The McGill Tribune, Wednesday, October 10 2001
A&E 19
Snoop Dogg crip-hopping towards Montreal Ricky C. Gordon_______________ The P u ff P u ff Pass Tour is on the move and heading towards Montreal for Thursday, October 11. The concert promises to be entertaining and memorable for all hip hop lovers. The US West Coast rap ‘flava’ is about to erupt out here with Kurupt, Daz, Tha Eastsidaz, and Tha Liks also on the bill. Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life Tour that also featured DM X was the last money-making draw to pass through these parts, garnering respect and love back in 1998. The Molson Centre was jam packed and the scene was live.
Now, three years later, we can enjoy the Hip Hop influence of the West Coast with Snoop Dogg filling his shoe size as the ‘Top Dogg.’ Snoop Dogg is focused, calm, collective and smooth whether rapping, running his Doggystyle record label, distributing porn DVDs, or acting (in the upcoming horror film Bones). His longevity is partly based on his willingness to change with the rap game all the while remaining true to himself. The man’s flow and rhymes have been iconic since his early days on Dr Dre’s The Chronic back in 1992. Over the years he has made his share of mistakes like every-
body else and lived to learn from them and mature into the entre preneur he is today. This past summer he starred in John Singleton’s film, Baby Boy, and released Duces’N Trayz... The Old Fashioned Way with his rap group, Tha Eastsidaz, both of which recognized his work ethic and competitive nature as an entertainer. His last solo effort, Tha Last M eal, was a fun-loving LP on the lighter side of gangster rap. Snoop Dogg helped to put gangster rap on the map with Deathrow Records mogul Suge Knight during the early to mid 1990s. Gangsta rap gave artists like Kurupt and Daz the opportu
nity to shed light on California’s inner cities in lyrical, poignant, poetic and introspective manner isms. They were rebels with a cause: show the world their home town through stories and personas with real sources, and above all, to make lots of money. Flash ahead to the 21st century and West Coast rap still largely represents the good, the bad and the ugly of inner city life through crisp beats influ enced by jazz, reggae and R n B. The P u ffP u ffPass Tour is part ly a charitable movement spear headed by Snoop Dogg in response to September 11. For every ticket bought for the tour, 1.37 pounds sterling will be donated to the
American Red Cross. The West Coast Hip Hop family is on the move to spread American solidarity with their Canadian cousins on October 11 at the Molson Centre. Snoop Dogg along with DJ Jam, Kurupt, Daz, Tha Eastsidaz, Tha Angels, Tha Liks, Soopafly and Butch Cassidy will not disappoint hip hop lovers with their first appear ance in Montreal. Tickets: Admission (790-1245) or at O ff the Hook (499-1021)
Local jazz legend Charlie Biddle interviewed Jennifer Lin Jazz in Montreal is the pulse of the city and if you want to feel the essence of Montreal Jazz, make your way over to Biddle’s. Biddle’s Jazz and Ribs is a little jazz club cum restaurant located on President Kennedy and Aylmer. The ambiance of this place is subdued yet so full of life that it compels you to just get up and dance. It’s the type of joint where the way you dress would not make you the subject of dirty looks and the music, ooooohhhweeee, the music! The head o f the jazz ensemble that plays after 10PM is the man himself, Charlie Biddle.
He plays the double bass along with his 70-year-young saxophon ist Boogie and a talented young drummer named Wally Muhammed. I decided to ask Mr. Biddle a couple of questions about his life as a jazz musician. Trib: If you have one word to describe jazz, what would it be? Charlie Biddle: Love. Trib: Love? CB: Love. Trib: Who are your greatest jazz influences? CB: That’s very hard to say... Trib: As a jazz bassist, who are your greatest influences? CB: Uh, Oscar Pettaford, Ray
Brown, We gotta go way back. Willie Williams, Kenny Wilson. We’re talking about the good of days. Trib\ Where are you from originally? CB: Philadelphia. Trib: How did you make your way to Montreal? CB: Well, Montreal was a Mecca for musicians. Trib: Jazz musicians? CB: Black musicians. Black enter tainers were the heart of Quebec, right up to the 60s, from the 20s to the 60s, I’d say 80% of enter tainers, except for the French entertainers were black. Trib: How old were you when you
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started play ing? CB: Twentyfour. I start ed to play piano when I was six, so I could always play by ear. Trib: What words would you use to describe when you play, on stage, in the spotlight? CB: It’s just pure, pure ha ppi ne s s . When I’m pl a y i n g music, I have no colours. I ain’t black, I ain’t white, I have no prej udices, I’m not hungry, I’m not sick, I’m full of love. It’s the only time that restores me for what happens, next, you know? Being the minority, as you know, every day when you get dressed, you look in the mirror and say, ‘it’s another one of those fucking days,’ just staring, just looking. So many people think that they should be the only ones in this world. They look at you like a stranger, you know? Well, my side is hard times. So therefore this here restores me everyday, when I’m playing that bass, it refreshes me for what’s out there the next day. Music is just pure love, pure goodness. That’s why I can talk about it, because I have so much of it. The music brings me love. Trib: How do you feel about young people being interested in jazz? CB: Oh they SHOULD listen to it, they should listen to it. I don’t think young people should be influenced by what the TV, what the radios is playing. Them guys are ripping us off, they program you to what TH EY want you to
hear. The same guys that own the radio stations, they’re making, millions of dollars pushing that shit out, you understand? And they don’t care, it’s heartless. I think the government and the CRTC should straighten that out, they should tell them there are other things people want to hear, besides what they’re making money off of. They own the recording companies also. If I as a club owner wanted to go to the radio station and buy prime air time and pay them three times what they usually get, for jazz, they will DUMP it. Trib: One last question, when you were younger did you ever use your double bass to romance the ladies? CB: I do that everyday! Trib: ‘ laughs* CB: They do it now, being a musicians, they are in a unique position with the opposite sex, you know? They shouldn’t take advantage of it. [A sly smile grows on his face.]