Review: Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa at The Warfield
The proverbial torch was passed—or in this case multiple blunts, onstage—Monday night with veteran rapper Snoop Dogg joining forces with 2010 breakout Wiz Khalifa at The Warfield.
Wiz Khalifa channels his inner Steven Tyler at The Warfield. // Photo by Matt Crawford
It was a victory lap for Khalifa, who was already blowing up with “Black and Yellow” before the song was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers and beamed into living rooms across the country last February during the team’s Super Bowl appearance. In the year that followed, he’s released a hit album, earned a couple Grammy nominations, stole Kanye’s girl (we joke), and forged an alliance with the Doggfather for a joint film/album out today, Mac and Devin Go to High School.
The duo knows how to celebrate a release. In addition to solo sets and an encore together featuring some of Snoop (“Gin and Juice,”“Drop it Like it’s Hot”) and Khalifa’s (“Black and Yellow,” “On My Level”) biggest hits, Oakland rapper Too Short popped in for a verse and Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J made multiple cameos.
Snoop, in the clouds. // Photo by Matt Crawford
In his solo set, Khalifa kept it energized with more than a few bounce beats and a stage demeanor with subtle hints of Steven Tyler—long microphone scarf, flannel, and all. Snoop kept to his catalog crowd favorites and brought out a few scantily clad dancers to keep the heavily medicated crowd focused.
Together, this could be the trifecta pairing of Snoop’s career—Dre put him on the map, Pac helped make him a household name, and Khalifa could be his fun-loving stoner buddy as Snoop rides out his golden days in in a cloud of smoke.
Is there a better match in hip-hop right now? Probably not, but we’ll have to see what Jay Z and Kanye do at HP Pavilion on Wednesday.
It’s Three 6 Mafia, not “36 Mafia.”