BIGG SNOOP: RAP ROYALTY?
By : Conan Milne
For as long as the genre has existed, rap music and bragging rights have gone hand in hand.

However, rappers have certainly upped the ante since the origins of hip-hop were laid down all those years ago.


While it was once radical to hear rappers boast of the colour TV’s featured in their limos or their unquestionable street credibility, nowadays in the often fiercely crowded rap business you’re more likely to listen to a dominant MC speak on how he runs his respective area with an iron fist.

We’ve heard T.I. brand himself the King down South, while the likes of Jay, Nas and 50 have all claimed the illustrious “King of New York” title for themselves. On the other side of the country, Snoop Dogg has adopted a new nickname for himself: The King of the Mutha-F’n West Coast.

Unsurprisingly, and as with seemingly any rapper who is intent to proclaim themselves the ruler of their native environment, Snoop’s latest moniker hasn’t gone unrecognised and has sparked the inevitable spot of controversy among some rap listeners reluctant to accept his mighty title.

Despite those grumbling hip-hop devotees, there’s no denying the existing evidence in favour of Snoop. An incredible success story of a man who came from nothing only to turn himself into both a musical icon and a powerhouse brand, Tha Doggfather has won millions of followers across the globe. He has maintained his celebrity by collaborating with a veritable who’s-who of popular artists. Not just that but he’s “on the TV screens and in the magazines”, as he once so aptly put it. Up until the emergence of Compton’s prodigy The Game, you could argue that Snoop had single-handedly kept the spotlight on the West Coast on more than one occasion.

Yet celebrity alone surely does not a rap King make. In fact, this is where opinion on Snoop’s supposed ruling tends to divide: While the D-O-Double G has blessed consumers with what is unquestionably one of the greatest rap albums of all time in “Doggystyle”, he has also submitted some less than stellar outings in the past. Although Bigg Snoop seems somewhat angered by the South’s current domination of the mainstream, there was a time when Snoop dropped what sounded distinctly like a Southern-fried release. “Da Game is to be Sold, Not to be Told” is renowned by fans as a poor record at best, cluttered with Southern rappers that sound out of place and aggressive No Limit productions that never fitted Snoop’s trademark drawl. Critically, it was his worst performing album and one that caused many a fan to lose faith in him.

Unfortunately, the above example isn’t the only time the “C-R-I-P with some P-I-M-P too” has had his music come under fire. By collaborating with pop favourites like Justin Timberlake and, most recently, The Pussycat Dolls, Snoop has been labelled a “sell-out” more than once. How, many a listener has speculated, can a rapper who bravely flaunts his gang ties go on to work with the one-time front man of *NSync? King Snoop defends such pairings as staying versatile, but his comment that such singles have “done nothing to hurt my career” raises an eyebrow. Sure, it’s highly doubtful that they did anything to hurt Snoop’s bank balance, but it certainly caused some members of his core fan base disillusionment.

It’s plausible that, through releasing traditional, gangsta-centric projects like Tha Eastsidaz albums, Snoop is attempting to silence those who disparage his radio-friendly mainstream single releases like “Beautiful”. It’s almost as if Tha Dogg is walking a tight rope, careful to balance the mix of both pop collaborations and distinct West Coast funk affairs. Similarly, Snoop walks a thin line with his claims in his recent, world exclusive DubCNN interview.

While his heartfelt differentiation's between a beat-maker and an overall producer when discussing the work habits of Warren G and Daz in comparison to the infamous Dr. Dre, as well as his blunt comments regarding the likes of G-Unit newcomer Spider Loc, can be attributed by many as ‘real talk’ from a man who maintains the West Coast’s throne, Tha Doggfather simply sounds like another loudmouthed rap star when he refers to himself as “the new John Gotti” - coming across as a far cry from the King he insists he is. Much like his music, Snoop Dogg’s vocal comments are just as likely to divide opinion as any album he serves up. While many may think that Snoop calling himself the King of the Coast is an example of arrogance, outbursts like the quote above go one further and appear overblown.

Yet, if there’s one thing that I’m assured many fans can agree upon, it’s that no other rapper is currently doing as much for the West Coast as he is. Sure, his accomplishments may seem humble when compared to the continuous classic output that Dr. Dre brought us when he introduced the world to a flourishing Death Row, but Tha Dogg is clearly trying to bring about West Coast unity. The Western Conference he called last year, coupled with the cameo-overload that was Tha Dogg Pound’s “Cali Iz Active” clip, attest to this.

Still, the cynics continue to rear their head. Many West Coast rap fans have expressed their belief that the Western Conference was little more than a shrewd promotional tool to raise interest for Snoop and Game’s then-upcoming national tour. People have also noted that, for all Snoop’s talk of unifying the West Coast and bringing some New West artists to the forefront, only now, over six months since the conference, have we seen Snoop collaborate with some shining up-and-comers in the form of Bad Lucc and Damani, two-thirds of the promising new group Western Union alongside long-time Snoop associate Soopafly. Of course, this could be being a little over cynical, since Snoop has introduced the world to many names, including the likes of E-White, Goldie Loc and the afore-mentioned Soopafly. However, for whatever reason, none of Snoop’s protégés have really achieved widespread solo recognition and success. Hopefully, we will see this rather uninspiring trend change in the near future.

Ultimately, with the state of the West Coast right now, Snoop seems as good a candidate for the throne as any other wannabe rap ruler. A handful of pop singles surely aren’t enough to counteract all the great, ‘traditional’ Snoop Dogg tracks that so many of us have enjoyed over the years. He’s also able to say what he likes about the rather dire state of West Coast rap and, for the most part, get away with it, and that alone is surely a sign of the respect that he demands. For whatever reason, Tha Bigg Boss Dogg is currently pushing for West Coast dominance and, ulterior motives or not, that is far from a bad thing. Realistically though, to take on such a title as King carries certain important responsibilities. If Snoop wants to be taken seriously as the West Coast super power, he can’t allow himself to ease up on his current movement. In fact, the rap veteran would likely win far more supporters if he was to become even more productive in supporting the New West talent pool, using his prominence in the music industry to help the exceptional artists that have gone unnoticed thus far in their careers to find label homes that know how to utilise their abilities. Doing this, coupled with his continued and increased support of unity among his rap community, may bring about the formation of a King that no fan, artist, or critic can easily dismiss - in the meantime, let’s cross our fingers that Tha Doggfather gives the slightly more cringe worthy musical couplings a rest. “West, West y’all”.