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The Dr. Dre protégé with the killer flow who made his mark on The Chronic has come a long way in 13 years. Snoop Dogg isn't just a rapper; he's an entrepreneur, a peacemaker and a family man who takes all of his roles seriously.
Snoop's goal is simple: master the business world the way he's mastered rap — but that's not all that he has going on. He's got friends to showcase, peers to counsel and a home life to rebuild. MTV News' Sway Calloway sat down with a very candid Snoop, who revealed that he is not just aiming to be the biggest businessman, he wants to be the best man he can be: a real leader, complete with unclouded vision and earned wisdom.
Sway: As you've gotten older, have time and wisdom helped you make better business decisions and life decisions?
Snoop Dogg: Yeah. I keep older people with me. You know, the Bishop Magic Juan, my uncle June Bug. ... An older guy, he's going to show you things that a young man can't show you. He's going to show you how to stay alive. He's going to show you how to turn corners where your young friends will show you how to turn right into that wall, you know what I'm saying? That's why you've got to keep that type of wisdom around you, and that's what I do. I keep those kind of cats around me; that'll help me become an older, wiser cat too. I'm more spiritual now, I'm a leader — not just because I'm good and I'm great, but I really have the knowledge to really lead you and direct you.
Sway: Just watching you, it seems to me like you made a conscious decision one day and said, "You know what? I don't want to be one-dimensional — I want to be multidimensional."
Snoop: I used to be focused on being the dopest rapper in the game, and then once that became what I was, I wanted something different, and I wanted to become the best businessman in the game. I wanted to learn how to master the business like I mastered the rap. Everybody depends on me in the rap world. If we need a West Coast connection or a link, or if we need a universal sound, call Snoop — he'll save the day. He'll do it for me, for you, for anybody, whoever needs it. But I wanted to be able to say that, businesswise, people were calling me on that same level ... if we need to promote this or sell this, let's give Snoop a call because he can do it like nobody else can; he'll save the day. And then what I did from there, I learned how to take other people's mechanisms of promoting their stuff through me as opposed to promoting my own stuff, as far as getting Snoop DeVilles, SnoopDeGrills, Snoop Doggy Dogg biscuits, Snoop Dogg record label, Snoop Dogg bubble gum, Snoop Youth Football League — everything that's just Snoop, because I want to do my own thing now. There's so much that I want to do. I feel like I'm the Magic Johnson of rap. You know, Magic was great on the basketball court, but he's bigger as a businessman.
Sway: It was out in the public for a while that you were in the process of getting a divorce. Is there truth in that? What's the status of it?
Snoop: I was trying to get a divorce, but I went back home and I fell back in love with my wife and kids. A lot of times you get cloudy. This music industry is a mother, man, and it'll take your vision and blur it. But God is good, so I understand that I need my wife and my kids in my life — so I threw the papers away. I don't want to get a divorce. So if you hear about a divorce, it'll be my wife divorcing me; it won't be me divorcing her. ... And I made a mistake, so I'm
trying to get back right.
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"I felt like this was the best thing to do, to come back and help my homeboy. ... And I reached out to him and let him know, 'I love you, man.' " - Snoop on Kurupt
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Sway: When you, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt split, people couldn't believe it. It seemed like you would never come back together again. What was that friction originally about?
Snoop: It was just about us being childish. When one left Death Row and the others stayed behind, we had a problem with it. We just felt like doing business with Suge Knight was against the grain. ... Him and me was at it, so either you're with him or you're with me.
As opposed to me just being a grown man and just saying, "You know what, that has nothing to do with nothing. I love you, you're my homeboy. My issues are my issues." I really couldn't look past that because I was childish. But as I grew older and had a few talks with my people ... I felt like this was the best thing to do, to come back and help my homeboy. ... And I reached out to him and let him know, "I love you, man."
Sway: Is it fair to say that there should be counseling offered to a lot of artists in the business? It's hard, man.
Snoop: We need counseling, because it's an emotional wreck. But at the same time, so many people depend on me. How could I get counseling when I have to counsel you, counsel him and counsel them? "Uncle Snoop, help me! I need this, man, or I'mma kill myself." Or, "I'mma jump off the cliff. I don't know what to do!" So many people depend on me, it's to the point where if I did have counseling, I would be better at what I do. But I'll be all right because I am the counselor. I am the commissioner/president.
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Photo: Star Trak
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