rastafarian attire and their dance style had become far less promiscuous and a tad more tribal. For a former gangster rapper, he delivered the tune with surprising grace. His laid-back flow wasn't saying "I don't give a damn" anymore, instead it exalted peace, love and gun control.

It was as if the last three-quarters of Snoop Lion's performance had never taken place. It seemed the audience had completely forgotten that they had just had the time of their lives jamming to music about guns, promiscuity and copious amounts of liquor and cannabis. The great shift was real treat as the audience clearly felt privileged to be a part of Snoop Lion's spiritual transformation. The reality was setting in that the audience had actually gathered in the arena bid farewell to the Snoop Dogg of old, and that a new era of Snoop was being ushered in. An era wherein hip hop and reggae were no longer at each other's throats, but embraced their similarities, and collaborated for the sake of peacetime and harmony.

This message was soon diluted by the song which immediately followed Snoop's abrupt reggae revolution, Young, Wild and Free. Was this Snoop Lion's attempt at reaching a common ground between the two genres? It's as if he was saying: "Listen guys, I'm still here, I'm still free-spirited, I'm still a badass, but from now on things are going to be a little different."

Whether you're for his transformation or not, you have to recognise the innovative way in which Snoop Lion has gone about the entire process. And what better way to crown the spectacle than by closing the concert with a cover of Bob Marley's Jamming, the man from whom Snoop Lion drew a great deal of inspiration and, to date, the King of Reggae. Much to the audience's amazement, the Lion never lit a single joint. He didn't even do the gin 'n juice thing! He spent the entire the concert on the straight and narrow and this was rather disappointing. Regardless of your stance on weed, it's about the novelty! It's just not a complete Snoop experience without him lighting up. The audience would have gone ape sh#t! There's simply no other way to put it. I can't even fathom it. It would have made the even so much more special.

Even so, this was probably the most fun I've had at a concert in a long time. To be a part of such a monumental tour in the life of Snoop Lion, the man who's dominated our airwaves for over two decades, was truly an honour. A sentiment shared by a diverse crowd. Black, white, coloured people from all walks of life. Hipsters, Rastafarians, gangsters and rockers. A testament to the expanding 12-album legacy of Snoop Lion.

Photography by Warren Talmarkes sourced from www.channel24.co.za