Brian Wilson started a rock band with his brothers and friends in the early 60s, called the Beach Boys. He lived in a suburb of Los Angeles (Hawthorne), and became an international superstar, recognized for his musical genius. He has outlived many of his band mates.

Calvin Broadus, known professionally as Snoop Dogg, started a rap outfit called Tha Dogg Pound with his friends and cousins in the early 90s. He grew up less than an hour outside of Los Angeles, in Long Beach, and has become an international superstar, as well as an entrepreneur and media personality. He has also outlived many of his peers.

There is a unique, musical sound that came out of a Southern California neighbourhood, in both instances, and they both transformed the music industry. On the surface, it is ear candy, pleasant music about girls, cars, and parties, but it has a masterful production quality and a genius layering of sound that creates a whole new world.

Jim Morrison and The Doors took over the public image of California from the Beach Boys in the late 60s, and his poetic lyrics expressed both love and hatred for Los Angeles, though he first arrived there in the early 60s, when he enrolled in UCLA film school.

Similarly, in the mid 90s, 2Pac/Tupac Shakur replaced Snoop Dog with his poetry, his politics, and his public image as the most important rap musician from California, despite the fact that he was born in New York and grew up primarily on the East Coast.

I find it interesting that both Jim Morrison and 2Pac died less than five years after becoming superstars, while both Brian Wilson and Snoop Dogg live in the Los Angeles area to this day. It’s their home town, after all- maybe the allure of fame and fortune doesn’t mean the same thing to locals as it does to outsiders.

In any case, I find Brian Wilson and Snoop Dogg, the troubled rock star genius and the laid back rap musician, have a common approach to music, and a shared self-confidence that lives in the music they make. Brian Wilson has famously been under psychiatric care; Snoop Dogg has been to prison. Their insecurities are expressed musically, not lyrically, and they both find strength and meaning in performing for others.

More than a career or a political statement, they make music for the love of making music, and I think that’s what has kept them on the charts for decades.