Music | Snoop and Friends: 3rd Annual Merry Jane Wellness Retreat | 4/20/16

April 20th. No matter what day of the week it falls upon, this otherwise ordinary day of the year has slowly morphed into the Christmas of Cannabis. Since the 1970’s, 4:20pm has been the socially acceptable hour of the day to consume cannabis, and since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado in 2013, our "Mile High" state has become stoner celebration central during late April. 

An eager crowd enjoying the 3rd Annual Merry Jane Wellness Retreat (Photo Credit: Stephanie Mathena)

The popular new "holiday" brought thousands of people from all walks of life together on the steps and lawn of Fiddler's Green to party with none other than the Doggfather himself. Imagine a sold out show of misfits; no one fitting into any specific category. Maybe a more diverse version of the Breakfast Club? The atmosphere felt contagious (for obvious reasons) as a very giggly crowd welcomed Future to the stage with "I Thought It Was a Drought". The entire front row was filled with ladies with heart emoji's in their eyes. 

Fucking up commas with Future (Photo Credit: Stephanie Mathena)

After Future, the "high"ly anticipated appearance of Snoop began as the lights dimed and giant projector screens lit up with a marijuana leaf. What happened next was something straight out of an Aziz Ansari stand up bit. A very "1984" political PSA video begins to play about the current state of legalization in the U.S. Facts about incarceration rates and the hinderance on family adoption processes due to the stigma against marijuana play on the screen with an ominous voice narrating the animation. Although the overall message was a proactive call-to-action to a very stoned crowd, they seemed to embrace the message while beginning to chant “Snoop!” No such luck to get him out on stage just yet, as second, 10-minute long video appeared on screen, promoting "MerryJane.com" - Snoop Dogg's cannabis lifestyle media website/app. Various famous cannabis endorsers like Miley Cyrus, Seth Rogen, and DJ Khaled appear in the video to show their support for Snoop’s edibles and technology related Cannabis products. The video continued on to describe the production processes of his specific cannabis and the various products on MerryJane.com, and the crowd's vibe slowly changed from lively and rowdy to restless; wondering why this short promo video had turned into a short documentary film. 

The Doggfather (Photo Credit: Stephanie Mathena)

When the film finally ended, the crowd lit up (literally) as "Uncle Snoop" strolled on the stage with his rendition of, 2pac's "California Love". Snoop also broke out 50 Cent's classic “P.I.M.P" ( which was his actual job for many years), as he waved his cane toward the crowd. As the audience raised their hands in time to the music, it felt more like they were saluting a veteran. This man, the Doggfather, is such a staple to the Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Rap industries that experiencing his performance was certainly an unreal, nostalgic, majestic experience. 

We hope you enjoyed your 4/20 celebration as much as we enjoyed ours. Check out more photos in our slideshow.

Words and Photos Stephanie Mathena

Music | Riot Fest | The National Western Complex | Sunday: Photo Essay

Explosions In The Sky (Photo Credit: Liz Whitman)

The last day of Riot Fest had us fending off exhaustion, sunburns, blisters, hangovers, and an overconsumption of carnival food. Then again that wasn't going to let us from enjoying the finale of a great festival. A band that had been on our radar for awhile would have to be Explosions In The Sky, hailing from Austin, Texas (our second home if you haven't noticed), the band put on a mesmerizing early evening set despite a few sound issues. Perfectly timed with our customary Colorado sunset the band blew us away with their chill inducing instrumentals we have come to love. Favorite acts of the day would have to include Yelawolf, Tenacious D, The Lawrence Arms, Bootsy Collins, Snoop Dogg (who played all the hits) and The Prodigy. For those about to experience Riot Fest in Chicago and Toronto please do not miss The Prodigy, we won't give away any hints but they put on one hell of a show.

Snooooooooooppppp! (Photo Credit: Liz Whitman)

I would have to say that after covering our third Riot Fest, they have seemed to have come full circle and given the fans what they want. A few hiccups here and there our experience was pretty enjoyable. Having an indoor stage to escape from the heat was a nice touch. The abundance of different food vendors, multiple beer lines (I don't think we waited more than two minutes for a drink), plenty of port-a-potties. This years lineup seemed to satisfy all genres of music, we hope you enjoyed our live Instagram coverage as well as our photo recaps. Riot Fest is always one of our favorite festivals to cover and we are already looking forward to next year.

