Two of the best from the West Coast, Snoop D.O. double G and Ice Cube brought the shiznitz to Melbourne last night, taking us back in time to the mid 90s.
After many a drama with the Australian immigration department, Snoop was finally deemed "an unlikely risk to the Australian public". "In making this decision, the department weighed his criminal convictions against his previous behavior while in Australia, recent conduct - including charitywork - and any likely risk to the Australian community," the immigration department said in a statement. The letter from his unlikely mate Rusty
(Russell Crowe) also helped secure his visa. Sadly Rusty was not at the show and didn't bust any gangsta raps on the night - next time Rusty (You have
dipped your dirty fingers into everything else, why not puff on some chronic and smash out a freestyle?)
Being the only show in Melbourne Rod Laver Arena was packed to the roof, the crowd was right into it and there was some serious action down on "Da
Chronic" floor. Bone Thugs and Harmony got the party started and prepared the crowd for Ice Cube and his bass heavy set. The G-Funk synth bass lines
were in full effect, sound quality was good.
Cube and Dub C really came out strong, he performed NWA's Straight Outta Compton - even without the other members of NWA by his side this was still
impressive. Big ups to the West Coast became tiresome, this is Melbourne 2008 people, not Compton in 1994! The East Coast vs West Coast war still
seemed alive and well at this show although in reality died a long time ago.
Smoking rules were flaunted with Bob Marley's being passed around and smoke rising from all areas of the stadium.
Snoop entered the stage in a classic Doggy Dog jumpsuit holding his pimpin' diamond encrusted M.I.C. Seeing snoop in the flesh is always worth it, he
has a smooth charisma and this brings a casual vibe to all his shows. The classic were great, "gin and juice" & "deep cover / 187". There was a
tribute to 2Pac and Snoop performed "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" from Tupac's "All Eyez on Me" record released in 1996. I found it lame that Pacs voice was so low in volume on the recording and I don't think this live version sounded as good as the original studio recording where the two rappers energy really combined to make it an awesome moment in history. Daz n Kurupt did their thing with Snoop and added lots of energy to the show.
The crowd loved every minute of it!
