What's new at the dogg house?

Interview, Dec, 1996 by Eric Berman

This past year has been a perilous and painful journey for Snoop Doggy Dogg. The drawling rap icon was acquitted of accessory-to-murder charges, found himself inadvertently walking the frontline of an internal rap-industry war, and lost his close friend and labelmate Tupac Shakur to alleged "gang-related" violence. Now, thanks in part to the positive influences d raising a family, starting his own record label, Doggystyle Records, and the release of his second album, Tha Doggfather (Death Row), Snoop's building a new life. When we spoke with him recently, we found that, far from the gun-toting, blunt-smoking caricature he's often drawn as, Snoop was animated, thoughtful, and emotional.

ERIC BERMAN: What were you trying to do with your new album, Tha Doggfather?

SNOOP DOGGY DOGG: This album was more of a change from a boy to a man, you know what I'm saying It wasn't just a lot of horsin' around. Like on the first single ["Snoop's Upside Ya Head"], didn't cuss and I didn't even try not to. With a lot of the things I did [on the last album, Doggystyle], I was just being a youngster growing up, and now I'm more of the father-type figure.

EB: And you have a child now, right?

SDD: Yeah, I have a son. He's two.

EB: Do you let him listen to "gangsta" rap?

SDD: I do. Whatever I play at my house, he listens to, Whether I show it to him or not, it's going to be out there in front of his eyes every day. The streets don't have no love for him. They're not going to teach him. I'm going to love him and show him the right way of going about it. I didn't have no father in the home to stop me from gangbangin', but he does.

EB: Do you think that rap has an influence over kids and their decisions on the streets?

SDD: No, I don't. It's an expression. And it's a legal way out for those who don't have opportunities. A lot of times, people don't see all the positivity inside of this gangsta-rap thing. We all come from violent backgrounds, but yet and still we find time to do the right thing for Mother's Day. We look out for the homeless. we look out for people who don't have anything. Rappers Against Violence is a group that I'm a part of - we work to unite with real gang members who are trying to stop the violence. I made it from a community that doesn't expect people to make it. My job is to make sure I'm doing the right thing, and that's the best example in the world.

EB: Do you still live in Long Beach [Calif.]?

SDD: No, I stay in Chino Hills.

EB: What type of neighborhood is that?

SDD: Nine-to-five, upper-class, Republican.

EB: How do you get along with your neighbors?

SDD: I don't. Their kids love the hell out of me, but the grown-ups really don't understand because it's a bad hat that I've been wearing for the last three years.

EB: How did your trial affect you?

SDD: The trial hurt me. I had to deal with the pressure of someone's death and being held responsible for it. That's nothing to brag about. But it also helped me develop as a man. It taught me to respect life and understand that I now have a son who needs me to provide direction.

EB: Tupac [Shakur] wasn't with Death Row very long. What was your relationship with him?

SDD: We were more or less like brothers. That's a powerful relationship, so a lot of times we had disagreements between us. He could comment on my shit and I might not like what he said, but at the end of the day we'd both say, "I appreciate you leer telling me, because if you didn't love me you wouldn't a said nothing." There was real love there.

EB: What is your understanding of what went down in Las Vegas [where Shakur was killed this past September]?

SDD: I don't know. I'm still trying to get over that he ain't here no more. I really started getting close to somebody that was the same as me, like, on a success level and on an understanding of the streets, and he's taken away from me. Pac was a blessing and now he's gone. But he'll always be here through his music, and it's up to people like me to keep it movin' on.

EB: The news reports were saying that Tupac's shooting broke the L.A. gang truce, and triggered a lot of gang-related shootings during the time immediately following his death.

SDD: Fuck the news. They're gonna tell you what they want you to hear any motherfuckin' way. But not once did they cover the peace treaty. Did you see that on the news? No you didn't. Didn't get no live 20/20, Barbara Walters coverage on that shit. But when the peace is oven everybody knows about it.

EB: What do you ultimately want to achieve as an artist?

SDD: Respect from everybody around the world, like the respect that country music gets. You don't never see nobody on TV bad-mouthing country music, saying, "Hey, Willie Nelson's doing this, or Kenny Rogers or Garth Brooks did that." I'm sure they have problems just like we do, but they're always getting respect and love. I just want that same respect. Thank you.