By Daniel Paiz

Your first guess might be English. After that, CRIP. Or it could be the most obvious of the three, weed.

But music is the actual answer when it comes to figuring out what Snoop Dogg’s first language is. It has to be. Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Thank Me” Tour hit Denver and rolled through the Fillmore Auditorium; it certainly had some ups and downs over the course of a very good night.

Ten, night…eight, seven…

One thing this concert goer appreciates is a particular trend with veteran emcees. What, you ask? DIVING right into one’s discography. Without backing vocals. Over the instrumentals as if it was the actual recording. So we all know Snoop has been doing this since 1992 right?

The Doggfather didn’t play a jam that didn’t rock the Denver crowd. Snoop set the night off with the intro track “What U Talkin’ Bout” from his newest album “I Wanna Thank Me.” It doesn’t matter how many times I hear that track, it sounds new each time (read: this is timeless music). From there he bounced back from one classic to the other.

There’s one way you can tell the Long Beach veteran emcee makes timeless music.

Six, five…four, three, two…one

When an artist can slide in new tracks from his latest project and they fit right in sonically and thematically, that’s the definition of timeless. This continuing praise isn’t simply because I appreciate and respect what mister Calvin Broadus Jr. has done his entire career. It’s the fact that the music translates so well into a live show environment.

There are artists who sound better in your headphones. There are also musicians who sound better live. Snoop doesn’t lose quality in either direction. Off the top of my head I can only recall Run The Jewels, A Tribe Called Quest, and OutKast joining Snoop Dogg as Hip-Hop artists that this claim can be applied to. That’s uncommon to encounter.

In addition to providing entertainment and free lessons to aspiring emcees in Denver, Snoop also paid tribute to Nipsey Hussle. Prior to this tribute the LBC OG showed love to Eazy E, Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. The latter artist was the closest I’ll ever come to seeing Tupac live; Snoop performed his verses from “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”

Count down…

Trae Tha Truth

When I think of Houston music, I think of three acts (sorry Bey Hive):

1. UGK (I think of Bun B first, but without question R.I.P Pimp C!)
2. Michael “5000” Watts/Swishahouse
3. Trae Tha Truth

For the record, the honorable mentions would be Slim Thug, Paul Wall and Mike Jones (sorry not sorry, Bey Hive). Trae is a underground rap veteran who still in the year of our Lord 2019 does not get the full respect he deserves. To be fair, I am not a diehard fan but I know that he has delivered verses without fail for years; tonight he did the same.

What’s most impressive about his performance? It must be a constant reoccurrence on bigger tours where he gains the audience’s attention and favor. Denver came around and showed the Houston veteran some love, but it took a moment. Honestly after Snoop, Trae was the best artist of the night.

RJmrLA

Pronounced R-J-mister-L-A, this Los Angeles native brought along DJ Goofy and they went to work on the Denver crowd. I appreciate the energy DJ Goofy started the set off with, because even fewer people knew who RJ was after Trae. The beat selection was solid, but RJ frankly didn’t do a lot to stand out.

It felt like something I’d hear on the radio (which can be taken as a positive) but also something I wouldn’t search for on my own. This isn’t to say RJ was bad, but rather an artist that really didn’t give me a reason to search him beyond the show.

Warren G

The most disappointing act of the night, purely because there was no Warren G present to perform at the Denver tour stop. Not sure why, but any update will be posted here.