Snoop Dogg – Trust Arena: March 11, 2023 (Concert Review) 

Snoop Dogg and his I Wanna Thank Me tour climaxed its Australasian circuit in Auckland with a masterful performance from the ubiquitous multiple persona rap superstar. 

It could equally be called one long impressive pimp show. The massive crowd at the Henderson Trust Arena were treated to five sexy women who pole-danced, twerked and teased throughout the night. Snoop has been a professional pimp in the past. 

Calvin Broadus Jr was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and nick-named Snoopy by his mother as a child. His roots are in the church. He sang in a choir, but he also started freestyle rapping to some acclaim before hitting high school.  

Joined gangs as a teen and spent considerable time in prison for drug offences. He was obviously a gifted musical talent and markedly intelligent, but the gangster persona was in place. The meeting between him and Andre Dr Dre Young is as close a pivotal moment in music history as when Lennon first met McCartney. 

On stage tonight, he has striking resemblance to Chuck Berry at the same age. He is as self-referential in song as Bo Diddley. Add in the Godfather of many things, James Brown, and you have a holy trinity of American music and the Doggfather persona is no idle boast.  

The evening starts with a little screen show as Snoop realises it’s time to hit the stage, and he comes out in a Death Row Records-labelled costume.  

A huge cheer from the crowd. There are some heavy dudes around in the audience that is equal parts European and Māori/ Polynesian. But the atmosphere is congenial and quite relaxed, no doubt helped by the liberal amounts of marijuana being smoked.   

There is a massive security presence with roads blocked off. So, you know you are in the presence of rap royalty. It also has a paradoxical effect of contributing to a safe and laid-back environment. 

Aint Nothin’ but a “G”Thang, off The Chronic album and he hits his stride immediately, and maintains it for the show. There is a healthy amount of his classic early music, and many are sung back at him as the night progresses. Snoop Dogg he so craaazy! 

Wiggle, written by Jason Derulo and the pole-dancing young women are raunchy and sexy. You know what to do with that big fat butt. Oh yeah! 

Gin and Juice. Sippin’ on gin an’ juice I gotta get mine. Rolling along and laid-back, with the music adding some cowboy country tones. 

Snoop Dogg was at the origins of gangsta rap, but rather than being out-and-out confrontational and angry, he projects an easier laconic style in his rap. Verbally he rolls his hips and shimmy’s, rather than grabbing you by the throat and balls. 

The rap voice is entwined in the rhythm, and he has a more musically syncopated style than other Gangsta’s. He’s a persuasive Doggfather, rather than the heavy enforcer. 

50 Cent’s P.I.M.P is presented with a Seventies blaxploitation movie on the big screen. It could be Shaft. There is a little Jamaican kettle drum in the mix. The only reference to his reggae Snoop Lion persona. Of course, cannabis images are there repeatedly throughout the night. 

There is a small interlude whilst Snoop has a dak break (presumably, along with some hydration). The DJ does play smoke that shit, and New Zealand rapper Tom Francis, dressed in a bright orange t-shirt, takes a cameo. He has collaborated with Snoop on a song called Lifestyle. 

It tends to disrupt the smooth flow of the show, but it does not take long for Snoop to bring it back.   

A high point is a heart-felt tribute to Tupac Shakur with 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted. Ain’t nothin’ but a gangsta party/ Aah shit, you done fucked up now. 

Gangsta rap can also be described as Niggah-MuthaFuck music. There has been appalling gangland violence around it, and the murder of 2Pac  was one of the most tragic. 

Snoop himself was caught up in a killing which involved his personal bodyguard. He has deliberately softened that image over time. He is a proud advocate for Black Americans, but he is inclusive. Over time he has embraced Republicans and Democrats, the Nation of Islam and Rastafarianism, Christianity and veganism. He has supported the police who have been murdered, alongside the Black Lives Matter movement. 

We are here to experience his art, but you cannot separate the whole man which fully informs that art. So, you embrace the sexy porn maybe with its implied misogyny. You embrace the weed and alcohol, the flash and glitter of big money.      

He is a master at playing the crowd. The excitement is one long slow burn, like smoking a fatty.  

Who Am I (What’s My Name?), Snoops Upside Ya Head, Young Wild and Free. Classic songs. 

The show finishes on Snoop Don’t Go. Not really a climax, the I Wanna Thank Me show is more like extended foreplay. Snoop Dogg assures us he will be back… and you know that! 

Rev Orange Peel      

Click on any image to view a photo gallery of Snoop Dogg, plus openers Who Shot Scott, Versatile, D12 and HP Boyz – brought to you by ace photographer Chris Zwaagdyk:

Snoop Dogg:

Who Shot Scott:

Versatile:

D12:

HP Boyz: