As a crash course in the current state of African-American pop music, this weekend's Springroove festival being held on consecutive days in Osaka and Chiba Prefecture showcases an impressive range of artists. The headliners all represent major labels, and thus the mainstream: Since hip-hop and R&B are the dominant commercial music forms in the world today, that's what's driving the business.
No single artist characterizes this development better than Snoop Dogg, who not only helped invent gangsta rap, but broke through with it on his quadruple-platinum debut album, "Doggystyle" in 1993. At the time, 21-year-old Calvin Broadus, already an ex-con, was considered the devil incarnate, blasted by everyone except the people buying his albums (and probably a few of them, too) for his laconic promotion of violence, drugs and misogyny.
What a difference a decade makes. Snoop's latest album, "Rhythm & Gangsta -- The Masterpiece," returned him to the hip-hop throne after years of albums that sold well but were considered behind the curve. What's more, it's just as gun-obsessed and bitch-slappin' as his early work, but now Snoop is a respected member of the show-biz establishment. He plays golf with automobile-industry magnate Lee Iacocca, which makes him the Alice Cooper of hip-hop.