Interviews

The vital stats

*dialing* 1-323-***-2739
female: Hello

Sup is Snoopy there?
Who is this?

It's Chris.
Hold on, I think he went to see Tracey at the studio.".. Snoop! snooooop SNOOP, the phone!"
He's coming, hold on.

*he picks up.. *the Snoop voice*
Who dis?

It's Chris.
Sup nigga, where you been at?

Chillin dogg, running this web shit and thang. I peeped that new video on BET today, and said let me check up on Snoop Diggy for really, ya feel me. Hah. I called your cell when you came to HOT 97 last week.
Oh yeah, I threw that shit out playa. I gotta give you my new number, niggas be snatching my number up like they the feds. Calling the phone like little bitches, dialing and hanging up and shit.. this ain't junior high muthafuckas... You got a pen? Write this down...1-323-***-0932.

0932. Ahite, I'll keep the shit on lock .. Yo, I saw Junebug in XXL last month, he think he a star now?
That nigga done picked up on a little dance and he think he a mackin ass muthafucka now; grabbing these young hoes left and right, they gonna wear that nigga out. We went to this show down in Miami and I caught his old ass in the hotel room with two hoes I seen tricking backstage. His old, shriveled up, raisin-body, ass, ain't gonna do nuthin with them hoes... A nigga was blazed and shit, I had to chase that nigga out my room.

Uncle June got the shuffle working like that?
He think he pimpin like me nigga. I'm teaching game to the old muthafuckas too, you know how I dizzle my nizzle.

Yo, what's up with Hov and that Izzo shit, did you approve that?
Jay was hanging out with me and Tray and he heard us dripping and just soaked it up for yall niggas out there. That's a business move. We getting money together, so it ain't no love lost; I ain't tripping on the little shit no more homie. A nigga wanna ride to some of this West Coast shit, I'm stepping aside like, go ahead, but the OG macka don of this muthafucka is always gonna be the Snoop Dizzle, ya smell me my nelsie.. Ain't no time for that bitch shit. Anyway it's E and them that should be getting hot. That nigga 40 been spittin the slangles since like 88'.. shit, ever since I known him.. them Bay niggas been spittin the language for a minute, it's just comin full circle right now.

Suge holla'd at you yet?
Nah.. I heard he was talking about niggaz having to learn about loyalty.. he just talking shit, he know this ain't 92'. He ain't gonna get away with the shit he used to do before, strong arming and shit. Some of these niggas is tripping out here, but you ain't gonna see no sweat on my forehead.

He changed the name of Death Row to Tha Row too, sup with that? Like it makes a difference.
*singing* "Dogg.. Houssse! In his mouuuth" ...I'm all about Tray Dee and G Loc right now.. Eastsidaz. We smashin them in the street homie. Fuck Death Row, Tha Row, it don't matter.. We running this side right now. What's that Jay-Z shit? *starts rapping in the Snoop voice* "He's not real to me, so he don't exist .. poof, vamoose .. son of a Beaaatchhhh."

I read some shit.. he was talking about turning shit into the wild wild west again.
Chris. I'm not worried about Suge. Everything I've done regarding Death Row's situation has been out of me being a man, doing what I had to do to feed my babies, to feed myself. Death Row wasn't and couldn't do nothing for me after Suge got locked up. And then all the feds started running around, stories in the press, niggas was stressed out over there, so I left and did what I had to do. They wasn't letting a nigga go free and clear, so I had to bring in the lawyers and speak on some indecencies regarding my money. That's just what had to happen. If he don't respect me as a man that had to handle his business, then he got the problem. Fuck that nigga.

I'm past all that. I'm talking real playa shit, nephew. Me and these niggas from the LBC is in straight C mode: cash and crip love. We pushing it across the board to get a piece of this American pie, get this paper, ain't nobody's hands in my pockets no more.

That's why you left P and them (No Limit)?
I didn't officially sign off yet, but I'm a free agent. I had a three album deal with them and The Last Meal was that third one, so I'm free to do what I want to do now. You heard me telling people about The last Meal, wasn't nobody gonna eat off my back no more. I'm drawing up the contracts now. CEO. You seen my suits nigga (ha, ha) I'm a muthfuckin Pimp!

You got them Eastsidaz albums?

Nigga, you didn't send the shit?
The publicist was supposed to send you five of them last month. I'll tell Tracey to send you some. I want you to bump that shit in them NY streets, let them hustlers feel that real gangsta shit.

The word is all ready spreading.. I probaly didn't get the CD's cause these ghetto ass NY post office niggaz be leaving shit outside your door, then niggaz come by on some scrape up shit. But I went to BMG to see Puff last week, and he had a stack of them in his office, so I copped a few.

You need to play that Hi-Tek track.. We dropping that izzle for rizzle my nizzle... seven dizzles for rizzle big pow wiggles up in the hizzle for shizzle, dizzle.. here we go *starts rapping* I jump up in the morning trying to find some sess/ sike/ we like the bomb/ some/ body better ring the alarm/ and hit the folks at the farm/ let my homies out the yard/ i /shall/ be the head nigga in charge/ push/ bush/ out of off us/ dump till they get off us/ make them offers/ that leave ni/ggaz in coffins... *pause*

*slurp, slurp* (fuck is he doing, eating?) continues..

"Who left the muthafuckin gate open?/ police comin/ and we still smokin/ what you drinking on loky loky?/ doggy woggy woggy got it funky while we talkin on the walke talkie.."

That's that muthafuckin "Eastside Ridas" shit, track three... That's the one I want you to bump.

You know I got that. Yo, you know I'm gonna use this in my interview section this month.
What, for the whudat shit?

Yeah..
No problem .. just don't forget to link up my site.

I didn't know you had one.
This is the 21st century ain't it? Wait a minute.. .. "Keisha, what's the name of the site J Dee and them hooked up?.. ." I don't be on the computer like that C.. "Yeah the one for Tray and them.. He didn't finish it? So what's the record company site? tvtrecords.com " Yeah, they still fucking with the other shit, but the record company site is tvtrecords.com.

What yall got up there?
I don't even care loc, as long as you can click and type in that VISA number.. that's my main concern. I'm gettin money from all angles right now. I got the Baby Boy check, the porn shit is coming in on a regular basis...

Yeah, what's up with that porno thing?
I ain't even in them like that, even though I know these hoes want me to break em off, I'm not even fucking with them like that. It's the rules of the game, you don't mix the pussy and the pimpin. I'm standing back like the ghetto Steven Spielberg, coordinating shit, making sure the asses is looking delicious, making sure they don't waste my muthafuckin film with no tired shit. Sometimes them hoes think it's a muthafuckin video shoot or something cause we got that gangsta shit playing in the background.. I did some new shit for the soundtrack and it's some classics on there; so it's smoked out like a muthafucka. But I had to let them hoes know this ain't a game. I want to see balls licked, pussies ate, and some muthafuckin booties bouncing, please believe.. We keeping it raw and rough.

What's the name of the movie?

Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, kept it real simple. Throw in them name brand hoes: Obsession, India, Anna Malle, Farrah.. Charlie Angel. It's official shit, on DVD and all that. If them Hollywood cats wasn't so clean, I'd put it in a muthafuckin cineplex.

Since you putting this in the interview, let people know about the new sneaker I got coming out in November with DaDa called the Thizzle. I'm helping out with the design, so you know it's gonna be tight as a muthafucka. Just something to add on.. the Snoop Dogg Clothing Line is popping off too.. it's crazy right now.

*click click* Snoop, hold on.. This is it, Snoop. I got that Sunshine chick on the line.
Who, Sunshine Anderson? Nigga you trying to hit that?

What did I tell you the first day I saw her in that video.. "I'm trying to come up on that."
Yeah, if she come see me, I'm gonna put her in my next movie.

Fuck you nigga.
Ha, Ha...*click*

Yeah, what's up?
Who was you talking to?

Snoop... So what's happening?

August 2001

Huggy Bear in the new Starsky and Hutch

How influential were the ‘70s to you?
To me, the ‘70s were very inspirational and very influential to me, with my whole persona as Snoop Dogg, as a person, as a rapper. I just love the ‘70s style, the way all the players dressed nice, kept their hair looking good, drove sharp cars and they talked real slick.

