Little 5 weekend, Snoop style

At 11 a.m. Friday, Snoop Dogg’s private jet touched down at the Monroe County Airport.

The rapper and his entourage traveled in luxury to Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites, where a requested 60-inch plasma screen television awaited — only the best for his Xbox LIVE.

In the hotel elevator, a Golden Corral Buffet & Grill waitress startled at the sight of her favorite performer.

“Come to my restaurant, Snoop,” she said, “and you eat for free.”

They exchanged numbers and the rapper thanked her in his signature low, smooth tone — recognizable worldwide after nearly two decades of hit albums, sold-out concerts and a popular reality television series.

When the elevator reached the hotel’s sixth floor, Snoop and four suit-clad security guards exited toward his room, which could be arranged or manipulated in any way possible — he need only ask.

The rapper pulled out his purple-encased iPad and began to bob his head to a bass-heavy beat.

Tonight, he’d bring Los Angeles style to IU.

Despite a forecast warning possible downpour, more than 6,100 fans gathered in the shared Zeta Beta Tau and Sigma Alpha Mu parking lot to witness the legendary rapper perform hits from 1993’s “Doggystyle” to his most recent single, “Gangsta Luv.”

IU alumnus Jonathan Wolf, who helped coordinate the event with entertainment group Blue Ocean Live, said bringing Snoop Dogg to campus was his greatest professional achievement.

“We’ve always been doing big rap concerts,” said Wolf, who helped plan a Young Jeezy concert during the Little 500 week in 2009. “This is the culmination of it all.”

Wolf moved from his home in Memphis, Tenn., to a temporary apartment in Bloomington for more than a month of promoting, planning and prepping.

Although he wouldn’t disclose how much Snoop cost to book, Wolf pointed to a Mercedes SUV in the ZBT parking lot and said, “It’s comparable to that.”

Wolf said while he was pleased with the concert turnout, not all went according to plan.

Singer Jeremih, best known for his 2008 single “Birthday Sex,” was scheduled to perform prior to Snoop Dogg but only made it through a few notes.

The artist entered the ZBT basement just after 8 p.m., and said he was ready to play.
“I hear the crowd out there and I’m anxious to see how it looks,” Jeremih said. “I plan to party, got a little oil in my system so I feel good.”

He raised his drink, which contained a blend of coconut Cîroc vodka and papaya juice — his “special potion.”

“I get into a zone with this,” he said. “When I perform, I feel myself even more.”
But on stage, the sound crew refused to turn up the volume on his microphone.

Luis Duran, Jeremih’s manager, said the mix-up was due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict with Snoop Dogg’s people — they wouldn’t allow Jeremih to play in case the performance overlapped with Snoop’s time.

With no performer for at least an hour, tension ran high in the crowd and chants of “bullshit” could be heard backstage.

Negative sentiment quickly transformed to audible excitement, however, as Snoop Dogg emerged from a ZBT staircase.

Security guards formed a protective human tunnel for the rapper as he strutted to the stage, camera flashes reflecting from the glittering “West Coast” embroidered on the back of his jacket.

“Who here smokes weed?” he asked the crowd, to which the drunk, high and sober alike responded in fits of screaming and cheering.

Senior Michael Feld, who donned an “All Access Pass” around his neck, said Snoop packed tremendous star-power.

“The show was amazingly entertaining,” he said, as he mingled with guests drinking Grey Goose vodka in the ZBT basement. “To see Snoop hold the crowd as he did was incredible.”

After security ushered Snoop Dogg safely back inside ZBT through fumes of smoke and liquor, Wolf and other coordinators rushed to the Holiday Inn Express to prepare for the rapper and his people. Two floors were reserved for performers, crew and select VIP guests. One hour remained to ready rooms.

On the way, Wolf received a call from one of Snoop’s crew members.

“We’re going to Wendy’s,” he told the driver. “Snoop said to ‘get a little of everything.’”
Four bags of greasy goods and $84.97 later, they arrived at the hotel and began pondering means to obtain the best champagne possible.

By 3 a.m., other performers at the hotel expressed their disappointment. Snoop hadn’t left his private room, and security guards indicated he probably wouldn’t venture out until morning.

“I really wanted to smoke with Snoop,” said California rapper G5 The Jett. “It’d be like smoking with the Bob Marley of our time.”

Upstairs, Snoop Dogg played Xbox with his DJ.

Only one man — sharply dressed in a suit and tie, smiling at all who walked by — had access to the rapper: Snoop’s beloved body guard and crew member of more than 10 years, Damon.

“It’s an all-night job,” Damon said, who stood at the hotel’s front desk at 4 a.m.
He chatted with the receptionist, Kelly, and a security guard, Bill, while enjoying a meal of chips and candy from the hotel convenience store.

It was Damon who eventually persuaded the rapper to leave his hotel room, just for a moment or two.

He stepped out into the quiet hall. His eyes were clear, his smile was broad and all signs pointed to one stereotype-defying truth: Snoop Dogg was sober.
He reflected on his first IU performance.

“I thought it was cool,” he said softly. “I thought the crowd was rather hyped up, and I had a good time.”

As for Bloomington, the rapper said he enjoyed the beautiful campus and friendly people.

“I love it — basketball state,” he said. “I can get with it.”