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October 24, 2013 - Image 11

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The Michigan Daily, 2013-10-24

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h
T ' Thursday, October 24, 2013 - 38

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom the b-side Thursday, October 24,2013-

BREAKFAST ,
From Page 1B
A wayto start the day
Every morning, one or two
volunteers arrive about an hour
early to begin the hot meal prep-
aration, with the others arriv-
ing at 7 a.m. to set up. Coffee,
juice, milk and water provide
rehydration, while oatmeal or
grits make up most meals. Jars
and jars of peanut butter and
jelly are beneath the counter.
Many family-sized containers
of grits and oatmeal are in a Many pastries are donated to the breakf
nearby room. More food is pre-
pared and refilled throughout
the hour. Building community one
The patrons line up outside the meal at a time
church and enter once everything
is set up. They accept coffee, juice, The breakfast program is
pastries and hot cereal from dedi- more than just a free meal; it
cated servers while serving them- gives people a community. It
selves cold cereals and toast. Many gives people a place to be and a
choose to save some food, and the group of people to know who are
breakfast program provides bags experiencing similar hardships.
for pack-your-own lunches. On Mary said she not only appre-
Wednesdays and Sundays, the ciates the warm room and the
very popular hard-boiled eggs are food but also the volunteers and
on the menu;they travel easily and the other participants.
pack a lot of calories. "It's kind of like a meeting
People come and go through- place for everyone, and no one
out the hour, with most arriving judges anyone. We're all here,
during the first half. At 8:30 a.m. down on our luck, and we all
sharp, plates are collected, and have our own stories," Mary
most people quickly leave. The said.
volunteers dry dishes, clean up For many low-income indi-
and leave by 9 a.m. viduals, the difference between
Having an early morning having a place to live and not
breakfast program allows for having a place to live is the
people who have jobs to still safety net of friends and fam-
take advantage of it, Chase said. ily. Many who become home-
Also, making breakfast is less less don't have that available to
expensive and simpler than them. The breakfast program
lunch or dinner. and the community it fosters
Some patrons appreciate the allow for some of that commu-
early hours, saying that forcing nity and the safety net to poten-
them to wake up to get breakfast tially be established.
is a great incentive to start their Anne Piehl, a University alum
days. Without the incentive to and a weekly volunteer, said
get up at 8 a.m., breakfast-goer the vast majority of people who
Nick said he might just sleep partake in the breakfasts live in
late. The early morning program single-member households.
helps him structure his time. He "Finding a place where
has an Electronic Benefit Trans- there's community, I'm sure,
fer card, and the program lets is huge in their lives," she said.
him stay on budget. "It's got to be."
Homeless individuals - espe- Carl works at a grocery chain,
cially early in the mornings - but comes to St. Andrew's before
can struggle with finding places work to help him stay afloat.
to stay. Mary has taken advan- He only recently started eat-
tage of the free breakfasts on ing there, but views its commu-
and off for several years. She nity as a great resource to learn
is currently staying at a local about benefits.
homeless shelter and said every- "You do have a sense of com-
one has to leave in the morning, munity here," he said.
about when the free breakfast Carl said he worries others
program starts. might view the program as a
"It's a place to go at 7 o'clock permanent crutch instead of
in the morning when it's dark a stepping stone to move up.
out," Mary said. "It takes up Chase estimates that between
some of your time, which is a one-third and half of the pro-
good thing." gram's patrons are regulars who