Who influenced you when you were growing up?
Oh, definitely Richard Pryor. Musically, I like Bootsy Collins, George Clinton. In sports, I like Magic Johnson, Muhammed Ali. All those guys were inspirational and influential to me as a kid.

Could you relate to Huggy Bear?
Yeah yeah, that’s me, baby. Huggy is me, ya’ dig?

Did you get into wearing the clothes?
I loved that mink coat, with all the flavors on it, like a rainbow. I loved that coat.

Did you keep any of them?
I kept a lot of the outfits, a lot of the jewelry. They was real cool with me on the set, because they felt, you know, that was a part of me. I was Huggy, so if I wanted to it, I should get it. I continue to bring Huggy to life.

Why’d you let Vince Vaughn smack you around?
Now that was hard, because he slapped the sh*t of me on one scene.

Did you hit him back after the take was done?
No, I was about to, but I stayed in character. I didn’t know the director had pulled him to the side and told him, “Yeah, slap him on this one.” It caught me off guard. They were like, “Oh, it was great! It came off, you should have seen the look on your face!” I said, “Yeah, I was about to beat his ass.”

Was it hard to keep a straight face around Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson?
That’s the fun part of it, to be able to compete with them, to be able to throw things off of them and to catch what they’re throwing at you. So I think I did well with everybody I was on screen with. I had the most fun working with Fred Williamson even though we didn’t have a real healthy scene, but he was somebody who I grew up loving everything he did as a kid. That’s the Hammer, that’s Black Caesar, and just being able to have a line with him was true for me.

Is acting a natural extension of your music?
Yeah, I think through my videos I’ve always tried to show a little piece of acting, in every video I’ve been a part of. But they only give us four minutes for videos, so that’s what really made me want to step into the movie world, because I wasn’t able to breathe like I want to breathe on the video side like I am on the movie side. So hopefully everybody will be more interested in the next couple of projects I have coming out, and they will enjoy this one.

Why do rappers make better actors that rock stars?
I don’t know. Probably because we take more craft, more art, more time on our craft. Once a rapper gets respect as an actor, it’s his job to step all the way up and want to be the best, because in the rap world, it’s so competitive. So anything that we do we strive to be the best, so that’s why it’s cool for us to take those knocks and bruises and bumps. “Well, why are these rappers getting all of these roles?” It’s because the rappers deserve these roles, because when they pull them off and the movies make money, Hollywood’s happy, and the rapper becomes an actor now.

Did you ever meet original Huggy Bear?
I worked with him before on one of my videos in the past, “Doggy Dogg World,” 1993 off my “Doggystyle” record. But I didn’t get to talk to him or work with him on this movie. I don’t know why, but it just didn’t happen. For the most part, I feel like I did him justice by playing Huggy and bringing a little bit more flavor and just doing what Huggy did for me as a kid, hopefully he’ll do for kids today. I think if the Huggy in the seventies had more room like I had more room, I think he would have done it like I did it. I think that back then, television wasn’t ready for what I’m bringing on the big screen, and that Huggy Bear gave me the vision to want to be this Huggy Bear, to bring him off with a space-age twist.

What was the best part?
To be a cool dude in the movie, because I’m usually the bad guy or I get killed in the movie, but this is a movie where I think the audience is going to be loving it, and rooting for Huggy and wanting to see more of him.

Do you think perceptions of you will change as a result of you doing this movie?
I don’t know. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I don’t know. Maybe after I see it I can voice the opinion.

How has your relationship with Todd Phillips changed since Old School?
Oh, we’re real cool. That’s my main man, you know. I’m just honored to be a part of this picture he decided to do, and I know that we’re going to work together again in the future. Hopefully this is the beginning of a long haul. On Old School, I was not an actor. I was Snoop Dogg, so I came to the set with a whole different vibe, and a different crew of people. And on Starsky & Hutch, I was more of an actor. I wasn’t Snoop Dogg, the rapper.

What would be your ideal movie role?
I don’t know. I just want to play in good movies with good directors, and I want to step up and get bigger and better. I don’t want this to be as far as I can go. I want to go further than this.

