It was only a matter of time before rap music started resorting to ‘Natalie Cole Syndrome’. Older performers such as the caricature ‘Snoop Doggy Dog’, the has-been Dr. Dre, and the self-parody Eminem who are seeking to show that they are hip and relevant — rather than out of touch middle-aged millionaires without a clue — have taken the EXACT SAME tactics as Cole when she sang ‘Unforgettable’ with her (late) father.
I’m sure rap fans will deny it … but that is all just posturing. Sure, in typical rap fashion they inject language that shows their limited intellect and lack of ability to actually create imagery, project racist and misogynist statements, and so on … but make no mistake – this is ‘Unforgettable 2012’.
The high-priced performance showed a video-game like Tupac on stage with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and some others. Here is the description of how it happened:
According to the company responsible for creating the hologram, the idea came from Dr. Dre. “We worked with Dr. Dre on this, and it was Dre’s vision to bring this back to life,” Nick Smith, president of AV Concepts, told MTV. “It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilize the technology to make it come to life.”
Smith didn’t reveal the cost for the illusion, but he said that a comparable one would range anywhere between $100,000 and $400,000. “I can’t say how much that event cost, but I can say it’s affordable in the sense that if we had to bring entertainers around world and create concerts across the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country,” he said.
Technically, it works quite well, better than the 2008 election coverage which did the same thing on CNN. Overall it isn’t too bad, but it is what it is – which is yet another form of musical necrophilia. Which means – for the rap fans out there – ‘f-ing a dead n!gga’.