At around 5 in the afternoon yesterday we all feared the worst - no Snoop Dogg. He posted some hilarious videos on social media explaining the situation in his own colourful terms, claiming he was stuck in Vienna and not happy about it, as flights had yet to be sorted by promoters to get him to Ibiza. Some are saying it was all a publicity stunt, but it seems more like an old fashioned screw-up to me, which was fortunately saved in the nick of time, or perhaps just past the nick of time, since Ushuaïa was forced to make use of its extensive pulling power on the island and stay open beyond its midnight pumpkin curfew so that Snoop could make it to the island in time to play at 12:30 and avoid a disastrous no-show, which he did. Aaaand exhale.
12:45, and the D O double G rolled on stage to the sound of ecstatic applause… but it was a bit of a messy beginning. Despite being billed as a classics set, Snoop obviously wanted to incorporate both old and new work, and began with the dubious new. Snoop's music hasn't sat so well with me since he ‘found his voice', let's say, and likes to croon over his beats as much as rap. We heard tracks from his Rastafarian/pop album 'Reincarnation', which is inoffensive if a little impotent, and we also heard his Guetta-led foray into the world of EDM – I Wanna Make You Sweat – which makes me downright queasy. When he started rapping 50 Cent's P.I.M.P., I feared we'd never get to the classics but, after a brief rhyme over Katy Perry's California Girls (why Snoop whyyyyy?) we finally hit the good stuff. Classics like Tha Shiznit, Aint No Fun (if the homies can't have none) and the eternal Gin ‘n Juice changed my mood completely and I whipped out my most gangster moves which, on a scale of One to Drive By, probably rank around 2.
“Anybody wanna get ferrrked errrp?” Snoop bellowed at the crowd. We assented vigorously and, as Snoop sparked up on stage, those of us who had it, lit it. Out broke House of Pain Jump Around setting the tightly wedged crowd on the bounce, which was followed by another more recent classic from the Dogg, with the neat segue “alright so now I know you can Jump Around, y'all can show me how you Drop it Like It's Hot.” Cute segues like this connected almost all of the songs, making for a smooth performance, but at the same time an extremely planned and polished one.
Presently we were called upon to Wiggle Wiggle, during which Snoop outshone all the gyrating ladies with his own unique wiggle. It was around about now that I realized no matter how much I don't like his new stuff, Snoop will always, always be cool. There's something so charismatic about his chilled and cheeky attitude that he can sing Katy Perry until his dreads fall off and he'll still be our favourite anti-hero. The show was peppered with shout-outs and homages to the mighty fallen like Nate Dogg, Notorious BIG and of course Tupac, so that I was reminded how many of Snoop's friends and colleagues (homies, if you will) are gone. Snoop is one of the few giants from the 90s US rap scene to make it out alive, so you can understand why these days he's just going to do whatever makes him happy.
At one point Snoop rounded up six fine females and lined them up on stage, serenading them with his Akon collaboration, I Wanna F*** You. It was terribly romantic. He also sang along to Joan Jett's I Love Rock n Roll, which was a bit of a ‘whut?' moment… but it was that kind of night. For one of the final tunes, Ushuaïa boss Yann Pissenem came out and danced on stage and received a special thank you from Snoop, who said that it was thanks to Yann that was able to make it here in time at all. He might be in charge of one of the most successful and wealthy enterprises in Ibiza, but I bet he won't be forgetting that moment in a hurry.
So my feelings are mixed about the night. I guess I would have liked to see Snoop for the first time in a dingy hip hop club… but that's not the kind of artist he is anymore. He's a huge commercial entity, a massive star and in many ways a voluntary cliché of himself. But what he does now, he does well, and for a few hours Ushuaïa provided a very comfortable home for him.
Snoop left us with some final words of advice – and if you know anything about him, you'll know what he encouraged. Listen, if Snoop Dogg tells you to do something, you do it.
WORDS | Jordan Smith PHOTOGRAPHY | James Chapman
