What is Snoop Dogg’s Tao of weed? In 2015, the P.R. king visited New York magazine’s office to answer that question and more.
Shot in 2014 with James Lipton and Kevin Sessums.
Vicarious license
Snoop says he lets his imagination take him wherever it will. He has no intention of playing it safe. “If I have a dream, I always go for that dream,” he says. “I was at a playground, and I said, ‘What if I had a big black eye with a football, and I kicked it?’ I wish it would come true.”
Legalization
Snoop wants to continue spreading the message of marijuana legalization — even if it’s not legal yet in his hometown of Long Beach, Calif. “I’m gonna give some people the knowledge to make the right choice,” he says. “I always just did it for myself. Then I have a lot of good friends who really love it, love the culture, and were like, ‘Let’s use this to gain attention so that people understand what this means and what it’s about.’ That’s why we smoke to get on national radio. If you smoke weed to get on national radio, you’re still ignorant. I hope we’re able to get our message out. I really do.”
Live performances and video
As a wise friend once said, Snoop gives you more reason to drink than you can ever give him. “Do some shows — put your weed on my shoulders and smoke it,” he says. “Just do your shows and get a video. Do a little of the muthafucka. Tell me what I can do to get more people to be like, ‘I don’t feel like peeing, so Snoop I just got to bump.’”
Snoop told his fans something else as well: “I love talking about hip-hop. That’s what I’m here for.”
And he does it all with a laid-back attitude: “I’m famous to fuck, nigga. Anybody that know me and my life.”
Photos by Kate Ward.