I know all the words to "Nuthin but a G Thang." Learned 'em in 3rd grade, along with fractions and Columbus and Where the Red Fern Grows. I didn't know what most of the slang meant (hellified gangta lean?, et al), I just liked the way, ahem, I "flowed" when I rhymed over Snoop & Dre. For sake of a good mental picture, let's not forget that I was 10. And Indian. And 4 ft, 80 pounds. And had a bowl cut. With speed-line sideburns.
Since the CD was not going to happen for me (Parental Advisory sticker, Marijuana imagery) I'd have to monitor KUBE93 and MTV to get my fix. I remember coming home from school, chomping on Pop Tarts and trolling Yo! MTV Raps til my vigilance eventually paid off. Because I watched it a thousand times, the video is always pretty fresh in my mind, especially since it's inspired many of my own day / night benders... but I digress.
When "G Thang" dropped, Snoop was like 18, 6 foot something, 135 lbs, so dope, so aloof, and so composed. I took notes, but could never replicate. The style was all his--
Oddly, Snoop is a musician who I can say I grew up with. That is to say, the arch of his career overlapped pretty well with my prepub & teenage years. I'm 20-some now, Snoop's 36. He's got a wife, kids, dogs. He's domestic - you've seen his TV show.
Esquire recently caught up Snoop to see how the domestic life is treating him. The result is a brief but highly enjoyable retrospective piece (posted below). It oozes wisdom and Facebook-worthy quotes... I suspect you already know this, but I think we could all use a little more Snoop in our lives.
What I've Learned: Snoop Dogg
Rapper, 36, Los AngelesBy Mike Sager
My momma gave me the name. I used to love Peanuts and Charlie Brown -- Snoopy was my favorite cartoon character growing up. I watched so much, I started to look like him.
A lot of people like to fool you and say that you're not smart if you never went to college, but common sense rules over everything. That's what I learned from selling crack.
Love goes unappreciated a lot of times, but you still gotta keep giving it.
The first time I got high off marijuana was in the seventies, with one of my uncles. They had these little roaches on the table -- these part-way-smoked marijuana cigarettes -- and there was some Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull. I went in there and sipped the Schlitz, and my uncle asked me did I wanna hit that roach. And I was like, "Yeah." He put it on the roach clip for me and lit it up, and I hit that motherfucker. I was about eight or nine years old.
Weed: It makes me feel the way I need to feel.
In jail, you're either gonna be the toughest motherfucker, or you gonna be the softest motherfucker, or you gotta find some other shit to be.
I went to an elementary school that was basically a white elementary school, but they accepted you if you were a black gifted athlete from the inner city. They had gymnastics, they had swimming, they had track and field, they had music classes -- they had all this shit we wasn't getting in the 'hood. It opened my mind up. It showed me how to interact with white people. When I started making music, it wasn't a surprise to me that white people loved my music as much as black people. I knew how to relate.
All you need is a kick start from somebody who can stamp your shit.
You can't blame a nigga for getting paid.
Fame is a dirty game.
It's hard to say goodbye to the streets. It's all how you do it. You can pass by and say, "What's happening?" and keep it moving, but it's a certain element that'll never be able to roll with you once you get to this level, because that's the separation of it all.
To me, jealousy is a form of flattery. When you jealous of me, that means you love me for what I do.
In the black culture, certain kids are given nicknames that they roll with forever; the nicknames outweigh their real names. I'm one of those scenarios.
Fatherhood is more than a job, it's more than a responsibility. It's a lifestyle. You gotta be prepared to live it.
You have to coach each kid differently. My younger son, Cordell, aka Lil Snoop, loves me like a fan loves Snoop Dogg. He's inspired by making me happy. My older son, Corde, aka Spank, does everything I say, with effort and determination -- but he does it for himself. He gets his thrill out of seeing his own results on the football field. He's gonna be able to play for any high school he wants.
Spank was really my first love -- not that I didn't love my wife, but when he was born, it was like my first love was him. I never knew about those kinda feelings and shit before.
You don't ever hear about me doing a half-assed performance or coming halfway. I always go full speed.
I hate losing. I'm a sore loser. When I was a kid, I used to cry when I lost. I cried like a baby -- for real. Niggas used to pick on me behind that.
As a black man, you definitely have to be cocky, but not conceited. You got to have that kind of swagger, 'cause there's so much against you, and there's so many people that's just as good as you, if not better than you. You gotta push a little harder to make yourself shine.
Barack Obama makes me feel good to be a black man. Just seeing him up there representin' intelligently and really knowing what he talking about and defending his shit even when they try and shoot at him. The old president and baby girl -- Bill and Hill -- they tried to double-wop on him -- boo bop. But he have enough game to get out of that.
I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.
I used to have a flattop. I had a bald head. I had a lot of different hairstyles. Then James Brown told me one day, he said, "Don't ever cut your hair, 'cause your hair is your strength." For a while now, I've been lettin' it grow. It's just me.
I performed at a bar mitzvah. And I'm telling you, man, these little motherfuckers, they were singing my shit, they was cussin', they were singing the dirty version. I'm talking about twelve- and thirteen-year-old little white kids singin' this real gangsta shit. Man. I was shocked. I just gave them the mic and let them motherfuckers go.
It might look easy, but it ain't.
on
Friday, July 18, 2008
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