Last weekend was a holiday for weed smokers (April 20), and what better way to celebrate than with hip-hop’s famous weed connoisseurs Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa?

“Happy 4/20 y’all,” Wiz Khalifa says while smoking a joint. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa bring the 420 Wellness Retreat Tour to Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on April 21, 2018. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

Embarking on a five-year tradition, Snoop Dogg brought his 420 Wellness Retreat Tour to Eugene at the Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday, April 21. Filled with weed smoke, giant joints and an enticing version of Snoop’s own strip club, 420 or “stoner Christmas” as some would call it was a memorable one.  

The Wellness Retreat gave fans the chance to indulge in weed culture, music and experience the holiday with Snoop and Wiz. Over the span of two days, Snoop Dogg performed in Denver, Las Vegas, Kent, and Eugene with the help of some of his friends, including Wiz Khalifa, Migos, and Rob Stone.

Wiz Khalifa brought a stoner energy to the stage with more than a handful of blunts, giant balloon blunts to be passed around and a sign that read Taylor Gang, the title of his well-known slogan.

Standing at 6 foot 4 inches in his camouflage joggers and jean jacket exposing his heavily tattooed torso, Wiz shared his 420 experiences with the audience by performing songs heavily centered around that idea. From newer tracks such as  “Best Life” to his classic mixtape songs “Gangbang,” Wiz made sure to entertain everyone at the show.

At one point, while performing his classic single “Memorized,” and feeling the lyrics of the song, he told the audience to “Be yourself, you can help everyone else around you.”

After a few more hits from his previous mixtapes and album including “Taylor Gang,” “We Dem Boys,” and “No Sleep,” Wiz brought the crowd together to sing his hit “When I See You Again.” Fans joined in singing along and lighting joints and blunts up for those who have fallen.

Wiz closed his set by performing his recent “420 Freestyle,” which was a smooth heart-to-heart performance. He started a “gang gang” chant in reference to his Taylor Gang slogan before departing the stage.  

Snoop Dogg turned Matthew Knight into a big 420 party. He entered the stage by performing one of his biggest hits, “I Wanna Rock” as he danced all over the stage with his backup dancers. After going through some of his notable features, he decided it was time to get the party started.

He appeared with four stripper poles on stage, which at first was a mystery to the audience until he asked the audience if anyone had ever been to a strip club before. Soon, one of his newer songs, “Trash Bags” filled the arena and stage with big butts and lots of flips. As the strippers appeared so did money flying into the audience. Sadly, however, the money was not real.

Play money shoots out of a confetti cannon as Snoop Dogg performs ‘Trash Bags.’ Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa bring the 420 Wellness Retreat Tour to Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on April 21, 2018. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

After that moment, Snoop decided to take us down memory lane. Both the older and newer crowd jammed to hits like “Nothin’ But a G Thang” and “Bitchh Please.”

Snoop then took a moment to ask the crowd what they’d like to do with him. He gave the audience three options: He could either hang out, drink or, of course, smoke with Snoop. The audience responded, and Snoop preceded with singing the melody “I wanna get fucked up right now.”

Making a reference to UO, Snoop had everyone throw the “O” up and even asked a few people to try and blow smoke through them like a true smoker.

Making sure to pay homage to his fellow 90s rappers, Snoop tested everyone’s knowledge by playing memorable hits from Eazy E, Biggie Smalls and Tupac.

Snoop ended the show with his classic cannabis hit “Young, Wild and Free” slowed down and sung with the help of the audience. He made sure to wish everyone a happy 420 and to make sure they smoke responsibly. He then proceeded to turn around with his arms spread like Jesus Christ as the lights dimmed low.

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The topics of gun control and domestic violence are coming together in the one-woman show “Natural Shocks,” on Saturday, April 21 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. A direct reference from William Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet, Act III scene, “To be or not to be…,” where he says,“The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to: ’tis a consummation,” this play explores the thoughts and testaments of a woman waiting in her basement for a tornado to hit. The twist, however, is that she is a domestic violence survivor, and she is also pro-gun.

