Who Let The Dogg Out?

It’s amazing what a difference eleven years makes. The last time Snoop (then Doggy) Dogg toured on this side of the Atlantic, having been charged with being an accessory to murder, following a driveby shooting in LA, he had become the tabloids’ public enemy number one. A British MP even tabled a motion in the Commons to have him banned from the UK. As for a visit to Ireland? Forget it. Yet here he is now, sharing a stage with Westlife at the Meteors. Arguably the biggest star – or certainly the one attracting the most interest – in Dublin all weekend, he has launched a successful movie career, returned to musical credibility after a period in the wilderness and now is presenting himself as the reformed family man – albeit one currently being sued, if not charged, for rape.

It’s with mixed emotions, then, that Hot Press makes his acquaintance. A charismatic star he may be, but there’s no escaping that dubious past. It would have been interesting to spend some time in his company, and to have teased out the contradictions that are inherent in both his work and in hip hop in general. Instead, hotpress and three other journalists are left hanging around for an hour and a half before being granted ten minutes with the great man.
So Snoop, in retrospect, how important was the first NWA album?
“The NWA record wasn’t like the starting point but it was an important record for me because it helped shape and mould the direction of Snoop Dogg and the making of Snoop Dogg. Before that I was doing what every other rapper was doing, about having a big car, a house, this and that as opposed to rapping about real shit. NWA helped me feel comfortable about being myself and rapping about the environment I lived in and shit that was affecting me personally.
“The hood never really had a voice," he adds. "It was only though films like Boyz In The Hood and groups like NWA that we got a voice. We were so overshadowed by the police and so many people who said we were wrong to be in gangs. That album was a voice for a whole movement of people – ‘Fuck The Police’, ‘Straight Outta Compton’, that was real shit and they were the ones who spoke for everyone at the time.”
Of course, little did anyone know that such anarchic beginnings would spawn a huge million dollar industry and that rap would become such big business that the people who actually make it are no longer in control of their own destinies.
“Certain labels try to dictate to an artist what a record should sound like and who should be on it," Snoop complains. "I feel that the artist should creatively control all of that if you really want the best project. I learnt from experience that record labels can get in the way. You need the artist to be creative. When I do what I do, I make the records from my point of view, I make them the way I want to make them and I say what I want to say – so when it’s time for me to perform I want to make sure I come across that way”.
Would he ever consider going it alone?
“I do that sometimes with my mix tapes called Welcome To The Church Vol 1 – 9. I’ve seen a couple of them in the stores over here, so they’re doing pretty good. That’s something I do out of my house. I think, fuck it, I want to make a song today and put it onto CD and sell it. I never try to do it like a real label – but I know that one day I’m going to put a straight Snoop Dogg record out independently.”
Interesting title, someone offers.
“When people think of church they think of family, of values, of doing more right than wrong. We’re doing the same thing, we’re just putting a little party into it. The Bible says you can party a little bit and that’s what we’re going to do, but we’ll do more right than wrong while we’re having that party.”

Click here to see photos of Snoop Dogg and fans at the Dublin Point.