It's been widely predicted that rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut album next month will explode onto the national pop charts at No. 1--selling as much as 300,000 copies in its first week.
But that was before the rapper was charged with murder by Los Angeles police on Tuesday. Snoop did not pull the trigger but was allegedly driving the Jeep the shots were fired from.
So will the negative publicity of a murder charge derail the album's likelihood of storming the charts?
"No way," said Lenny Beer, editor in chief and chart specialist for the trade journal Hits. "Strangely enough, the controversy surrounding this shooting will probably only serve to put Snoop even more in the spotlight.
"Kids have been waiting for Snoop's debut for months, long before there was any word of a murder charge. The guy is a major talent and the buzz on his first solo record is gigantic."
The talk among industry insiders, in fact, is that the controversy could push the album's first-week sales past the 400,000 mark--larger than the last albums from Michael Jackson and U2.
Executives at the album's distributor, Time Warner-affiliated Interscope Records, declined to comment Wednesday on the criminal case, but sources at the company confirmed that Snoop's legal problems will not stand in the way of his album's release--now targeted for the first week of October.
Currently featured on the cover of the new Rolling Stone and two pop music monthlies, Snoop emerged from nowhere to stardom last year with his guest appearance on "The Chronic," a 2.5 million-selling album by controversial rapper and producer Dr. Dre.
The lean 6-foot-4 Long Beach native--credited with a slow, funky and laid-back delivery that distinguishes his work from the volatile aggressive style of other vocalists in the gangsta rap genre--is being touted in hip-hop circles as the hottest rapper in the nation.
After presenting an award on the MTV Video Music Awards last week, Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, surrendered to Los Angeles Police Department detectives. The 21-year-old rapper was charged with murder Tuesday along with two other men and was released on $1-million bail.
Snoop's bodyguard McKinley Lee has acknowledged the shooting on Aug. 25 in the Palms area of West Los Angeles, but claimed he fired his weapon in self-defense.
Snoop's arraignment has been postponed until Oct. 1, when he is expected to enter a plea in West Los Angeles Municipal Court to one count of murder, including a special allegation of use of a firearm.
