Snoop Dogg endorses gay marriage, says rap is too ‘masculine’ to do the same

Snoop Dogg

I’ll be perfectly honest here and just admit that Snoop Dogg is freaking my sh-t out lately. These are some photos of him in Vegas where he performed as his new, reggae-oriented alter ego, Snoop Lion, and I just can’t get used to the idea. Have you seen Snoop’s recent (Eli Roth-directed) video for “La La La”? I actually asked Eli if he was high when he directed it, and he replied that he certainly was not, but I think there’s a possibility that he was rendered permanently high merely by hanging with Snoop. It’s fairly obvious that a whole lot of something illicit went into the making of that video.

At any rate, Snoop is no stranger to playing around in different musical genres even though most of us will always think of him as a rapper. A few years ago, he recorded a duet with Willie Nelson and was later nominated for a CMA for another collaboration with Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. Now Snoop is tackling reggae because he sees it as a more positive outpouring of music than rap and one that fits his current state of mind as a parent and family man. Odd, right?

Well it seems that Snoop Lion requires a hard sell, so Snoop has been doing some interviews to discuss his new outlook on almost everything (except weed, which he still loves with reckless abandon). As such, he’s giving all sorts of interviews on his reinvention as a “peace-loving Lion” and “reggae-singing messenger of hope.” Gone are the days of guns, misogyny, and pimping. He also recently came out during a talk with HuffPo as a supporter of gay marriage by saying, “People can do what they want and as they please. Satisfy yourself accordingly. I have no issues with nobody. I live for me and I live my life doing what I do, so you should have the right to do whatever you want to do.” Snoop further elaborates in an interview with the Guardian about how he is totally cool with gay marriage, but he doesn’t think that rap music as a whole will ever get there:

Snoop Dogg

Why the change to Snoop Lion? “I wanted to make songs about the life I’m living now as a father and as a 41-year-old man, as opposed to always talking about my childhood and my upbringing. I don’t think it could have worked through rap because of my branding. I branded Snoop Dogg to be what he is, and it’s too late to change the brand. Gangsta. West coast, from the hood. Speaking for the lost generation — the gangstas, the drug dealers. And I did it 21 years straight, faithfully, till I couldn’t do it any more. Finally I’m able to say I’m comfortable with doing what I do. And I love doing it. And I’m going to keep doing it. If I don’t make another rap record for the next year or two or three, or however long it takes, it don’t bother me because I’m trying to make music that feels good.”

On his new song, “No Guns Allowed”: “We keep hearing about schools getting shot up, venues being shot up, public places being shot up, and we have to address that. Who better to do it than me because I come from the gangsta lifestyle, carrying a gun every day of the week lifestyle?”

His move to Rastafarianism: “I used to answer hate with hate. Like if you hate me, I hate you more. But now I answer hate with love.”

His attitude towards women has changed: “Yeah, because I was making music for me, speaking from my perspective. I was taught that a bitch is a ho and a ho was a bitch, so my music represented that, until I got to the point where I wanted to show love and appreciation for the woman.”

His take on homosexuality: “I don’t have a problem with gay people. I got some gay homies. Yeah, for real. People who were gay used to get beat up. It was cool to beat up on gay people back then. But in the 90s and 2000s, gay is a way of life. Just regular people with jobs. Now they are accepted, not classified. They just went through the same things we went through as black.”

He admits rap music isn’t so accepting in general: “Frank Ocean ain’t no rapper. He’s a singer. It’s acceptable in the singing world, but in the rap world I don’t know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine. It’s like a football team. You can’t be in a locker room full of motherf–king tough-ass dudes, then all of a sudden say, ‘Hey, man, I like you.’ You know, that’s going to be tough.”

His shoutout to the royals: “I wanna shoot a shout-out to my homeboys in London: the princes, Harry and William. You know I raised them on this music of mine. They were groomed on me. How you think the Queen like that? But I’m a part of their revolt. They were at that age when my music spoke to them.”

Is he still a fan of Obama? “Yeah, I love Obama. How could I not love him? This motherf–ker got three states smoking weed legally now. And they talk about getting Texas, too. If we can get Texas, goddamn it, it’s a wrap. That’s what our president did for us.”

[From Guardian]

Isn’t it strange how Snoop was once a for-real gangster with the Crips, but now he’s actually written and recorded an anti-violence, anti-gun song with his daughter? I guess a dogg can change his spots. He seems perfectly aware that he is necessarily rebranding himself, but what Snoop says does seem sincere. I mean, he’s not trying to pull a fast one. He owns up to his past and admits that it will always be a part of him, but he wants to be more positive now in his music and the way he influences other people. Is it working?

Oh, and Snoop is currently collaborating with Miley Cyrus on her new album. I’ve tried to be patient and wait for the music to actually come out before judging, but I will admit to feeling fearful that Miley’s new album will be an unmitigated disaster. Maybe she (and Snoop) will prove me wrong though — one can only hope.

Just for kicks, here’s that “La La La” video I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Beware: You might get a contact high merely from watching it.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Photos courtesy of WENN

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28 Responses to “Snoop Dogg endorses gay marriage, says rap is too ‘masculine’ to do the same”

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  1. Mich says:

    I adore this guy, warts and all. Fo shizzle.

