SNOOP DOGG [Part 2] (November 2006) | Interview By: Nima

   

As ever you can read this exclusive Dubcnn interview and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to nima@dubcnn.com.

Our thanks go out to Snoop for allowing us once again to speak with him to provide you, our readers, with another interview you have all been waiting for. As Snoop said last year;

"Dubcnn: Where they give it to you raw & exclusive"

..........................................................................................

Interview was done on November 21st 2006

Questions Asked By: Nima

Snoop Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Interview Audio Here [Part 2]
 

..........................................................................................

Missed or need a refresher of Part One; Snoop Dogg Interview Part 1 (November 2006)

Missed or need a refresher of Part Three; Snoop Dogg Interview Part 3 (January 2007)

Missed or need a refresher of Part Four; Snoop Dogg Interview Part 4 (January 2007)

Dubcnn: If you're cool with it, I'd like to go through the new album track by track, and give the fans an insight on how the songs came together.

Yeah, go ahead!


Dubcnn: Alright. Let's start it off with the "Intrology", you got George Clinton back on there. How did you pick the beat for the intro?

Well, I had the album starting with "Think About It", that was the first song on my album, and I had an intro that I had did before, but it was kind of slow and R&B'ish, and I was like "Man, I need to find something that's super-gangsta!" Battlecat had given me this track about like 9 months ago, and I never really fucked with it. But then once I listened to it again when we got to the sequencing of the album, I liked the way it came on! It was like "Whenever I'm making a record, I'm going into my character" and the shit that I said was so heavy... It went like "Do anybody know my name? What's my name?" And 'Cat picked the shit from when we was on stage, and brought the live element to the record. It was just big, like man, that's the shit! And I just went on my blue rampage! Blue this, blue that, blue hat, boom bam! What kind of phone you on loc? I'm on the bluetooth! Everything blue!


Dubcnn: You know what it reminded me off when I first heard the beat? Remember on "Paid The Cost To Be The Boss", you had an intro with that dope ass beat, and you didn't rap over it? I don't understand how you didn't rap over that track, but you didn't make the same mistake on this one!

The Bo$$ would like to see you! That's what you're talking about!


Dubcnn: That was the hottest beat on the whole album!

E-Swift did that for me, from Tha Alkaholiks. You know, sometimes you do things, just to let the groove ride. Music sometimes don't need lyrics on it, and that's a great track. I felt like, me rapping over it might harm it, cause I wasn't on no real shit at that time, to be spitting on it. I wasn't focused, I was into the record rather than the intro. But Dr. Dre said the same thang though! He heard it and he was like "Man you need to rap on that beat!" What's so cold is, I didn't rap to it, so I can always go back to it and snatch it, cause it's mine!


Dubcnn: Shit, you can still go ahead and do that!

Just to end all the talk! Like ya'll niggas thought I wasn't gonna rap on this? *hums melody* And keep the same hook! Tha Bo$$ would like to see you! Bugsy, the Bo$$ would like to see you!


Dubcnn: On the second track, "Think About It", tell us about Frequency, the producer.

That's a white kid that my boy Ted found for me! I heard that beat and I was like "Oh, I'm gonna kill this!" But I was like "I'm gonna kill this in a different way though." Not the way I've been normally killing shit, just by having the coldest lyrics. On that one, I had the delivery, and the flavor of a real MC. I just *raps part of "Think About It"* Shit like that, where I'm going up and down in my tone! *continues to rap* Then it goes into another tone right here! That's real MC shit!


Dubcnn: I heard that I was like "Damn, Snoop is spitting!"

And I'm kicking you off like this on the album, imagine what the interior sounds like!


Dubcnn: Then it goes on to "Crazy", which is a Fredwreck beat. That's a different kind of Fredwreck beat, that sounds like some new millenium G-Funk.

He did that! He went hard in the paint, cause I kept firing on his ass! Cause when I'm working on a record, it's hard to make my album, cause I be so hard on the producers. Like "Nah, nigga that ain't dope enough! No! That didn't make the album!" I might do four songs with a nigga and none will make the album! So it was like that with him, to the point where he was like "Man, I got one!" and I was like "Let me hear it." I heard it, with Nate on the hook, and I was like "Oh yeah, you do! That muthafucka is definitely one." Just the shit he was saying, and what the groove was, I was like I don't even wanna rap, I wanna sing melodically over it, but have a rap twist to it, to put it down the way me and Nate Dogg always do, cause you know me and Nate make classic shit!


