Snoop Dogg |
 |
|
Thu. August 29.2002 12:45 PM EDT |
||
Snoop Dogg and the Doggy-Style All-Stars: No Chronic RequiredRapper quits pot and leads his troops into the hip-hop marketplace. by C. Bottomley |
||||
|
||||
 |
Snoop Dogg (J. Hill) |
|
||
Its been nearly ten years since Snoop Dogg sauntered into our eardrums with the lazy lope of Nuthin But a G Thang. During that time the West Coast rapper established himself as one of hip-hops most bankable artists, knocking off hits and
Snoop aspires to create a stable of stars as deep as Berry Gordy's Motown, and when VH1 met up with him at a Manhattan hotel, his latest artistic discoveries were in tow. Among Snoops talent pool was rapper/producer Soopafly, singer Mr. Kane (a.k.a. KoKane), young MC E-White, R&B singer Vinnie Bernard, gospel singer Uncle Reo, and vocalist LaToiya Williams, who can be heard on Fallen Star, the first single from the showcase album Welcome to Tha House, Vol. One. Collectively they had plenty to say about how the Doggfather measures up as a boss, what might happen if the competition get too fierce, and how Death Row CEO Suge Knight taught them to play by the rules of the game. VH1: Snoop, what made you decide to start your own record label? Bigg Snoop Dogg: Doggy Style Records was a dream I had about six or seven years ago. I saw a lot of artists who couldnt stay in position because they didnt have patience or talent. This is true talent right here. Everybody [on Doggy Style Records] is signed, sealed and delivered. All I do is put them on a pedestal, let them shine, and the world will tell me what they think about them. VH1: Guys, how long had you known Snoop before you hooked-up in a business sense? Soopafly: Weve all known each other for years. We were just waiting on Doggs call. VH1: Did you know that running a label and producing others had always been his dream? Mr. Kane: Yeah. Way back before Snoop got with [previous record label] No Limit, he told me, Man, Im going to put it down one day, and said this is what he wanted to do. Soopafly: Even though he was young back then, I knew that he had the brain, the persona, the charisma and the talent to head his own label. VH1: Whats Snoop like as a boss? How does he compare to other bosses you have had? Soopafly: I never had a boss. The last job I had was at McDonalds. So hes the best boss I ever had. Mr. Kane: Snoop has everything sewn up like in The Godfather. Hes very comfortable about his business. If youre comfortable, you get good results. Snoop: I gotta thank my momma for that. She taught me how to be fair. All of these artists got all of their publishing. If I didnt write their music, I shouldnt be paid for their music. Thats the first step of being fair and being a great CEO. If you treat your artists with love and respect, theyll always wanna be with you. I dont never want none of these artists to feel like Im forcing them to do anything. VH1: Snoop, youve worked with two of the biggest moguls in the business - Suge Knight and Master P. What tips did you pull from them in starting your label? Snoop: From Master P I learned what to do. From Suge I learned what not to do. Suge Knight was a crook. He just took, took, took, took. He took publishing. He took heart and he took soul. He didnt give nothing back. Master P showed me how to love, how to be considerate, how to give a chance to people who maybe didnt have all the talent or the charisma that they deserved to have. Its important to believe in them and give them a shot. So Suge Knight, thank you for f*cking up the game. And Master P, thank you for creating the new game. VH1: Youve stopped smoking weed, too. Is that the cost you have to pay to be the boss? Snoop : Hmmm & sorta kinda. Thats the cost that you have to pay if you wanna be here for your people. Ive got three kids. I wanna be a grand-pop. At the rate I was going, I wasnt gonna be here. I had to check myself before I got checked. Im not trying to be a dead legend. Im trying to be a living legend. I care about myself and I love me and I wanna be here. I dont care what you say or what you feel. If you have something negative to say about me not smoking weed, f*ck you in your mouth. [Laughter.] VH1: Lets talk about influences. Everybody, aside from Snoop who is your biggest influence? Mr. Kane: My father [Jerry Long], rest in peace. He was a giant of Motown who wrote Just My Imagination and Still Waters Run Deep. One of the biggest inspirations of my life was seeing him doing all this genius work. I plan to cover some of his songs on my album. E-White: I loved the whole NWA era. Im also into a lot of old school like Afrika Bambaataa. LaToiya Williams: Aretha Franklin, of