What’s next music-wise?
I’ve got to make one more record that solidifies my career.

Any future plans with the TV show?
Right now we have not made plans to film any more episodes. I liked the six that I did, I thought I did real good, I just want to end it on that note. I don’t want to try to reduplicate it, because there’s so many reality shows out right now that I want to be different. When I was doing it, it was like it was just me, and me. Now it’s everybody.

What are you doing next?
I’m in the process of working on this 213 record. That’s me, Warren G and Nate Dogg, that should be out late April or early May, and I’m also developing a couple of scripts, and looking at a couple of scripts that have been offered to me too.

Do you have ambitions to write or direct?
Definitely want to do everything that’s possible. I want to write, direct, produce, but in steps. I want to take steps. I don’t want to just jump in because I sold a lot of records and just feel like I can jump into the movie world. I want to learn the movie world like I learned the music world.

Who do you play in Soul Plane?
Captain Mack, the pilot of NWA, the first black airline.

What do you do in the movie?
I fly the plane.

Trying to make the G stand for good?

Sept, 1999

DIMITRI EHRLICH: You made a big change when you left Death Row Records for No Limit. The names of the two labels seem to say a lot: Death Row means you're waiting to be executed and No Limit means anything's possible. Has there been any accompanying attitude shift in your life?

SNOOP DOGG: I think it's a matter of getting more maturity. As I got older and wiser in this rap game, I wanted to see myself prospering and maturing. I wanted to live.

DE: Are you saying that when you were younger you weren't sure you wanted to live?

SD: I'm saying I didn't have much to live for. Now I've got a wife and kids, and that gives me inspiration to change my attitude, my demeanor, my whole way of living.

DE: After you signed to No Limit you moved to Baton Rouge for a while, and now you're back in California. What's the biggest difference for you between life in California and Louisiana?

SD: I'm more depended upon in California - like a thousand people need me every day. So it is more or less like a presidency on the West Coast, and in Baton Rouge I'm like a soldier.

DE: Did you feel socially isolated in Baton Rouge?

SD: No, I'm not isolated because in Baton Rouge they're happy to have Snoop Dogg in their community; it's like, "We welcome you and we're loving you here." In California, it's like, "We can't get by without you."

DE: Have you given lobe to a lot of people since you've become successful?

SD: That comes with the territory. You pick up more dependents when you become successful. That's how we do it in the black community; we give back to the people who made us who we are. We never forget that.

DE: Why did you change your name? It used to be Snoop Doggy Dogg and now you're just Snoop Dogg. Are you no longer into doing it Doggy Style?

SD: I'm no longer into getting done Doggy Style.

DE: That's why you changed it?

SD: Basically.

DE: What was your childhood like?

SD: Positive stuff: football, basketball, church, music - rap wasn't available at the time, it was just R&B and gospel. That's what it was about growing up - friends, family, and having a good time.

DE: You sang with the youth choir In church, you studied the Bible, and you took piano lessons. I think of you as being a mack, but it sounds like you're a recovering nerd. Did you have a conservative upbringing?

SD: Basically, my mama raised me and my two brothers with no father in the home. She presented the church and all the good things in life to us. She showed me everything except how to be a man. It's very hard for a woman to raise a man without a father in the home, but I can't say anything bad about how she brought us up. And if I have the right perspective today, I give my mama credit for that.

DE: After you got involved with drugs and gangs, people were literally driving by and shooting into your house, and your mother eventually moved out and didn't hear from you for a few years. Why did you put your more through all that if you love her?

SD: Because when you're selling dope you're not thinking about your mama or about people shooting at you, you're just thinking about getting your money. I didn't try to put my mama in danger, but when you're in the game of wrong, wrong comes back to you. So I decided to disassociate myself from the wrong lifestyle and create a positive atmosphere through rapping. And no longer does my mama feel threatened. That was an atmosphere I created that I'm not proud of, but it was something I went through.

DE: You're one of the few artists - If not the only one - on Master P's label who's brought in outside producers. Did you expect to have a struggle with him about that?

