Snoop Dogg Interview by: Scott Bejda

A lot of people consider you the King of the West Coast. Did you get that title by choice or did the people put you in that position?

King of the West? I believe I took that position! I didn’t ask for it, I just took it and did what I had to do to make sure shit is the way it’s supposed to be. We have to be different and be a cut above the rest and always respecting our forefathers in this shit. I respect the people that did this before me. And anytime you respect the ones before you and you do it a little bit better than them, they appreciate you and they lift you up too. It’s not just the young generation that put me in that position, it’s the OG’s that agree with it as well. There is no friction between any OG’s, not even the ones that did it before me. You won’t hear them griping saying, “How the fuck is Snoop Dogg this and we did that?” Naw they all agree with it!

You try to bring a structure to it!

You have to! You have to make shit organized!

I heard you’re on the road. Where are you at right now?

I am in Denmark. I’m here for The European MTV Music Video Awards and I’m performing. They got me getting busy out here in the snow.

Must be cold up there. I hope you brought some jackets!

Hell yeah. I got my ink coat that I will be wearing on stage tonight. I got to do it!

By the time this story hits, your new album will be out. What are we going to get with the new Snoop Dogg album?

The new album is called “The Blue Carpet Treatment”. I went and got the best producers that I could find. I feel that this is some good music that is needed right now. I felt that we could make some good music to represent the West Coast and to just represent music in general. I went in and just tried to come out with a record that could fill the void right now.

What guest features are on your album?

I got a variety, there’s a lil’ somethin’ of everybody on there! I did one with R. Kelly on there, I got Dr. Dre on there. I got one with E-40, MC Eiht, Goldie Loc, Daz and Kurupt. I got D’ Angelo, The Game, and I got one with Stevie Wonder on there as well.

Stevie Wonder? That had to be pretty cool.

Yeah. It’s the last song on my record and it’s called “Conversations”.

Since Ray Charles has died Stevie Wonder is really like the next in line. A musical genius!

Yes sir. He is a musical genius!

You have worked with just about everybody, but when you work with someone like Stevie Wonder how does that feel?

It really brings some understanding to my career and direction to what I am doing. I really had no idea as a rapper, but when you start working with musical legends it shows that you are more than just a Hip Hop artist and more of a musician. Something like that can take it to the next level because I couldn’t see him doing something with somebody that had no relevance. At the same time it helped me understand why I am here and why I am doing what I am doing. To be able to make records that really matter as opposed to making so many party records. Stevie Wonder made party records too, but then again he found times in his career to make a lot of records that matter.

It helps to shut up the ignorant writers who don’t want to give any credit to a Gangsta rapper. These idiots refuse to recognize the genius of an artist as great as Snoop.

I assume the position and I know how to just keep it gangsta!

What about the production on your new album? Who did you choose to work with?

For production I got Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Supa Fly, Rick Rock, my boy Knock from Virginia, Kiniva from D-12, DJ Pooh. I even did one on there too called “Gang Bangin’ 101” with The Game.

You’re producing now too?

Yeah, my producer name is Niggaracci so any time you see Niggaracci that’s me.

Have you been doing that for a while though?

I have, but I’ve been trying to keep it on the low because that ain’t really what I’m after. But sometimes I just know what I like to get down on and if ain’t nobody there at the time, I will get down and make it happen.

I saw the name Niggaracci before. Did you do any underground stuff?

You know I did! In the mixtapes, Niggaracci! I was just trying to get my groove right and sometimes you have to have a little testing zone to be able to test what you got. “Gangbangin’ 101” is super hard and it’s going to be an anthem. It’s going to be a West Coast southern California gang bang anthem!

It’s good to see you being a Crip and Game being a Blood come together and make music like that! Do you think a collaboration like that has a positive effect on the community when people see Bloods and Crips making music together?

It hasn’t yet, but I think it will. Because when the youth sees that and the young generation is seeing me and The Game come together and make music, it makes them see that it’s cool. We work together and not just that—every time we see each other we always do thangs together. I’m in his next video even though it’s just a little cameo. That’s what we got to always do. We gotta stay down with each other and make shit happen. The kids only believe what they see. If they see us clash they will want to clash, but if they see us at peace then they will be at peace. We have to give them something other than what they’re always used to seeing and doing.

It shows people that the gangs can stand for something other than what the media portrays it as being!

Right, because we are all just a conversation away from peace and a conversation away from war. It just depends on what conversation you want to have.

It sounds like the new album is a bunch of slaps?

It’s crackin man! And I did my homework. Whatever is missing right now I just filled in the void and made it go down.