course. But also Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, and Nancy Wilson. Vinnie Bernard: Im influenced by early Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire. Im a soul cat, but I also like blues and rock like Steely Dan and Rod Stewart. I listen to it all. Uncle Reo: I love Sam Cooke, but I love these guys, too. Snoop gave me an opportunity to sing what I feel. I like the way LaToiya sings, because she sings from the heart. Soopafly, E-White, Kane and Vinnie, they got it going on. When youre dealing with the best, why settle for less? Soopafly: Ive been really influenced by Quincy Jones. Hes all around. He started the concept of the complete producer. VH1: A lot of labels have people who try to shape an artists image. Is that the case with Doggy Style Records? Snoop: I like em raw. Like Vinnie Bernard. He makes his music and presents it to me. I dont have to take him out of the plastic wrapper, but Im going to add some of my flavor. Were throwing down a record called Just Get Carried Away. My Uncle Reo inspired me to put him on the record because hes got a great voice and hes an up-front personality. Put us on a record, produced by DJ Scratch, and youve got a banging-ass record. VH1: So when you all sell a million copies of your first records, whats the first thing youre going to get with the money? E-White: A studio. Im about music. Soopafly: Im going to pay my taxes and put the rest of it into my work. Its a hustle, so whatever you make, youve got to put it back into your hustle. Mr. Kane: Im investing in my six beautiful kids and my wife of 12 years. Im making the right moves&like investing in a hemorrhoid cream factory & [Laughter.] Uncle Reo: Keep on opening more barbecues so people can eat good food. Without food, no ones going to make it. Im also going to pay my tithes. When you pay your tithes and pay your dues, the master will always send a blessing to you. When the praising goes up, the blessings have got to come down. All my blessings are going to come through like rain. Can you dig it? VH1: Snoop, youve been involved in a lot of beefs in your time. Where do you stand on the current battle between Nas and Jay-Z? Snoop: Jay-Z and Nas, much power to both of you brothers, because youre very powerful and positive. But just keep it on records. Dont get so personal with it like a lot of others that have. We need you guys to be alive for everybody thats inspired by yall. VH1: Why are hip-hop fans so passionate about what they love and what they hate? Snoop: When fans see other people disrespecting us, its only right for them to feel its their job to bring it to your attention. But the fans gotta understand one thing. This is how we eat. A lot of us cannot afford to get involved in those beefs. Because [if you lose] you cut your fans in half. If youre not an artist like myself, who already has millions of fans that are going to buy my records no matter who I talk about, its useless [to start trouble with someone]. So when we have a beef, its my job to handle it. Hopefully nobody will say nothing disrespectful about me and my people. If they do, they got a real big long one coming at their ass. VH1: A lot of labels end up making their own movies. If Doggy Style Records makes a movie, what kind of characters do you all want to play? E-White: The young gun, that novice who comes in swinging. Vinnie: I want to play that guy that worked hard all his life and came into his own. Soopafly: I want to play that dude kicking that girl up the house. [Laughs.] Mr. Kane: Im gonna play a black Oompa Loompa! LaToiya: I want to play the first lady. Uncle Reo: That guy who says my time has finally come and I want my kids and all the people to see the work that I leave them. Its very inspiring to me to get this opportunity to shine like the moon in the sky. Without the moon you cant see a thing. Can you dig that? VH1: Snoop, will you always be the Doggfather? Snoop: Yeah. Im gonna play Marlon Brando. Everybody comes to me with their problems and I handle them in a professional manner. Marlon Brando is the godfather. I am the Doggfather. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  |
 |
Coachella 2012 Lineup Features Radiohead, Dr. Dre And Snoop, Black Keys |
|
Wiz Khalifa And Snoop Dogg's 'Mac & Devin' Jams NY |
|
Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg Video Debuts Wednesday On MTV |
|
Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg's 'High School' Soundtrack A 'Big Deal' |
 |
 |
 |
|
Receive Free Music News Daily Via Email |
|
Receive Free Artist Updates Via Email for Snoop Dogg |
|
All news for Snoop Dogg |
|
Breaking Music News |
 |
Add VH1 News to My Yahoo |
|
