Posted on: July 16, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The simple fact is that a number of rap stars are pretty gash when it comes to a live show, having to either provide the ending words to each lines of their hits or essentially going through with a taped recording of their set. Snoop Dogg is the consummate professional, and this ability and skill comes through completely during “Drop It Like It’s Hot”. This concert, performed in Belgium in 2005, has pretty much all of Snoop Dogg’s biggest hits up to this time. The audio present on this concert DVD is stellar, ensuring that individuals could conceivably believe that the tracks here are studio, while the video shot here ensures that all parts of Snoop Dogg’s stage act are shown in glorious full and realistic color.

This means that there are tracks like “Murder Was The Case”, “”G Thang”, “Next Episode”, and “Gin & Juice”, which represent some of the most well known tracks by Snoop Dogg. However, there are some pretty interesting additions to this live set, including “Lodi Dodi”, “Let’s Get Blown”, and “The Bidness”. The bonuses that are present during this DVD are enough to keep viewers focused in on “Drop It Like It’s Hot”, and include a few tracks from the 2001 Jamaica performance, including “Wrong Idea” and “Deep Cover”. However, it is the “Before The Concert” featurette that will really seal the deal for most individuals. The footage here shows Snoop Dogg at the top of eir game, but how exactly does Snoop get ready for the show, and how does the crew and staff ensure that the performance will go without a hitch? The featurette tells all that and more.

What would be interesting to see in the next few months would be further releases of live concerts from Snoop Dogg’s career, especially from the very early period where ey was just a protégé of Dr. Dre. In much the same way, the professional style of the video and audio on this DVD should be the gold standard for how different rappers’ shows should be bundled up and disseminated to the masses. Here’s to hoping that MVD takes this ball and runs with it, picking up live shows from current and earlier rappers and filling in some gaping holes in the video record that currently exist.

Rating: 7.5/10

Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like It’s Hot: Bruxelles, February 23, 2005 / 2008 MVD / 85 Minutes / http://www.musicvideodistributors.com /

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