Fig. 23b. What goes on when you're not looking.

In light of recent comments made by Snoop Dogg to the press about his desire to ride out his later days as a Las Vegas act, I have been inspired to dust off an old riff of mine  comparing some of America’s favorite rappers – the crew surrounding Dr.. Dre – to an earlier set of free-wheeling entertainers, dubbing them the Gat Pack in allusion to Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack.

To begin with, you may or may not have heard Dr. Dre likened to Frank Sinatra before, but I think it is an apt comparison. Dre runs the show, surrounded by the talented rappers that he “discovered.” The on-stage world of bitches and money, chronic and bling; provides a fair modern equivalent to Frank Sinatra’s world of booze-soaked glitz. Both share a certain mafioso mystique. They offer us a glimpse into a shady world of leisure and pleasure, with intoxicants and beautiful women in plentiful supply, and we buy it up eagerly in an effort to fuel our base desires and delusions of grandeur.

Both performers built their empire through their associations with other huge talents. The tight knit group they formed with other performers bear many significant resemblances to each other. Frank Sinatra wouldn’t have been who he was without the Rat Pack. By sharing and overlapping his talents with Dean’s and Sammy’s, all three came out ahead. Dean Martin’s unstoppable smoothness helped everyone involved, in much the same manner as Snoop Dogg on Dre’s productions. Both share an infectious laid-back style that makes everyone around them seem cool, too.

Then you have Sammy Davis Jr. – someone multi-talented, funny, and a bit crazy, much like Eminem. You could argue about who Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford are; Nate Dogg, 50 Cent, and Warren G could all make a claim for the roles, but the important thing is that the core three members of the Gat Pack present themselves so obviously, and the way the two groups function is so similar. From the abiding love of intoxication to the gang ties exaggerated by the media, the similarities between the Gat Pack and the Rat Pack run deep. Whether it’s stylish clothes, dirty jokes, beautiful women, or talking shit, the parallels are hard to miss.

So don’t be surprised if in a few years, if the world’s biggest rappers begin to feel a bit over-the-hill and start contemplating a run for the oasis of Las Vegas. They’ll be in good company, and the rest of us – still holding on to our inner gangsta in our old age – can go see Snoop sip from his pimp goblet and happily josh Eminem’s white ass on a casino stage. And the reader boards above the bright lights of the Strip will advertise: “TONIGHT – SNOOP DOGG – MAYBE EMINEM – MAYBE DRE.” And the fans will be sleeping in the casinos, waiting to catch the show, whenever it may begin.