You wouldn’t expect a place that holds a weekly “Honky Tonk Night” to host hundreds of inebriated young adults and even some families to bring one of the most well-known hip-hop artists to Johnson City.
Gin and juice was flowing as Cordozar Calvin Broadus, the rapper known as Snoop Dogg, brought down the house for 1,500 concertgoers Sunday night at Magic City Music Hall.
The doors opened at 5 p.m. and people began to file into Magic City eagerly anticipating the appearance of the legendary rapper.
Snoop Dogg, who has gained recent notoriety through his new reality show, “Snoop Dogg’s Fatherhood,” performed a 70-minute set that included many of his hit songs.
Snoop Dogg was ticketed just last week for possession of marijuana in New York City. But the citation did not stop him from making his way up to Johnson City.
Security was at an all-time high for the concert. Upon entering the hall, fans were searched by bouncers, looking for drugs, weapons and other items that might be considered as threat. Even this reporter’s pen was confiscated.
Around 9 p.m. the crowd began to chant “Snoop” while watching the red curtain on the side of the stage for signs of Snoop Dogg.
Fifteen minutes later the rapper emerged and the crowd screamed with excitement. Several songs into the set, Snoop Dogg exclaimed, “Give me some pimp juice!”
The beginning of 50 Cent’s song “P.I.M.P.” began to play with Snoop singing along.
“Ain’t no party like a Snoop Dogg party!” said Snoop Dogg while dancing on the stage.
The crowd was pumping as Snoop Dogg made his way through old and new material. At one point, Snoop Dogg asked the crowd, “How many people got love for Snoop Dogg? How many people in the house wanna hear some old-school Snoop Doggy Dogg shit?”
Cheers rang through the air as Snoop Dogg launched into some old hits like “187” and “Nuthin’ But a G Thang.”
Snoop even performed a tribute to the late rapper Tupac.
“It was freakin’ awesome,” said Tracy Shoultes of Waverly. “I really liked the dedication to Tupac.”
At one point, Snoop noticed an audience member holding a sign in the air.
“What’s your poster say?” Snoop asked. “’Snoop, may I have your autograph please?’”
Snoop paused.
“Give me that poster. Give me a pen. What’s your name?”
“What’s your favorite drink around here?” asked Snoop Dogg leading into his next hit, “Gin and Juice.”
Snoop Dogg, wearing a black du-rag and black T-shirt, exclaimed, “I wanna get fucked up,” leading into Akon’s “I Wanna Fuck You.”
“Sexual Eruption” from his new album “Ego Trippin’” was performed after Snoop made sure that the audience was having a good time.
As the show began to wind down, a cover of House of Pain’s “Jump Around” was performed.
The energy was still flowing as Snoop Dogg sang his hit “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”
Snoop Dogg said goodnight to the audience with his own version of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”
Promising to return again, Snoop signed off with, “Love y’all. Peace.”
The show, selling out just a few days before, welcomed a mixture of fans both young and old.
Anne Sullivan of Conklin and her family attended the show together.
“I grew up with Snoop,” Sullivan said. “Now my son’s into him. It’s multigenerational. I don’t know how much my husband liked it though.”