How does this compare to your earlier releases? Is this something different, just Snoop growing as an artist?

It’s just good music. I can’t really say if it is growth or what it is because I just don’t ever get all the records I did and listen to them back to back to back and say “Okay this is the next one.” I just go with whatever I feel at the time and just put it down and let it be whatever it is going to be.

You are one of the masters of the game and you know what you are doing!

Nobody can play the game the way I play the game!

Last time I talked with The Game he was telling me about the West Coast Hip Hop conference that you had last year and how important it was for West Coast Rap. Are you going to have another one this year?

I think we will have another one before the end of the year just to keep the peace and keep things going and let everyone know that we are still all good.

Why do you think the West Coast fell off when at one time it had so much power? How could something so powerful just fall apart?

At the same time everyone else who is doing Rap has a piece of our shit in their shit. We live through other folks. They don’t really want to give us that love because we are not organized. I keep trying to explain to people that if we are more organized the better looks we will get, and I think they are starting to catch on right now.

I hear what you’re saying, because it’s not like the music fell off. It’s just that nobody was checking for the West Coast Rap anymore.

We have to stay organized and keep things in motion. That’s where we need to be at, because we are trendsetters. We can’t just keep creating new styles to have someone else from another part of the country take credit for it. If we are organized and they feel like they have to pick and choose then they might pick us, but if not then they won’t pick you.

But why was the media not choosing to focus on the West like it did in the past?

We are kind of violent around here and that will make muthafuckaz turn away. The West Coast attitude and mentality is more violent and people won’t just talk about something, they gonna do it. That will make muthafuckaz turn away real quick! These other areas that are running the game right now are more peaceful and about partying and having a good time. Everybody is cool with everybody and that is easy to deal with.

The thing about the West is it is real! They are talking about wars in Iraq, but we got hood wars right here in America!

Yeah, but who cares? If it ain’t none of your people then who cares? We got to say that it is time to make the war over with! We are fighting a war over there and ain’t nobody telling Bush to end that muthafucka and he keeps sending niggaz over there to get killed. I know a girl who is over there right and I be hitting her on the email on the regular to make sure she is still alive. That shit is crazy as fuck!

I just heard today that Sean Paul is headed out that way!

Sean Paul from the Young Bloodz is going to Iraq? Did he get recruited?

No, he volunteered to go over there to entertain the troops!

I just got back from Nigeria and that muthafucka was like Iraq!

What was going on in Nigeria?

I went out there to do a show. It was me, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Missy Eliot, so it was just a bunch of big name acts out there. We were doing a festival and that’s what it was all about.

Coming from Long Beach and knowing what the streets are like there, are you still nervous to be in another country?

You don’t really be nervous, but you always know that shit could go wrong. In the hood shit can go wrong at any second just like in Nigeria shit could go wrong. Any muthafuckin’ thing!

Was it pretty cool out there?

It was definitely cool, but it was a little bit rough and the average person wouldn’t have been able to understand that.

You recently wrote a book, “Love Don’t Live Here”. How did that come about?

It’s a book I did with David Talbert. I gave him some ideas…I wanted to do a book that was sort of based on my life, but kind of different. Similar to the life that I had as a rapper or inspired by the life of a rapper. It’s also based on the relationship with his mother. It’s based on my life rapping and him dealing with his mother at the same time, so it is a cool little story.

What made you decide to do a book right now?

I felt that it was time for something like that.

Will there ever be a Snoop raw and uncut biography?

I don’t know man, you never know! I still have more to do. I think I am maybe ten years away from that. It sounds good right now, but if I do ten more years of what I got planned I think it will be real good.

When does “Love Don’t Live Here” come out?

It’s out right now. You can pick it up at bookstores everywhere!

What else do you have in the works? Do you have any new films coming out soon?

I got something called “A Woman’s Touch” that I’m going to put out next year. That should be something real good for the women to get into. The ladies are going to love me for that one. Then I’m doing an animated movie for my record called “The Adventures Of The Blue Carpet Treatment” and that will be out around Christmas.

How did you get into making an animation?

I have always had cartoons connected to my records like the comics on the inside of the CD covers or just the graphics, but I have never had no cartoon movie. I felt that if the cartoons could move to the groove then that it would be special. I decided to get with the cat who did all of the artwork for me and he is making it happen, and the music and the animation is working perfectly. It’s going to be a hell of a movie. I ain’t never seen nothing like it done before.

Is it an adult cartoon or is it something for the kids?

It’s going to be Rated-R and it has a lot of scenes in it that is real different and have never before been seen in animation. I am just trying to pull a few tricks out! It’s not for kids, but you know the kids are going to get it though, you know that! They will have it in their little DVD players.