SD: No, that's why Master P signed me: He realized Snoop Dogg was a superstar before he came to No Limit. I need to be in an environment where I can be free to use my power and my connections. That's what I do best. I connect, I politic, I work with people you don't expect me to work with, but they're the best for the music at the time. And that just shows how Master P is a brilliant businessman. I want to give him a big shout out for allowing me to do what I do best.

DE: Some people are surprised that you had DJ Quik produce some tracks, because he was believed to be affiliated with the Bloods, and you were a Crip.

SD: Yeah, but we're grown men, and we don't care what the political side is or what the 'hood thinks. We are leaders, so whatever we say goes. We make the difference in the 'hood. We have to forgive and forget and show people that we're about change.

DE: You wrote a song in memory of Tupac and Biggie Smalls - both of whom were shot to death - called "Count Your Blessings." Writing for Tupac doesn't surprise me because you were labelmates and friends. But there was a highly public rivalry between him and Big. What was your relationship with Big? Were you guys friendly?

SD: Yeah, I was cool with him. I mean, I have respect for the rap game in general. I don't have any personal vendettas. My association with Death Row made people think I didn't like certain individuals, when I didn't have problems with anybody. My thing was to make good music and that's what it was all about.

DE: Suge Knight has a reputation for intimidating people. Did he ever intimidate you?

SD: No. I have nothing bad to say about him; it was all good times. And everything we did was between us - it's not to be discussed amongst the public.

DE: So you're not bothered that his label has a new rapper named Topp Dogg? Or that Death Row recently released a record called Chronic 2000, since your big break came when you rapped on Dr. Dre's album The Chronic?

SD: That doesn't bother me. I'm about making money and being positive. I'm not with that bullshit, I'm with the real.

DE: Do you ever regret recording songs with lyrics that are insulting to women, like "I got no love for you hos"? I assume that you actually love some women in your life.

SD: I don't regret anything I've ever said or done. Everything is done for a reason - I'm just a child of God doing what He wants me to do. I say what I say, but before I was here it was being said, and when I leave it is going to continue to be said, so don't blame me, don't hate me, hate the game.

DE: You were on the 1997 Lollapalooza tour, right? Somehow I can't picture you and Perry Farrell in the same room.

SD: Tommy Lee is my best friend right about now. Me and him are real cool, so imagine that. He's heavy metal - now that's someone you really wouldn't expect me to be with.

DE: Are you guys going to do some music together?

SD: We've done some together. I'm about bringing change, trying to bridge the gap between white and black, rock and rap.

DE: You've always identified yourself with the pimp image. How has that changed as you've gotten older?

SD: It was just infatuation. You watch enough pimp movies, you want to be like that. It was the way they conducted themselves around the police and around women, the way they handled themselves in general, that made me want to take certain elements of their game to enhance my own.

DE: In the liner notes for your new album you take a stand against prejudice, which I thought was great. A lot of rappers come out and say, "I'm for my people," but they don't really come out and say, "I'm against racism."

SD: My people is everybody, not just black people. My people are people who enjoy what I do. You know, I grew up with white friends, Mexican friends, Asian friends. My mama taught us to love and respect people who respect themselves, and that's how I bring it. That's just my character.

DE: What's the most important difference between Calvin Broadus and Snoop Dogg?

SD: Snoop Dogg is a people person. He's there for the whole world. Calvin Broadus is more family-oriented. He's there for his wife, mama, brothers, grandmamas - that's who Calvin Broadus is.

DE: Where do you think hip-hop is going?

SD: I'm thinking it'll mix with country music.

DE: Country?

SD: Yeah, because rap is a part of every musical element except country, that's the last piece. Once the country music world welcomes it in, it will be the biggest shit in the world. That's the only thing we're waiting on, that last piece of respect.

DE: Have you thought about doing a collaboration with a country artist?

SD: Yeah, I'm down with that. I'm about making music that's hot.

DE: Who would you want to work with?

SD: Who's the hottest? Garth Brooks, whoever.

Whoever's hitting.

DE: Snoop and Garth kicking It.

SD: Yeah, it's nothing but a G thing.

DE: G as in a gangsta thing or a Garth thing?

SD: Both.