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After anxious wait, Snoop Dogg delivers

By GINA VIVINETTO
Published February 2, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - At 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, superstar rapper Snoop Dogg finally took the stage at Jannus Landing, easing the minds of approximately 1,000 fans wondering if they had been left in the dog house.

After a brief opening set nearly two hours before by rapper Slim Thug from Houston, the wait had some in the crowd growing anxious. Fans began discussing if Snoop, who is facing a $25-million lawsuit accusing him of rape, was feeling up to a live performance.

At least one young female fan was escorted - carried out, actually - from the outdoor Jannus Landing courtyard by her date and a gaggle of security officers, who were in abundance at the concert.

Too much Gin and Juice perhaps?

Snoop, known as a feel-good party guy nowadays, as well as the mellow sage who gives advice to bail out of a negative situation and "drop it like it's hot," began his career in the early 1990s as a gangsta rapper.

Snoop, 33, introduced his lazy drawl delivery and clever rhymes on Dr. Dre's landmark album, The Chronic. Next came Snoop's own Doggystyle, the first debut album by any artist to crack the Billboard chart at No. 1.

During those early years, Snoop's thug image was backed by real life troubles, namely a well-publicized murder accomplice charge that plagued him for years. (The rapper was finally acquitted in 1996.)

As gangsta rap's popularity declined, Snoop brilliantly revamped his image into a loveable hooligan, albeit a perpetually stoned one. The well-known marijuana enthusiast has evolved into one of hip hop's savviest entrepreneurs (Girls Gone Wild host), movie star (Starsky & Hutch), toy action figure model, sneaker designer, spokesperson in television commercials for T-Mobile cell phones, and host of a satellite radio program.

On Tuesday, the rapper and his band, the Snoopadelics, made up for their delay by reminding fans how to have a good time, Snoop-style.

After rapping about his brutal memories of gangsta life (Murder Was the Case), Snoop implored fans to toss a bit of marijuana onstage. Naturally, many obliged. Snoop lit up a sizeable joint and puffed mightily before launching into Lodi Dodi, a funky early hit from his debut.

Gina Vivinetto can be reached at gina@sptimes.com or 727 893-8565.

[Last modified February 2, 2005, 00:31:09]