If you think that Texas is cowboy country only, think again. As the one and only self-proclaimed Doggfather made his way down to the southern state, the hip hop heads were out in force – proving that music other than indie rock is indeed live and kicking in Austin.

However unsubstantiated these claims may be, some suggest that there is a direct correlation between hip hop and violence. Thus the security at Austin Music Hall wasn’t prepared to take any chances. Oh no, in fact prior to entering the venue, a mandatory metal check and pat-down was required. Perhaps attempts to dispel this myth were not helped further as after walking through the entrance, we were greeted by a girl being treated due to the blood pouring out of her head… Undoubtedly we had an interesting night ahead of us.

Arriving in time to see the second support act of the night, Slim Thug, the house was already filling at a considerable rate. This Texan rapper and his crew warmed the crowd adequately enough, and filled the set with sufficient amount of standard lines such as, “Put your hands up” and also a controversial, “All the ladies in the house, suck dick, be quiet”. However, the reason why Snoop is so universally appreciated is due to the diversity of his beats, rhymes and melodies. It was thus unfortunate that his support could not similarly deliver.

If kept waiting long enough, a crowd’s mood will go from waiting with excitement and anticipation to becoming restless and impatient. However, once Snoop arrived, the crowd’s collective memory was so short that the 45 minutes that he kept us waiting for was forgotten and forgiven almost immediately.

Standing before us in an understated grey tracksuit with hair meticulously parted, plaited and slicked, Snoop launched into an energetic set. He and his band (the Snoopadelics) covered most of the hits from Snoop’s vast and impressive repertoire of both old and new, including Dre’s classics, “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” and the quintessential stoner anthem, “Next Episode”. After being in the game so long, it was obvious that Snoop was a master in working the stage and the crowd, always keeping it interesting and maintaining that trademark cool-as-a-motherfucker flow.

Although Snoop didn’t have the presence of Pharrell with him on the night, it didn’t stop him from dedicating “Beautiful” to the ladies. As twenty fine young things jumped onstage for their 5 minutes of fame, trying to bump and grind their way to the top, Snoop barely batted an eyelid. One can only assume that having a gaggle of girls begging for it is all in a day’s work.

As the show progressed, it was clear that not only was Snoop an artist, but also a seasoned performer. Enjoying his interaction with the crowd, he told us to raise our glasses with his favourite “Gin and Juice” and twice threw his spliffs into a scrambling crowd. Not only did Snoop manage to drop some tracks, but he also managed to exhibit a little bit of personality – minus the egotistical arrogance that is often displayed by rappers of the same calibre.

Finally, thrown in amongst his bags of tricks, Snoop left us with some parting wisdom. Snoop shared with us his precious life philosophy, which was repeated several times in order for us not to forget it – “smoke weed, get drunk, and fuck”. And as he departed the stage, we knew that if we weren’t all enlightened before, at least we could all leave knowing that Snoop was helping us try to find the light.