Hot on the heels of June’s surprise Craig David gig at Barasti’s House of Whatever summer chill out dome, the popular beach venue has announced that there will be another free surprise gig this weekend.
British R'n'B star David surprised fans when he appeared on stage on June 20 and ran through a medley of his hits such as Fill Me In and 7 Days.
Now Barasti has teased fans again with a cryptic press release saying: “There’s another surprise in store this week. In honour of the 4th of July, the famous beach bar will be flying in talent directly from the States. For now, lips are sealed about who this act might be.”
Barasti do offer a clue, however, revealing that the mystery guests are a hip hop trio who will be flying in from the US, and they have previously worked with Snoop Dogg.
This isn’t a massive giveaway given that the East and West Coast hip hop scenes in the US have featured more inter-crew collaborations over the years than most people have had hot dinners, but at least the fact that we’re looking for a trio narrows the field down.
Who we think it could be
A poll of the finest minds in The National's office seemed to lead to three favourites emerging. New Jersey crew Naughty by Nature, of OPP fame, recently performed with the rapper at Normal, Illinois' Corn Crib, and have put themselves in the mix in doing so.
Long Island trio De La Soul would be a big draw, and recorded with Snoop Dogg on the 2016 single Pain – they wouldn't come cheap, but it's probably safe to assume Craig David didn't either.
Finally, fellow Californians Cypress Hill, the first Latino hip hop act to get a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, are good pals with Snoop and have joined him on tracks including Vato and I Wanna Rock. This would probably be my personal favourite outcome, but unfortunately I'm forced to write it off as Barasti's release explicitly states they'll be flying the talent "directly from the States." Cypress Hill are in Moscow on the night of July 3, so to travel from there to Dubai via the US would be a somewhat illogical route.
Beyond that, it looks like we’ll just have to wait until July 4 to find out, but feel free to let us know your own suggestions in the meantime.
