Striding through the streets of Paris, the Olympic flame held high above his head, Snoop Dogg was surely the first torchbearer ever asked to do the Crip Walk—the hip-hop strut made famous in his “Drop It Like It’s Hot” video—by an adoring fan. The 52-year-old rap legend happily obliged, much to the delight of the French crowd. Moments like that are why people of all ages, genders and races feel as if they actually know Snoop, like a friend who has been in their lives for 30 years.
That familiarity, combined with the unmistakable figure cut by his slender 6-foot-4 frame and long braided hair, make it difficult for the rapper born Calvin Broadus Jr. to go out in public without causing a scene. It’s why he spends so much time at The Compound, which also features recording studios, an arcade and a basketball court.
The public perception of Snoop has certainly come a long way since his early years in and out of prison and his emergence as a West Coast rap pioneer, beginning with 1993’s Doggystyle. While sentiments around hip-hop and cannabis have shifted in the decades since, Snoop has also worked hard at reinvention—while staying true to who he is. Whether he’s putting out a reggae or gospel record, appearing in movies such as Old School and Training Day or producing an animated show for kids, Snoop’s brand has morphed from parental-advisory to family-friendly.
“I just think when you’re organic and authentic to who you are, eventually the world will catch up,” he says. “What I didn’t do was try to follow the fads or the trends. I just stayed me the whole way.”
Read the full story on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/09/27/snoop-dogg-interview-olympics-voice-cannabis-new-album/
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That familiarity, combined with the unmistakable figure cut by his slender 6-foot-4 frame and long braided hair, make it difficult for the rapper born Calvin Broadus Jr. to go out in public without causing a scene. It’s why he spends so much time at The Compound, which also features recording studios, an arcade and a basketball court.
The public perception of Snoop has certainly come a long way since his early years in and out of prison and his emergence as a West Coast rap pioneer, beginning with 1993’s Doggystyle. While sentiments around hip-hop and cannabis have shifted in the decades since, Snoop has also worked hard at reinvention—while staying true to who he is. Whether he’s putting out a reggae or gospel record, appearing in movies such as Old School and Training Day or producing an animated show for kids, Snoop’s brand has morphed from parental-advisory to family-friendly.
“I just think when you’re organic and authentic to who you are, eventually the world will catch up,” he says. “What I didn’t do was try to follow the fads or the trends. I just stayed me the whole way.”
Read the full story on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/09/27/snoop-dogg-interview-olympics-voice-cannabis-new-album/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Alright, we're here just a few weeks after the Summer Olympics in Paris with one of the
00:10biggest stars from the Games, SubDog.
00:12Thanks for joining us here on Forbes Live.
00:14Thank you for having me.
00:16It seems from the outside, you know, that kind of the public perception, the public
00:20image of SubDog has changed, obviously, over the past 30 years.
00:24What I'm curious about is, was there intentional effort put into that or do you feel like kind
00:29of the world changed around you?
00:32I just think when you're organic and authentic to who you are, eventually the world will
00:37catch up.
00:38What I didn't do was try to, you know, follow the fads or the trends.
00:41I just stayed me the whole way.
00:43Even when it was rocky and when it was bad and I wasn't as hot or successful or liked
00:48or loved, I managed to continue to be me and that's something I want to say to everybody
00:52that's watching.
00:54Stay you at all times.
00:55Ain't nothing wrong with being you.
00:57Find a way to be you and master that craft and stick with it.
01:05One example of that is kind of, I think, the way that perception of cannabis or the marijuana
01:10industry has changed, you know, in the past 30 years and obviously now you work in the
01:15jails.
01:16Yeah, I would have been in the jails if we had been doing the interview 15, 20 years
01:17ago.
01:18They'd be taking you to jail because I'd have gave you all this dope and said it was
01:21yours.
01:22When you think about it from like a...
01:24I'm just fucking with you.
01:25You're good, you're good.
01:26I'd be like, oh my god, mom.
01:27Please, no.
01:28When you think about it from like a business perspective, yeah, to now be someone that
01:33works in that field and is making money in that field, I guess like how do you process
01:38kind of, yeah, that change over 30 years?
01:41Well, I wasn't here when Prohibition happened and alcohol was illegal, then it became legal,
01:46but I look at it as the same sport, you know, something that the government definitely had
01:50to get control of and once they was able to, you know, tax it and monitor it, I knew it
01:55would become legal and once it became legal, I did all of the proper steps to make sure
01:59that I was able to get into the industry and, you know, not just be used as a victim or
02:04used as a face, but I went and met with the MEDs when this thing first started and I sat
02:09down with them and got a real understanding on what I was about.
02:13I was about the medical side of it and making sure that we reached the right purpose and
02:16the right intentions and we did things where we reached out to the elders and the patients
02:21that really needed it, which showed our true interest as we was trying to show that this
02:26is something that could be used for medical purposes and not just for recreational and
02:31once the business, you know, became the business, I was looked at as someone who really cared
02:35rather than just trying to come in and steal money because I was an advocate.
02:39No, I really cared because I had family members that really need this and needed this to survive
02:44and they was dealing with cancer and dealing with certain diseases and this got them through,
02:48so I wanted to be a voice for it and that was the best way I could do it.
02:53A lot of artists kind of have that wide appeal.
02:56Why do you think that you're able to appeal to all different kinds of folks?
02:59Well, I got something for everybody.
03:01I do things for kids because I have grandkids and I know how influential they can be and
03:08then I got relationships with people who may be considered as like, you know, elders, like
03:15your grandmother, you know, she may be a fan of Martha Stewart and Martha's a friend of mine.
03:22At this point in your life, you got grandkids, how does that change kind of your perspective
03:26on the things that you want to do and your businesses and, you know, adventures and things like that?
03:31I really think about my grandkids and I think about them having kids and I think about like
03:40in the perspective of the Olympics, I think about running a race.
03:45When I was given the baton, most people were already around a lap four or five times, but
03:54now at the pace I've been running, I've lapped them four or five times.
03:59So how do I give the baton to my grandkids to where they ahead of the race and they're
04:06not behind?
04:07And it's a race of not just finances, but a race of stability, peace and love and harmony
04:14and that's the race that I'm winning right now.
04:16So I want to be able to pass that off to my great-grandkids so that way when my spirit
04:21drifts away, they'll continue to move in the spirit of me.