Snoop Dogg Concert Review

By Sam Carliner

On Thursday, January 23 I saw Snoop Dogg at The Wellmont. I didn’t realize how gorgeous of a venue The Wellmont is. There’s plenty of space, multiple bars with quick service, a great sound system, and a beautiful domed ceiling. These are just a few of the aspects that stood out. This was my first concert at The Wellmont and as soon as I walked in I realized I’d been missing out on a great venue, just a few minutes away from Montclair State’s campus.

There were three openers, the first being Assholes By Nature, a group from Texas that I hadn’t heard of. I imagine most of the audience didn’t know them because there wasn’t much excitement as they performed. Much to their credit, the group didn’t let that stop them from giving off as much energy as possible. They showed a lot of love to the audience, at one point even giving out a boom box to one of the more energetic people in the crowd.

The next opener was West Coast legend, Warren G. The audience was much more excited to see him. Many people rapped and sang along to every word of his songs. He really set the tone for the rest of the night, performing all his hits like a pro and talking to the crowd like he’d known them all his life. He even took a smoke break on stage and shared with the audience upfront.

O.T. Genesis was the last person to perform before Snoop. Of all the openers, I’d say he had the most energy. He danced around and yelled excitedly to hype everyone up. If I’m being honest, I spent most of the time not realizing who O.T. Genesis was, but it clicked at the end when he played his biggest hits, CoCo and Cut It, back to back. It was like being taken back to my senior year of high school and it was a great way to work up that last bit of energy I’d need as I waited for the main event.

Finally, Snoop Dogg’s DJ came on and played some West Coast classics followed by a video documenting Snoop Dogg’s history as an icon. As soon as it ended, Snoop walked onstage and everyone went nuts. The first two seconds of Next Episode started and it hit me that I was seeing one of the most iconic rappers ever. Snoop really put on a spectacle throughout the night, rapping into a glittery gold mic, shooting money from a gun into the crowd and being backed up by pole dancers and a giant dog costumed character. He played every song I could’ve hoped for, from his 90s classics to his best 2000s features. The energy in the audience was great. I’ve been to a lot of concerts, and this one really stood out for how much fun the entire crowd was having. It was the type of energy that comes with seeing someone as loveable and well-known as Uncle Snoop.