In an era where over-the-top holiday parties seem to be scarce, the Recording Industry Association of America bucked that trend Wednesday night, packing a crowd into D.C.’s famed 9:30 Club for a raucous performance from rappers Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg. And despite the prevalence of suits, boy was it a party. (Think that backyard scene from “Old School”).
“I know a lot of you like to drink eggnog right? Well, where I come from, when it’s Christmas time, in my neighborhood we don’t f— with eggnog, we like to run down to the local liquor store and get us a bottle of that…” Snoop Dogg told the audience before transitioning into his song “Gin and Juice.” He brought along a trio of scantily clad dancers, made an assortment of weed references and went through his collection of early 90s hits. Khalifa served as the opening act, but then rejoined Snoop Dogg at the end of the show to perform Snoop’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow,” as several “Terrible Towels” waved in the audience to serve as a salute to Khalifa’s hometown of Pittsburgh.
The RIAA’s Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman presented the duo with achievement awards at the end of the night. “We present a career award to Wiz Khalifa for a start of an amazing career, the sky’s the limit,” he gushed. “I don’t know where to begin with Snoop, he’s been on the scene since the early 90s, and somehow he has been an icon of the pop culture age ever since, it’s amazing, he’s busy, he’s prolific, he’s done everything.”
