Gin and Juice and What's My Name? hit predictably hard. To a screaming, middle finger-wielding crowd, the show's energy was better for it. But the rapper remained faithful to the encore, right down to the foul-mouthed presong interludes. Fans stood ready with smartphones, hoping to call out a deviation from the original Doggystyle tracklist.
Reunited with Tha Dogg Pound stars Daz Dillinger and Kurupt as well as Lady of Rage, Snoop salted his Catalpa set with surprise spectacle and video interludes. The new-found reggae artist passed at the chance to play his patois-inflected single La La La on Sunday, and instead dispensed nuggets of hip-hop trivia from his early years in the business. If his latest festival appearance is any indication, Snoop is willing to give fans what they want: just the old school hits, nothing more. Lucky for skeptics (and subsequently ticket sales) the veteran rapper is keeping his two creative identities commendably separate. To devoted hip-hop fans, the switch is a confusing break from a proud West Coast tradition. The feature-length film of the same name, which profiles his journey to Jamaica and resulting spiritual and artistic transformation, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The 40-year-old icon solidified his new musical direction at a press conference on Monday, where he announced a documentary to accompany his forthcoming album: Reincarnated. Will it be the limber Death Row-era gansta, or his new reggae alter ego Snoop Lion on the mike? More importantly, which Snoop do fans actually want to hear? With another headlining set for Saturday at the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, it's difficult to guess whether the same Snoop Dogg will take the stage. The Wu-Tang Clan's GZA performed Liquid Swords at Bonnaroo in Manchester Tenn., Nas dropped Illmatic at Austin, Tex.'s SXSW, and, at New York's newest festival, Catalpa, last weekend, Snoop Dogg performed nearly every track from Doggystyle, the 1993 G-funk record that launched his multiplatinum career. On the festival circuit this summer, rap superstars have been reaching back to career-defining records instead of spitting new material.
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