“That’s what’s so exciting about this play,” director Ellen Gillooly-Kress said. “It raises all of these interesting complex issues in a creative and aesthetic way to open conversations about what is the role of guns and protecting ourselves.”

According to the movement’s website, the main character is a humorous woman filled with stories and a final secret that puts the reality of guns in America in perspective. On Saturday, over 100 women throughout the nation will perform their own readings of the play.

Written by Lauren Gunderson, the most produced playwright in America, just after the February 2018 Parkland shooting, this play hopes to showcase the correlation between gun violence and domestic violence. Gunderson said she decided to make her play available for community theaters, colleges and high schools to produce the weekend of April 20. This weekend is also the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting and the start of the National School Walkout.

The show is free, and Gunderson’s only request is that donations are given at the door to support anti-gun violence. All of the proceeds from the Eugene performance will go to Women’s Space, an organization that helps combat domestic violence in Lane County.

The University of Oregon version of this play will be read by Graduate Educator Liz Fairchild. Though Fairchild considers herself to be a feminist and can relate to some of the character’s life, her struggle with playing this role comes solely from the characters love for guns.  

“It comes down to a fire versus fire kind of mentality, and so that’s what I really can’t agree upon,” Fairchild said. This mentality is what theatre is all about, according to Gillooly-Kress.

“You can bring characters together on stage that you wouldn’t necessarily agree with in real life and really get a chance to examine them and what motivates them as well.” According to Gillooly-Kress, this is what the cast wants people to get out of this play.

Not having a clear target audience, “Natural Shocks”  is expected to raise awareness to everyone on the role of domestic violence in mass shootings.

You can find more information at https://www.naturalshocks.org/.

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Wikipedia is overly filled with male editors. According to a 2011 study, 90 percent of editors are male, while only nine percent are women. As one of the top sites visited worldwide according to Alexa’s top 500 sites on the web, most of the information consumed is penned by males. University of Oregon’s Art And Feminism, a worldwide campaign, wants to change this.

“When you have that kind of editorial gender gap, then you don’t get coverage of topics that are important to a diverse audience.” Franny Gaede, head of digital scholarship services, said.

The goal of this event is to get people comfortable with editing Wikipedia articles and possibly making it one of their new hobbies. Women editors, faculty and students are invited to attend the 2018 Art and Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon. This event will take place Friday, April 13 from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Edmiston classroom at the Knight Library. Though this campaign focuses on supporting women, people of all genders and identities are invited.  

Gaede describes Wikipedia as an unwelcoming community for women, she hopes this event will change that idea. According to Gaede, as who became an editor during her own undergraduate studies, this event will give women the chance to receive support as editors and learn about being an editor on Wikipedia. The last event took place 2016. Gaede is new to the Oregon campus and ready to pick up where things left off.

The event will have a list of articles about women artists that either need a page or more information.

To be ready for the event, interested community members should register on the Art and Feminism event page and create a Wikipedia account. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops and ideas for sites that need an update or recognition.  

The goal of this event is to get people comfortable with editing Wikipedia articles and possibly making it one of their new hobbies.

The overall campaign started five years ago in Brooklyn, New York, by the Art + Feminism Collective. According to their website, the collective’s goal is to improve coverage of women, feminism and the arts on Wikipedia. According to their website, since March 2014, the Art + Feminism Collective has gathered at over 500 events to improve Wikipedia.

Since Wikipedia is one of the first sites to pop up when searching something according to Gaede, its coverage of topics needs to have neutrality. According to Gaede, there’s this perception that if it’s not on Wikipedia it doesn’t exist. As the starting point for most research, Gaede believes all stories should be told.

“These are really important topics,” Gaede said. “I think they deserve to have great articles written about them or, at the very least, an article written about them.”