  2. GossipG says:

    WOooWW Calvin is looking so old these days.My crush at 15 yrs, damn i got old fast.Love him tho…He should just go and live in JAMAICA a few months..Then we’ll see if he was born to be a SNOOP LION…

  3. Nicole says:

    Ha ha ha.
    My 5 month old LOVED that video. Stopped feeding to stare at it all the way through.I guess Snoop has successfully rebranded for the new generation. Don’t know if that’s what he had in mind.

  4. Mew says:

    He’s always been one of the best.

  5. Faye says:

    I could be cynical and say that having made a lot of money as a thuggish, mysogynistic rapper, he’s now “rebranding” and trying to be successful by following the current cultural zeitgeist. But, I guess it’s better to do the right thing even if your motives aren’t exactly pure.

    I did laugh at his “I got some gay homies” comment. I’m a minority (Jewish) and I get this all the time from people I meet: “Oh, I have a friend who’s Jewish!” I’m sure nobody means anything bad by it, but it always strikes me as funny. So tempted to say one time, “Oh really? Good for you!”

    • Lauren says:

      LOL I honestly don’t think this is a rebranding though because underneath I think snoop has always been a bit of a softie. This is the same man who loves soaps and made guest appearances on ‘One Life to Live’ and expressed interest in appearing on the British soap ‘Coronation Street’ In Canada most people who watch Corrie are old like my mom/ grandma haha so yeah I think he has always had another more sensitive side to him.

      I totally agree with you about the comment on “I have friends that are ‘insert whatever group’. I am black and so sometimes I have people telling me about the black friends they have and I always exchange, “I have a lot of white friends. Actually the majority of my friends are not black like me…should we exchange some cookies?” 😉

      • Faye says:

        Lauren, I did forget about his soap fandom! I admit that is kind of endearing. I used to watch soaps with my nanny, so I do appreciate a man who’s not afraid of admitting he’s a soap fan. My MIL is British, and she forwarded a YouTube clip he posted a few years ago congratulating Coronation Street on its big anniversary (50?). Everyone in England was apparently really tickled by it.

      • Kath says:

        LOL. Well we all know Donald Trump can’t be racist because he has friends among (quote) “the blacks”.

        I bet gay people get this all the time. “You’re gay? My uncle is gay, perhaps you know him?”

      • It is ME!! says:

        You can tell he really loves kids, too. He used to coach his son’s peewee football team.

  6. mari says:

    How can you not love him?! Hilarious!

  7. magpie says:

    Whoas!! That video! I have the munchies now.

  8. dcypher1 says:

    Jah love to snoop lion mon I like his new rasta style. One love everyone.

  9. Kelsy_c says:

    He’s wrong about gays being accepted by hip hop and rap. Just look at Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Most people know them from their Thrift Shop song, but that album has a great song called Same Love on it. Macklemore’s first tv appearance was on Ellen to perform that song. Times are changing.

    • Spooks says:

      I LOVE Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. And they have many great, quite serious songs.

    • Kim says:

      He means hardcore rappers the kind of artists featured in XXL and The Source.Also they are not Openly Gay rappers they are not gay at all

      • Kelsy_c says:

        Macklemore has been featured in both that you mentioned. I know he’s not gay, but it’s acceptance we are talking about here.

    • henderswife says:

      Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are changing the world for the better and I love it. They really are revolutionary in their own way.

  10. Stella says:

    RMFE, cuz this fool is obviously the epitome of masculinity as he tosses his beautiful curly weave in his various videos.

    • HolaGatito says:

      LOL I thought the same exact thing when I read this.

      Sidenote: his hair is real. He has a relaxer but it’s not a weave.

  11. Sweet Dee says:

    I love both Snoops. Snoop Dogg is my guilty pleasure as a feminist and Snoop Lion (to me) represents a positive direction anyone can take. A lot of people are coming around on homosexuality, it just takes members within a group to show the others there’s nothing to be afraid of. Personally, I think rap will take awhile but football will be last.

    At any rate, a lot of people would benefit from a positive attitude adjustment like Snoop’s.

    • Kim says:

      It will be awhile before rap fans accept Openly Gay rapper.That is evident by the hateful comments Frank Ocean continues to get on Youtube and hiphop blogs and he isn’t even a rapper.It will be worse for a rapper. I think a football player will come out before rapper. Homophobic Fans won’t stop attending football games because of
      one Out player.They will stop buying music of a Gay rapper.I’ve seen it happen in country music with Chely Wright and gospel music with Tonex.Tonex was blacklisted from Gospel music.

  12. KellyinSeattle says:

    I love Snoop, but I’m so tired of celebrities all have to give us their opinion about gay people…yes, I know they’re a pulse of the culture, but please, who cares what celebrities think about gay marriage, etc. (yes, I know I am on the site, if I didn’t care I wouldn’t read this, etc…etc.c..but I wish the celebs would just act/sing/whatever instead of giving us all of their opinions).

  13. Beatriz says:

    I love Snoop and even though I might not necessarily like this new direction (I say “might” because I haven’t listened to his new record yet), this is what rappers have to do now a days if they want to stay relevant (=make money). They have to keep up with what’s popular and incorporate that in their music (like dance and House music now -__-). I used to really not like it, but then I think they have families to feed too.