The legend of
Snoop's 'Dogsye

ASTEN HUFFORD/Daly
ast program by Ann Arbor bakeries.
have been coming consistently
for a year or more. The rest, she
said, come and go - a month
here, a week there.
"Theygreet each other; they'll
help each other," Chase said.
"They look out for each other,
and they know each other."
Many of the people who eat
the breakfasts don't have con-
sistent schedules or places to
stay. The breakfast program
may be one of the only places
where they know they will be
every day. Mary mentioned
how she sometimes might not
see a friend for six months, but
they can come together at St.
Andrew's and reconnect.
"We are able here to allow for
people to stay for an hour and
sit," Mary said. "I do see a sense
of community; I do see people
sitting together in this group or
that group."
Serving all
The breakfast program serves
a huge spectrum of people of all
ages and races and needs. Each
breakfast is extremely diverse
with many different ages and
races represented. The needs of
each individual also vary sig-
nificantly. Many have alcohol
or drug addictions, and some
have mental disabilities. Deal-
ing with this large sample of
humanity all in one room does
sometimes cause issues.
Halfway through one break-
fast, Chase stood up and loud-
ly blew a whistle. Everyone
respectfully got quiet and lis-
tened; this had clearly happened
before. Chase announced some-
one had drawn graffiti in the
bathroom and that it might be
closed if the behavior doesn't
stop. Some sighed while others
groaned. All those interviewed
said the program was kept very
calm and safe. Any issues are
quickly dealt with.
The number of people fed
daily ranges from 70 to 140,
Chase said. There doesn't seem
to be a clear trend, and it's very
hard to predict the number
of mouths to feed and so the
yearly expenditure changes
a lot. According to Chase, the
organization is in the process
of attracting more corporate
donors and grants so that the
program doesn't have to rely
on small personal donations as
much.
Whether the program is fund-
ed by church members or cor-
porate grants, all those in need
will be able to fill their stomachs
and reach a friendly community
for years to come.
"They're doing something
right," Carl said. "I mean they've
been doing it since '82, so they're
doing something right here."

Snoop Dogg may be known
for his acting roles,
various product endorse-
ments, hilarious lingo and jaw-
dropping marijuana intake, but
once upon'
a time - 20
years ago as
of next month
- the rapper
then known
as Snoopp
Doggy Dogg
changed hip
hop with his JACKSON
debut album HOWARD
Doggystyle:
The signifi-
cance of Doggystyle on Snoop
Dogg's career, West Coast
gangsta rap, Dr. Dre and hip
hop as a mtsical genre, among
other things, is momentous.
Before he was Snoop, Calvin
Broadus was a 22-year-old,
drug-dealing Crip from Long
Beach, Calif. However, upon
being discovered by Dr. Dre and
placed on the now-legendary
track "Deep Cover," Snoop's
nasally voice, complex flow
and undeniable swagger had
the hip-hop world buzzing. His
hype only increased with his
show-stopping performances
on Dre's classic album The
Chronic, where he appeared on
many of the album's songs and
ghostwrote most of Dre's raps.
Coming into 1993, the anticipa-
tion for Doggystyle was unbe-
lievably high.
The album carried over Dre's
signature G-funk sound from
The Chronic, drawing influ-
ences from funk bands such
as Funkadelic, Parliament and
Zapp & Roger, as well as find-
ing inspiration in West Coast
Los Angeles culture, full of
women, weed and weather. By
working only with Dr. Dre on
the project, Snoop established
a cohesive sound that is still
uncommon in hip hop. This
cohesive sound, though, didn't
only depend on Dre. Working
on his first record, Snoop had
the ability to really collaborate
with anyone he wanted and
used that freedom to bring in
the only people he knew. Daz,
Kurupt, Nanci Fletcher, RBX,
Jewell, Lady of Rage, Warren
G and Nate Dogg - all long-
time friends of Snoop - joined
forces in a completely natural
way to form Doggystyle. This
myriad of guests not only gave
the album its unique sound, but
also challenged Snoop lyrically.
Artists like Kurupt and Lady of
Rage especially were renowned
lyrical assassins, and some
of the best verses of Snoop's
career come on songs where he
trades bars with them.
OK, you get it; this was an
important album, Dr. Dre did
some cool stuff on it and Snoop
became famous, whatever.
But why is Doggystyle still
considered by many as one of
the greatest hip-hop albums
of all time and one of the best
albums released in the 1990s?
Why, though his career took