Artists like you have been under fire from FCC and PTA, but really you take extra precautions with warning labels and whatnot. Why do you think that these groups still to this day fuck with the Rap game?

I really don’t know because Hip Hop is the most inspirational thing in the world right now. People should just let it be what it is going to be. They got us in everything that is moving right now like movies, TV, commercials, sports, and entertainment. Everything is to be sold has to have Hip Hop connected to it or it won’t sell. That lets me know off the top that we run the world. If you were to take Hip Hop away from the world right now the world would be a different place. Any other music you could take away and the world will continue to move, but if you take Hip Hop out of the world shit would just be boring.

Right now it’s so hard for a new artist to break into the game if he doesn’t know the right people. Talent is supposed to be the biggest part, but nowadays it is about who you know.

Why is it set up like that?

I don’t know, but it’s like that in everything that you do. Any profession is like that! The people with the most power get the most connection and the most players in the game.

When you, Warren and Nate were coming up as 213 way before “The Chronic” it was hard for you too!

Definitely. We saw what it was like firsthand and there is a lot of shit that you have to deal with. It was a struggle at first before “The Chronic”. We were trying to be heard!

Do those early days as an artist keep you humble and grounded?

It was my introduction into the game and how I came into it.

Your upcoming movie, “A Woman’s Touch”, what’s it about?

It is about a guy who was raised by his mother. His mother ended up passing away, but she raised him as a ladies man. Then he moves in with his grandmother, and she raises him in a different way as far as he has to take care of a woman as opposed to the woman taking care of him. He gets involved in so many different relationships with females and the movie is based on him trying to find a woman’s touch. It is heavy!

When is it coming out?

It should be out around March or April, 2007.

Rappers like Ice-T did Body Count, and now Ray Luv in the Bay is in a Rock group called Crime Seen. Would you ever consider being in a Rock group?

Yeah, I got a group called The Nine Inch Dicks which is a Rock group. We do cover songs and original songs, but it’s like we do nasty songs for the bitches because we are The Nine Inch Dicks. That album will be coming soon! It is dope! The Nine Inch Nails is what we were inspired by, but we ain’t got no nine inch nails. We got nine inch dicks, so we made that our group name.

Can you describe the sound of the group?

It’s real different. It’s not a lot of rappin’ because it’s more singing than anything. It is on a whole different level, but it is hot shit! That album should be out in February.

You got a lot of shit going on at all times?

I’m staying busy 24/7 all the time! Be on the lookout for my new groups, The Western Union and War Zone with Kam, Goldie Loc, and MC Eiht. They are both featured on my album too. I’m just trying to do a lot of big things this year. Shit, if it got that dog on it go get it, dog gonnit.

With you staying so busy on the road, in the studio, or acting, how do you find time for your kids? Do you ever take them on the road with you?

I have to balance everything because I really don’t have time to be doing all of this shit, but I try to make time anyway. I try to make points in my life where it is all about them. When I’m with my kids I am in a whole other zone and it feels good to unwind and spend time with them. There is no pressure or schedules to follow.

Are you still doing your football league?

Definitely. My football league has 2,000 kids in it right now and we are in our second season. It’s looking real good right now. It’s a beautiful thing and coming to a hood near you. The last game of the season will be this week, then we are going into a two week play off and then the super bowl. It’s a beautiful thing and this year we had no violence and the kids are having a great season. Every level is competitive, and next year we are trying to take it to another state, like maybe Alabama, Georgia or Texas!

What age bracket is the football league?

It’s from age seven to thirteen and there is five different levels.

Do you get to go to a lot of games?

No doubt.  I get to go to every game because I am the physical coach so I have to be out there coaching and calling plays.

Is the Arch Bishop Don Juan with you over there in Denmark?

No, he’s at the house right now probably laying up at the crib. He’s taking it easy right now because he got a new tennis shoe that just came out.

How long have you known Don Juan?

I have known him since about ’93.

You seem like real good friends. Does he kind of act as a spiritual advisor to you?

Don Juan is a good spirit! He has a good spirit about himself. Sometimes you have older cats around you that have lived a full life and can really give you some true understanding on which way to turn and which way to burn. He is always on point and has a lot of knowledge to give.

I’m sure you do that for younger cats yourself too?

Definitely. That is my role and I do do that, but sometimes I have to go get some upstanding wisdom from someone that has more than I do. We game off each other. When I put game out there he learns a little something off me and I learn a little something off him, so it’s like that. We trade a lil’ game back and forth and we just be choppin’ game!