Sunday's Best Photos: Matthew Smith, Robert Castro and Liz Whitman


Music | Compton A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre | Our First Impression | Review

The much anticipated album from Dr. Dre hit Apple Music on Thursday afternoon. Many have been holding out hope for a Detox album that has been almost fifteen years in the making, in an interview last week Dre said he had scrapped the album and has been focusing on Compton The Soundtrack. In all honesty anything from Dre right now is Christmas come early! We have now had a chance to listen to the album which drops Friday and well we came away with some keen observations.

When we initially got the track listing we saw some old friends and some new collaborators on the album, truth be told we are glad he decided to mix it up. We have the usual suspects Eminem, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Xzibit. Yeah when is the last time we heard from X to the Z right? We also have standout like Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Justus, Jon Connor and more.

The opening Intro is an introduction giving us a glance at an interpretation of modern day Compton that leads into the first song "Talk About It", feat. King Mez and Justus. The track hits hard with an infectious drum beat that intertwines with straight lyrical jabs by the two featured artist reflecting on the chorus of "It was all a dream....".  The second track "Genocide" hits us with a straight shot of Westcoast flavor that goes down smooth reminiscent of that old school Dre sound. The track features Kendrick Lamar with help from Marsha Ambrosias and Candice Pillay. Kendrick Lamar slays this track, did we expect anything less? The build up and sudden bass drops on this track make it one of the standout gems of the album. "It's All On Me", gives us a rather soulful track with Justus and B.J. the Chicago laying the foundation for Dre's verse that gives a retroactive look his life. The album maintains it's momentum throughout the opening tracks setting us up with "All In A Day's Work" introduces to one of our favorite up and coming acts Anderson .Paak (he recently played Denver for a Red Bull Sound Select show). The track highlights his unmatched style that is making him a rising star. We see the return of Pimp Yo Ride fame Mr. Xzibit, who slays his verse as if it were the year 2000 on the track "Loose Cannons".

On "Issues", NWA mate Ice Cube comes through with a hard nosed battle edged bombardment of lyrical assassination that compliments Dre as if they were playing Russian roulette with this song. The beat is infectious and a whirlwind almost playing out like an anthem to a horror picture (think the Halloween theme song). The hottest emcee in the game Kendrick Lamar get another chance to shine on "Deep Water", this time with help of Justus. Of course the track is fire and needs no explanation touching on the recent police brutality issues placed by recent events with the screams of I can't breathe being painfully drowned out by the sound of somebody drowning. A Dre album is not complete without the help of Snoop Dogg who shines on "One Shot One Kill", the chorus is as close as we get to having a club banger on this album. if you came to expect this album to feature a slew of club bangers look elsewhere, they are replaced with skillfully produced numbers that make the album work with the help of some of the best up and coming artist around.

One of our favorite tracks samples Bone Thugz and Harmony's "For The Love of Money", aptly titled the same song except we have the lovely Jill Scott singing the hook, with Dre and Jon Connor going back and forth about the evil known as money. One of the catchiest opening numbers comes to us in the form of "Satisfiction" featuring Snoop, Marsha Ambrosius and King Mez. Ambrosius hook is contagious and Snoop enters the fray at the right moment (as he always does). Our favorite track on the album features Anderson .Paak on "Animals", with Dre featuring prominently on this  track that you can throw on a Sunday afternoon bbq, sipping on a cold beer and wait for the ribs to finish cooking, the production by DJ Premier is unmatched with his trademark scratching lending to the perfect track. The album begins to wind down with "Medicine Man", as Eminem lays into an angry rant that seems like it's never going to end reminding us of the old Slim Shady days that we have all come to know. The last track "Talking to My Diary", takes us on a voyage as Dre is writing a real life diary as he goes on a history of his career, the track ends with some well orchestrated horns that lends into a perfect segway for a remarkable album of pure genius. Many will be left wondering where songs like "Dre Day", "Forgot About Dre", and "Nutin' But A "G" Thang", have gone, truth is this album is not a sequel, rather an appreciation for the city in where it all started.....Compton.

 

Snowball Music Festival 2012

Vail Valley, Colorado will be a music lovers dream this up coming weekend as some of music's best will embark on three days of non-stop raging.  The Snowball Music Festival has carved itself a nice niche amongst the big time music festivals in its short span.  With headliners Rusko, Snoop Dogg (who headlines here in Denver on Friday), and Colorado favorite Bassnectar scheduled to rock the masses, a more diverse genre of music should cater to all those in attendance this year.  Ultra5280 will be covering and reporting back all weekend so make sure you follow our Instagram (ultra5280) and Twitter feed all weekend for all the latest.