off, hadn't Snoop ever made an
album this good? Why can't I
just write entire columns full of
rhetorical questions (I so would
if I could)?
Let's start with a couple
songs. "Gin and Juice" might
have one of the most memo-
rable choruses in rap his-
tory: "Rollin down the street,
smokin' indo, sippin' on gin and
juice / laid back / with my mind
on my money and my money on
my mind." "Gin and Juice" is a
view into Snoop's ideal house
party, filled with Seagram's
gin, ladies from Long Beach
and Compton and "some bubon-
ic chronic that made me choke."
Doggystyle is full of gems like
this - the smash single "Who
Am I (What's My Name?)" is
classic G-funk, while "Ain't
No Fun (If the Homies Can't
Have None)" features maybe
the best Nate Dogg verse of all
time. Dre's UFO synths, funky
bass and thumping drums cre-
ated the perfect soundscape for
Snoop's syncopated, rhythmic
flow.
For all its party music,
however, Doggystyle is still
known for its incredible lyri-
cism. Kurupt absolutely slayed
every song he jumped on. Take
"Serial Killa": "It's time to
escape, but I don't know where
the fuck I'm headed / Up or
down, right of left, life or death
/ I see myself in a mist of smoke
/ Death becomes any nigga that
takes me for a joke," he spits on
the song's first verse.
The lyrics are explicit, vio-
lent and sexist, and Snoop
received his fair share of criti-
cism for the album's content.
Even today, the lyrics of some
songs are tough to read out
loud, as they celebrate a society
in which women are simply
objects utilized for whatever
a man wants in the moment.
What Snoop would say to this,
and I agree, is that he was sim-
ply narrating his life story. You
have to understand that in his
culture - 1990s Long Beach
gang life - this is simply how
it was. This isn't an excuse, but
it does help understand why
Snoop said the things he did.
Hip hop is the genre that it is
due to this transparency: Rap-
pers rap about what they see
and what they live. Snoop's tale
of life on the streets certainly
shocked the public, but you
can't say he wasn't telling the
truth.
This point is only reinforced
by one of Doggystyle's most
famous tracks, "Murder Was
the Case (Death After Visualiz-
ing Eternity)." Around the time
of the album's release, Snoop
was charged in connection with
an actual murder. Though he
was eventually found innocent,
the trial had a profound effect
on him, and he released these
feelings in his music.
More, Dr. Dre and Fab Five
Freddy actually made a short
film in 1994 starring Snoop
called Murder Was the Case,

which featured music from
Snoop and a story about Snoop's
death and resurrection by
making a deal with the devil.
Snoop's storytelling is at an
all-time high here: "As I look
up at the sky / My mind starts
tripping / A tear drops my eye /
My body temperature falls / I'm
shaking and they breaking try-
ing to save the Dogg."
Other classics, like "Lodi
Dodi," "Tha Shiznit," "Serial
Killa" and "Gz and Hustlas,"
among others, still remain
in many listeners' rotation
(including yours truly's). Dog-
gystyle embodied not only life
through Snoop's eyes, but also
life in general for a man in his
young 20s, tryingto figure it all
out. In addition, Snoop, along-
side N.W.A., 2Pac and others,
broughtback the West Coast at a
time when the only "legitimate"
hip hop was seen to be from the
East Coast. Though the East-
West feud between Puff Daddy's
Bad Records (with The Notori-
ous B.IG.) and Suge Knight's
Death Row Records (with Snoop
and 2Pac) ultimately had tragic
consequences, it greatly height-
ened hip hop's popularity dur-
ing a crucial era in which hip
hop was still being debated as a
serious art form.
So, what about Snoop? Since
1993, he's endorsed Adidas,
made songs with Katy Perry
and briefly changed his name
to Snoop Lion. He's released 10
more studio albums, 17 com-
pilations and 127 singles, and
sold over 30 million albums
worldwide. Yes, he's been suc-
cessful. Nonetheless, Doggystyle
remains his best reviewed and
highest selling project and will
most likely stay that way. Dre's
presence was crucially absent
from Snoop's next album, 1996's
The Doggfather, due to Dre's
falling-out with Suge Knight.
Snoop then released three sub-
par albums on Master P's No
Limit Records and bounced
around from Priority to Gef-
fen to Phanrell's Star Trak in
the last 10 years. A few of his
albums, including The Dog-
gfather, 2002's Paid tha Cost to
Be da Boss and 2006's Tha Blue
Carpet Treatment, are still qual-
ity albums, and his numerous
appearances on Dr. Dre's sextu-
ple-platinum, landmark album
2001 are some of the best guest
spots in rap history. Today,
Snoop is a public figure known
by preteens and gangsters alike,
a man of a million identities who
is as much pop as he is rap.
That's fine. I'm happy for
Snoop. I still enjoy his other
music ("Beautiful" is one of my
favorite songs ever). But still,
nothing compares to Doggystyle,
a G-funk masterpiece filled
with misogyny, partying, West
Coast lingo and a whole lot of
that genuine Snoop Doggy Dogg
flavor.
Howard is letting the Doggs
out. To bring them back, email
jackhow@umich.edu.

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