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The feeling Millenials get when they hear the soulful rhythm of Childish Gambino’s “Redbone,” and how timeless this record will be is like a sense of deja vu for some. That sound heard in today’s music comes from the funk era. Sampling has created some of this generation’s most praised music, and one of the legends who presented the opportunity for this to happen is the great Funkadelic and Parliament lead George Clinton. At the golden age of 76, Clinton looks forward to a year worth of touring and keeping his ear to the streets. Keeping up with today’s new acts including Cardi B and Migos, Clinton is the ultimate hip-hop connoisseur to chat with.

Clinton has witnessed all the ups and downs the music business has to offer through his over-30-year career. But that career was marked by frequent drug abuse and royalty troubles, both of which plagued his success. He refers to both as his reasons for sobering up eight years ago and deciding to fight for his art.

“People don’t believe you when you in that frame of mind,” Clinton said, reflecting on getting clean. “You don’t even believe yourself.”

The business side of sampling music forced him to have more awareness about the commercial use of his music. Clinton says he was paid directly by the artists for his samples when they first released. These works include De La Soul’s 1989 “Me Myself and I” which took parts from Clinton’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” and Ice Cube’s 1993 “Bop Gun (One Nation),” which samples Clinton’s song under the same name. Usually, when artists allow samples they receive payments from the sales of the second song. However, according to Clinton, he has not received payments from the record company.

For Clinton, the fight to receive royalties has been long and hard. He says has been fighting the record companies for over half a billion dollars, and blames the struggle for his lack of an invitation to this years’ Grammy Awards.  For three years he has been credited as a writer on various hit songs and he says he has not received an invitation. “They don’t want me to show up because they’re afraid I’m a say something,” Clinton says.

So far, Clinton has gotten the rights back for his song “Atomic Dog” and some earlier works. According to Clinton, music companies are just now starting to show how an artist can get their rights back. Clinton is working on getting the album “Mothership Connection” back in his ownership. He is also working on a documentary that highlights this experience that will release later this year. “It’s going to be entertaining to people when they see just how much I had to go [through] just to get it all back,” Clinton says.                    

Clinton says samples have brought him closer to a younger audience and have kept him relevant. Artists he has worked with include Tupac, Dr. Dre, Prince, and Kendrick Lamar. Clinton describes working with Lamar as working with an old soul. “It’s like working with Prince,” Clinton says, “Wesley’s Theory,” Clinton’s sample and feature on Lamar’s 2015 sophomore album “To Pimp A Butterfly” proved his ability to still reach a younger audience.

From artists he has worked with to acts he can see himself collaborating with like Childish Gambino and Migos, Clinton likes it all. “I think I gravitate to music that gets on parents’ nerves,” Clinton says.

Clinton has plans to tour with newer acts and wants to include them in his future music. He would like to see Future sample him. “Future is like a Funkadelic man already,” Clinton says. He has plans to work with Childish Gambino, tour in Japan with Flying Lotus and hopes to do something with Cardi B. “I like her style,” Clinton says. “I like all the people that come around with new stuff like that.”                                        

With new collaborations also comes new music. Clinton has big things coming from his new album “Medicaid Fraud Dog.” According to him, the album is expected to release in April. Until then, fans can listen to his new single, “I’m Gon Make U Sick O’Me.” With prescription drug abuse rising, this project will be highlighting issues in the food and drug industry. “I’m a make you sick and then I’m a give you the antidote,” Clinton says.

According to Clinton, the prescription industry is worse than drug dealers. As a recovering drug user, Clinton does not want to preach to the youth. According to him, all he can say is to replace the negative substance with something positive. For him, there is no need for any of that when you have music.

“I can get high as hell just getting in that groove,” he says.

George Clinton and the band Parliament-Funkadelic will be in Portland, OR at the Roseland Theatre, March 21 at 8 P.M. Fans can purchase tickets at the Roseland website or through a local Safeway.      

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