SHANTE BROADUS  (December 2007) | Interview By: Nima

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Interview was done in December 2007

Questions Asked By: Nima

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Calvin Broadus might be a name familiar to millions, but chances are you’re not so familiar with his wife, Shante. While Mr. Broadus is a multi-platinum superstar better known to our readers as ‘the King of the West Coast,’ Snoop Dogg, his spouse retains a surprisingly low profile. It’s something she acknowledges in this, her first interview with Dubcnn. “Nobody ever gets to see that side,” claims Mrs. Broadus in reference to her family’s private life. “Nobody even knows we exist really!”

Whilst it’s astonishing that Shante has maintained such anonymity for this long, all that will change in the near future. With Snoop aligning with the E! Network to bring us his own “Father Hood” reality TV series, his wife and kids are about to become familiar faces to millions of viewers. The decision to be a part of such a daunting venture didn’t faze Shante, however. Her concern was whether her and Snoop’s youngsters – Cordell, Corde, and Cori – were ready to embrace the spotlight. “I brought it to my kids to see if they wanted to do it,” she explains. “They were with it, so I said that now’s the time! My kids are older now. They know what their dad does, and it’s time for us to be a part of it.”

“What their dad does” draws both enthusiastic and relatively withdrawn responses from his partner. When we ask Shante what her favourite Snoop Dogg album is, she doesn't hesitate. “My favorite is Doggystyle, because it was keeping it gangsta,” she stresses. “That’s why I love that album. It was 100 to me.”

Shante is less earnest to discuss the ‘pimp’ persona that Snoop adopted around 2002. “I wasn’t feeling that, that’s why I chose Doggystyle. That’s when I went left, with the pimping. He lost me as a fan when he went down with the pimping.” She trails off slightly. “To each, his own. I just wasn’t feeling it.”

Mrs. D-O-Double G is also keen to stress that the ‘rags to riches’ tale isn’t always as straightforward as it is portrayed. “More money, more problems!” comes the exclamation. “More of anything is more problems. You have haters that you’ve got to know how to deal with accordingly.” While hinting at some sort of strife, Broadus does not develop any further on this issue.

A budding entrepreneur in her own right, ‘the Boss Lady’ seems happier on the subject of her own business ventures. First up is her management company, Boss Lady Entertainment. The company has already attracted longtime Snoop comrade and former Death Row inmate, The Lady Of Rage. “Verbal Abuse, that’s the name of her album,” Shante details. “It’s been a while since everybody’s heard anything from her – or has even seen her – so we’re just taking our steps and taking our time with it. We’re making sure it’s right.” Her afore-mentioned children – evidently a huge part of her world – also form the inspiration for her clothing line, CoCo Ree. “It’s a woman’s line. It’s lovable, comfortable wear. I have the names all figured out. I’m doing samples right now, and by Fall we should be out with something.”

Our interview finished, it’s apparent that Shante Broadus is something more than the wife of a Hip-Hop icon. A doting mother, business mogul, and clothing designer, Shante has a commendable drive for success. As she acknowledged earlier, the world might not know she exists yet. It's inevitably a mere matter of time until they do.