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Snoop Dogg is barking back at the haters.
The beloved rapper faced backlash after he performed at the Crypto Ball during President Trump’s inauguration in January.
But the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” MC turned the controversy into creativity, inspiring his surprise new LP “Iz It a Crime?” that drops on Thursday.
“That’s why I made this album,” Snoop, 53, told the crowd at an intimate private event at Prive House in Manhattan on Wednesday, where he previewed his new album and short film.
He then spit some lyrics in response to those who have been blasting him and questioning his credibility: “Too many n—-s playin’ with my reputation/Step on my turf, you need an invitation.”
Snoop said that the album’s title, “Iz It a Crime?” was inspired by what he was going through as he lost fans, including over 500,000 Instagram followers.
“I felt like there was a lot of unanswered questions over the past six months,” he said. “And I just wanted to answer them through my music.
“It’s therapy for me to be able to express myself [through] my art,” he added of the LP, which features collaborations with Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell and Sexyy Red. “Therapeutically, I was able to get off some answers that may have people trying to figure out where I’m going from here.”
On Thursday morning, Snoop again addressed the Trump inauguration backlash when he appeared on “The Breakfast Club” radio show.
“I don’t represent the Republican Party. I don’t represent the Democratic Party. I represent the gangster party. Period,” he said, adding that the 30-minute DJ set booking wasn’t an endorsement of Trump but rather a deal made with longtime business partner — and crypto czar — David Sacks.
“It was a crypto play meant to bring resources back to the hood,” Snoop said. “That was the mission.”
Although he has been busy with everything from acting as a special commentator at the Summer Olympics last year to serving as a coach on “The Voice,” Snoop is still passionate about making music.
He released his album “Missionary” in December, then followed that with a gospel LP, “Altar Call,” which dropped just a few weeks ago.
“That came out for my mother’s birthday, in the spirit of my mother,” Snoop spoke about his mom, Beverly Tate, who passed away in 2021, to the Prive House audience. “When she transitioned, her spirit became my spirit. So this is what she spread, the word.
“And doing life and things in her name and her spirit, I chose that opportunity to do that … It was good for the heart, it was good for the spirit.”
Snoop also bought Death Row Records — the label that launched him to stardom with 1993’s “Doggystyle” — in 2022. But he no longer wants the label to be associated with “negative characteristics” such as gang violence.
And while he will be supporting other artists signed to his roster, Snoop is still very much inspired to make his own music, with three albums released in the span of five months.
“I’m to the point in my career now where … I don’t just make music to make music,” he said. “I do it when I feel it’s necessary, when I feel like it’s a void missing with my sound, my voice.”
English (US)