Don't get me wrong. I think that Snoop's usually an original. His contribution to Dre's Chronic was awesome and his subsequent musical career has been an undeniable success, however uninteresting to me. But, his video for his new song "Sexual Seduction" off his new album Ego Trippin' just caught my eye on VH1 and it was interesting to me for the simple reason that it was a total Chromeo knockoff.
I think this is significant because Chromeo brought this particular style of synth-heavy '80s kitsch back into the arena of underground popular music. A big star like Snoop jumps in and rides the wave of something that's already working and tries to make it look like his own idea. From the strap-on keyboard all the way to singing with a tube in his mouth like Chromeo's Pee Thug, this concept is not a Snoop original. Chromeo is definitely getting their due, but in the years that it takes for artists to build their following, that is to say that by the time that the real mainstream hears of them, they'll be behind Snoop, regarded as knockoffs of him.
We're not talking Avril Lavigne here or anything, but it's still kind of disgusting. Maybe I'm being unfair. What'choo think?
Here's Chromeo's video for "Needy Girl" (So much better by the way).
I can't embed the Snoop video because, despite his attempt to appear lo-fi and original, he's such a big star, but go here if you want to take a look at it:
Snoop "Sexual Seduction" video on You Tube.
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