^ Dr. Dre @ Game 5 ^
Once again it's on: The City of Angels is on the rise. I've been saying it for a little while now, but with each passing day the feeling becomes more and more tangible. I feel like it's 2001 again: cars and SUVs storming the streets with Lakers' flags galore, an active West coast movement operating on the radio, sunny days, long nights, bright lights, good music. L.A. at its finest. Sure, it's not just the Lakers' success that animates and charges up the folks of La-La-Land. But it helps.
If you take the time to notice, as I have, L.A.'s glory days have emerged at times when the city's basketball and Hip-Hop levels have been most potent and booming. Case in point: the energy and vibe of the late 90's/early 00's. Amidst the revival of a Showtime Dynasty with the legendary duo of Kobe & Shaq running the paint, another celebrated tag-team, Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre, were once again the talk of the town. The bumptiousness of 'Still D.R.E.' said it all as Dre dropped a classic, Snoop was 'Lay(ing) Low', and the city was confident as the whiff of Cali-bred arrogance became justified once more. Of course, the progenitor of this L.A. revival is the glory days of the 80's, an era which I can only talk about from a historical perspective (as I was born in '87). Amidst the provoking blaze of the racial tensions well-documented by Ice-T and N.W.A. (among others), the city captured the spotlight in more than one sense of the word. All eyez were on L.A.
And it's about that time again. Dr. Dre should be dropping any time now (hope is in the air). Political Ice Cube is back. Snoop Dogg has been tearing up the radio once again. The Game is ready to release his Black Album. Tha Dogg Pound is chilling in the lock and load position. And let's not forget to mention that up-and-comers like Crooked I, Bishop Lamont and Roscoe Umali are ready to blow. The South is gonna have to take a breather for a little while... It's our time once again. Pleezbaleevit!
If you take the time to notice, as I have, L.A.'s glory days have emerged at times when the city's basketball and Hip-Hop levels have been most potent and booming. Case in point: the energy and vibe of the late 90's/early 00's. Amidst the revival of a Showtime Dynasty with the legendary duo of Kobe & Shaq running the paint, another celebrated tag-team, Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre, were once again the talk of the town. The bumptiousness of 'Still D.R.E.' said it all as Dre dropped a classic, Snoop was 'Lay(ing) Low', and the city was confident as the whiff of Cali-bred arrogance became justified once more. Of course, the progenitor of this L.A. revival is the glory days of the 80's, an era which I can only talk about from a historical perspective (as I was born in '87). Amidst the provoking blaze of the racial tensions well-documented by Ice-T and N.W.A. (among others), the city captured the spotlight in more than one sense of the word. All eyez were on L.A.
And it's about that time again. Dr. Dre should be dropping any time now (hope is in the air). Political Ice Cube is back. Snoop Dogg has been tearing up the radio once again. The Game is ready to release his Black Album. Tha Dogg Pound is chilling in the lock and load position. And let's not forget to mention that up-and-comers like Crooked I, Bishop Lamont and Roscoe Umali are ready to blow. The South is gonna have to take a breather for a little while... It's our time once again. Pleezbaleevit!
I
