With an album finally catchy and G-rated enough to be radio friendly, and with an X-rated porn career in full swing, Snoop Dogg is bringing his Rhythm and Gangsta Tour to Iceland on 17 July. How things have changed, as Snoop pointed out in a recent MTV interview, “Last time I came to Europe, they wanted to kick me out. They thought I was a bad guy because I was fighting a legal situation back in America. But as you can see, in the year 2005, the grass is greener on the other side.”
Ah yes, “2005” and “side” rhyme. So it must be profound.
Last summer, Iceland welcomed 50 Cent, who provided a mediocre show, but excited the local hip hop community by giving underrepresented hip hop locals Quarashi and XXX Rottweiler a venue in opening for the American gangsta.
50 Cent went on to become the most money-making hip hopper of 2004, with more than 50 million USD in royalties, merchandising and touring income, according to Rolling Stone. What is more, Fiddy followed his visit to Iceland with a radio-friendly seduction album, The Massacre.
Snoop looks to be on his way to a similar year. His new album, RG: The Masterpiece, gets rid of much of the pesky aggressive tone of his old school releases and presents top shelf production from Neptunes, with samples from, of all bands, the Bee Gees among others. And Snoop has more marketing moxy than even George Lucas. We at the Grapevine were particularly impressed with the give away, Drop It Like It’s Hot ringtone available through MTV.com.
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Snoop Dogg, 17 July at Egilshöll. Tickets 5900 ISK. Available from local vendors and through www.event.is.
Drop It Like It’s Hot ringtone available for free at www.mtv.com.
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