Dubcnn: Where's Warren G at?

In the cut! Doing his thug thang.


Dubcnn: He's around?

Yeah, yeah! You know he ain't going nowhere!


Dubcnn: On "Crazy", you went ahead and got Julio G on there to do a little Westside Radio on there too, huh.

Why not? It just fits though, right? Don't it sound like it's natural?


Dubcnn: It reminded me of the W-Ballz theme, with Ricky Harris.

Yeah, Ricky Harris. But I didn't wanna be on W-Ballz on this one, I wanted to be on Westside Radio. It's a new time and era! you know W-Ballz is always going to be there, cause that's what I created. That's my shit, it came from my brain, but at the same time it's like, let's move on! Let's not try to hold on to something that was. Even though some of the shit is similar to Doggystyle, with George Clinton on the front of it, Dre as a part of the record, but realistically, if you put Doggystyle on, and put this record on, they have nothing in common!


Dubcnn: That's true. After that, we get to "Vato", which is the first single. When I heard the radio version for the first time, I noticed the excessive editing! The edited out too much shit, to where it messes up the whole song.

Yeah some of these regulations and shit... Since that Janet Jackson incident, that really kind of fucked everybody on the music side, but it's cool! Radio is just a visual picture for you to hear it and know that a nigga's shit is out. Niggas know that that ain't the real way the album sounds or the song sounds.


Dubcnn: Do you look at "Vato" as a street single?

I look at "Vato" as a warm up single, to warm muthafuckas up and let them know I was coming.


Dubcnn: Do you think it did it's job?

Shit, I'm about to shit about maybe 500,000 records this week! That's good, man!


Dubcnn: What happened to the remix with Diamonique and all them that you told me about?

I'm about to drop it, as soon as we release! Maybe like next week or something. I'ma let the record come out, so it won't be so much confusion. Radio is gonna start playing six or seven songs from the album right now, cause they got it, and you know how that goes. They're gonna start picking their favorites, they're already playing "Imagine", they're playing "Bosses Life", they're playing "Crazy", they're playing a bunch of shit! Different radio stations play different shit, so it's like, I'm gonna let them enjoy the record.


Dubcnn: Did you hear about this mexican dude who released a diss song to you over the "Vato" track?

Nah I haven't heard it, what he say?


Dubcnn: I haven't heard the song myself...

You know it's gonna be hate out there when you try to be positive! Anytime I'm going against the system that's designed to keep us fighting, it's gonna be peasants and suckers trying to disrupt what's going down, but the real recognize real, and that's what's happening. Everybody that I fuck with is on the real, just last night I was at my record release party, with B-Real, his partners, and a bunch of my ese buddies was in there, and it was a beautiful situation!


Dubcnn: Next up is "That's That Shit". I heard that Dre heard it, and he had you scratch off the lyrics and redo it?

Yup! Now it's a hit record! Before, it would've been just a cool record. Now, it's about to be a hit. That's what you get when you're fucking with Dre! If you wanna fuck with him, you're gotta be ready to accept his criticism, and his approach on things! I always have been able to do that, I ain't never really went and disrespected him and said "No nigga I know what I'm talking about." But, if I really rolled down and felt like I knew what I was talking about, he'd believe me. But for the most part, when I'm under his jurisdiction, I'm under his jurisdiction.


Dubcnn: I heard there was a little D.O.C. influence in there too?

Yeah that was D.O.C. who wrote most of that shit.


Dubcnn: So wassup with D.O.C. man? Is he still around you?

Yeah that's my nigga man! D.O.C. is like my sensei, as far as on this writing shit. When I came in, he directed me in the way of being a real writer, as opposed to a rapper. I was a great rapper but I was a terrible writer. He showed me how to write, so it's still good today to get his knowledge and understanding from him, cause why not? The muthafucka groomed me! Do I think I'm too good to not get lessons from him now? That's why niggas be on bullshit!


Dubcnn: When you heard the beat to "That's That Shit", how did you come up with R. Kelly? Did you reach out to him?

Well when I heard the beat, me and him [R. Kelly] had already seen each other a couple of times, and I was like "I need to get you on my album." Cause I had done something on his shit, and I was like I gotta find the perfect track! When I heard that, and baby said "Your royal penis is clean", I was like "Oh I'm sending this to cuzz! Right away." Once I sent it to him, he sent that muthafucka back in about three or four days, like "Nigga give me another 8 bars of rapping, and I'll throw another bridge on it!


