Review of Snoop Dogg at Exeter Timepiece by Fran McElhone.
When superstar US rapper Snoop Dogg, aka DJ Snoopadelic, stepped out of an inconspicuous beige people carrier flanked by an impressive, though entirely expected entourage, he, all six foot 4" of him, was more like an apparition than reality.
The 42-year-old whose early life was characterised by gangster living and who has sold 30 million albums globally, was a gift to Exeter. Our gift to the global superstar used to performing in arena events packing in thousands, was Timepiece, the chance to play an intimate gig in a bar-like venue.
With neck length dreads and wearing slightly mirrored gold, heart shaped sun glassed, which did not leave his face his entire visit, a grey and black oversized hoody, navy Adidas track suit bottoms and black trainers, and I counted three bits of bling slung around his neck, strikingly handsome – and tall - Snoop was exactly as he is in the music videos of the last two decades.
It all happened so fast, within seconds he and his posse had arrived from headlining Boardmasters in Newquay and rested-up briefly in the green room - Old Timers. Then, once again, the apparition of the rapper, actor and DJ, appeared and, underneath the red brick arch, through the courtyard, he loped, expressionless, silent, medallions swinging, with his impressively built bodyguards and the rest, into the side door of Timepiece.
He didn't have a swagger, just this chilled-out stride. It was hard to make out those beautiful, dark feline eyes of his, or whether he had noticed the delighted shrieks that erupted.
He arrived, for his two-hour DJ set at around 12.45am. When I chased upstairs, he was already in the DJ booth, with the 400-strong crowd already pressed up against the barrier, arms in the air, phones high, cameras flashing.
And then for two hours, from a sliver stickered laptop, everyone was fixated on the biggest star to "grace Exeter with his presence" as one event-goer described it earlier, in years.
His playlist swung between contemporary chart toppers and old school rap, R&B and G-Funk classics – Still D.R.E., Jump Around, Hip Hop Hooray, Get Down On It, Here Comes the Hotstepper - as well as Bob Marley's Could this be Love – when Snoop looked his most into it. With intermittent MCing, the star formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg, took the audience on a musical journey, his musical journey, from 1992 – 2014.
I didn't get a conversation with Snoop. When it was over, it was over. And when he emerged from the side door at just after 3am, he loped through the courtyard again before being jostled into the waiting people carrier, and I was given a firm "no" from one of his people that I could not have a photo for the paper.
This is one superstar whose appeal has circumnavigated the globe, transcended time, class, race, gender and age. If I had have had one moment with him, my question would be to ask him about this phenomenal achievement.
But when virtually all trace of Snoop had disappeared. His right hand man, rapper, actor and executive vice president of Death Row Records, DJ Kurupt, headphones round neck, baseball cap on head, lingered.
He was the nicest, unassuming, mega star who could wish to steal a few moments in the drizzle with.
"Snoopy loved it," he tells me. "It's hard to get him into a bar – he's used to playing for thousands of people. But this was close. And he would have loved that. It's about the music." Then putting on his best English accent, he adds, "It was bloody great! We love Exeter." Then he told Mr McElhone he looked "sharp" and told me we should take a selfie.
![Video and pictures: Snoop Dogg plays Exeter nightclub Timepiece]( "Video and pictures: Snoop Dogg plays Exeter nightclub Timepiece")
