Because he kept asking me, 'Why do you want to work with Def Jam Records? Look at your life, look at your career. I had never met him before.Īfter the first meeting, I was kind of upset because I felt like, man, he don't get it. So I set up a meeting and got with Lucian. I knew that Def Jam didn't have a CEO, and I didn't want to be the CEO, but I wanted to be in the position of consulting and creativity. Then they sold it, and the man in me was hurt, but the businessman in me said, Okay, I got to find something else to do to take this energy of mine that I'm holding on to. So then I asked could I buy it? And they acted like they didn't want to sell it. But then eOne Music didn't want to give me action at it.

I went looking for this job because I wanted to be the CEO of Death Row Records and basically take over the merchandise and rerelease their music, do documentaries, and possibly do my life story. Why did it feel so special to you? Because I wanted the job. When you took the deal with Def Jam, you hit me up, all excited. Snoop is one of the best ever to do it, and he’s still doing it. We talked about how, when we got in this business, we didn’t even know people could get older in hip-hop. This all happened right before Snoop’s 50th birthday, and eight months after I hit the Big 5-0 myself.

He talked about his own personal growth, and about his legacy. At his compound, where Snoop feels most creative, he spoke about his emotional connection to DMX. We talked about their relationship, about music, and also about the future of Def Jam. This far-ranging conversation happened a month before the death of Beverly Tate, Snoop’s beloved mother. Lamar was teary-eyed and overcome with emotion. The music stopped, and Snoop declared that Kendrick “has the torch now,” and he better run with it. Snoop came onstage as a guest, alongside Kurupt and the Game. In 2011, a young Kendrick Lamar held a show at a Hollywood venue then known as the Music Box. The kids affectionately call him “Uncle Snoop.”īut Snoop is always a vital part of music and hip-hop culture. Of his standout appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his stealing scenes from Denzel Washington in 2001’s Training Day. These days, we think of Snoop lounging in a fancy kitchen with Martha Stewart. He’s an endorsement giant, for everything from Corona to G-Star RAW to Doritos. It’s the moves Snoop makes outside of music that cause us to take him for granted.

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