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Kings of bling in unlikely alliance
by David Sue23/ 3/2007
WITH its many egos, hip-hop music is not renowned for sharing
the spotlight. But miraculously, such a thing has really
happened.
And even stranger, with two of the biggest egos of the genre -
Snoop Dogg and P Diddy.
For this first (and probably only) time in their careers, the two
hip-hop giants will share a stage together on this British
"co-headlining" tour.
But who will come out victorious? Who will have the biggest
entourage? Who will be the most blingtastic?
And most crucially (for fear of public safety), does the MEN Arena
actually have enough room for two such gargantuan egos?
Everyone knows hip-hop's greatest currency is its bragaddacio. But
what's weird about this pairing of P Diddy and Snoop Dogg is the
different ways they have both gone about their trumpet blowing -
one very seriously, the other with considerably more humour.
In Sean "P Diddy" Combs' case, we probably know less about his rap
talents, and more about P Diddy, the self-styled, serious business
impresario.
The gap between his last two albums was five years but, in that
gap, he expanded his Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment group, netting
him $364m from such outlets as fashion, restaurants, television and
even his own perfume range.
It is no wonder that Time magazine cited him as "one of the most
influential businessmen in the world".
If P Diddy has always been in danger of taking himself too
seriously, then there's little chance of that with Snoop
Dogg.
The 34-year-old star has undergone quite a transformation from
rap's dark side to a more mainstream entertainer.
These days he is quite happy to muck around with his persona,
latest album The Blue Carpet playing with his nefarious ghetto
image to almost cartoonish effect.
Even when he gets arrested (as he was last month in Sweden for drug
possession), it's almost played for laughs.
The MEN Arena isn't a stranger to championship bouts of
hand-to-hand combat.
Hip-hop might be a little different from boxing but next week's
battle of the heavyweights promises to be every bit as competitive
and vicious as your typical Ricky Hatton fight.
Mr Serious versus Mr Joker? Round one, let the fight commence
...
P Diddy and Snoop Dogg appear at the MEN Arena on
Thursday.
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