Dubcnn: What do you think about the video?

That shit is off the hook man! That's some pimpin' shit right there, real talk.


Dubcnn: I saw you performing the song at the BET Awards the other day, how has the reception been?

Good, man! They say I did it the best, and I hate blowing my own horn, that's what they said, but that's just what they said man. I had the show and shit, I had the flavourful outfit, my hair was pretty, and I had the bitches dropping blue rose petals, you know what I'm saying? I had that real shit going down, it wasn't just a nigga up there with 4 niggas screaming and shit, round and round with a mic, it was some real shit going down!


Dubcnn: I think I saw JT up there huh? The Bigga Figga?

Yeah he went and got low for me one time! That's my nigga, I'm fuckin' with him on that Mandatory Business Movie and that Mandatory Hyphy tour that we put together!


Dubcnn: How did you hook back up with JT?

Shit, the Bay Area! That's what I need, get some Bay Area down with me, on some connecting the dots shit. We need this, that's all that was. When Daz had went up to the Bay years ago trying to save his life, JT was one of the main people pushing the push in the Bay Area, so we naturally connected cause we was already homies anyway.


Dubcnn: We're up to "Candy" now. Was that track recorded together? Were all the artists in the studio at the same time?

Yup! E-40 flew down, I had him come down to get down on the thang, cause I had did something for him and he wanted to get down on my thang. So he came through, he did the first verse, I did the second verse. But I didn't really like my second verse, cause I felt like it really wasn't all that. After I heard everybody elses verse, I was like "My shit is kinda weak." So I went in and did it over. I put the "Now N Later Gums, Jelly Beans" all that shit in there, to where it made it colorful and fun. When you see the video, the shit is off the hook man.


Dubcnn: What's the theme of the video? Is it like a club video?

Nah, nah! No club shit. We outside, nigga, Hollywood Blvd, like niggas be in Times Square, we all connecting, it's one big video. Everybody's verse connects to the next muthafuckas verse. We got like nine or ten outfit changes, three or four locations, it's tight, you gotta see it!


Dubcnn: Track 7, I Need A Light. Is that potential single?

What you think?


Dubcnn: I think so! Timbaland is hot right now, and the track bangs when you turn it up, it fucks up your system!

You like Damian Jr. Gong Marley?


Dubcnn: Yeah. Was he added later on? Cause it sounds like he was added..

Yeah, he wasn't originally on the song. But the hook wasn't doing much for me, so I sent it to Damian and he sent it back with that on it!


Dubcnn: Is this the same song that was originally called L.A. Zoo?

Yeah that's it. I like that muthafucka, that shit' stupid. Cause it don't sound like nothing Timbaland got out right now. It don't sound like nothing he ever did either! You can't really tell that he did it, if I don't tell you that Timbo did it. You wouldn't just be like "That sounds like a Timbaland track." That muthafucka is a monster! I didn't even write that song, I just freestyled that muthafucka, went in there and did it. It came out like that! That's why my tone is like that, like in battle mode! You hear how the shit bang out your system? *laughs* "Turn your music down loc, your shit too loud! What the fuck you talkin' bout I put my gun in yo' mouth, nigga!" That sounds like a nigga riding in the car with you, and your like "Man turn that shit down your blowing my ears up!" And then the nigga that's driving is like "Nigga what the fuck you talkin' about I put my gun in yo' mouth, nigga!" *laughs*


Dubcnn: After that, you're going on a gangbanging spree with Game, on "Gangbangin' 101". That's you and Terrace Martin producing?

Yeah. I've been going by the name of Niggaraci for a minute, I've been doing it on my own, and I've been doing it with him. I knew that I had to get down on Game's record, so once I did that, I was like I gotta make a track for me and Game. So he [Terrace Martin] imported the drum machine, and I went through a couple of sounds and I found one that sounded like some horses galloping. For the first piece of the beat, I took the horses galloping, and then I put in the *makes percussion noise*, then I added the *makes bass noise*, then I had Terrace play the keys, and I told him I wanted the beat to break down, like *hums melody*, cause I kept hearing that *W-W-W-Weest Coooast!* once he did that, I had Battlecat come in and do the talkbox, cause he's Roger Troutman reincarnated. Once he did that, it was a masterpiece! Game laced it, I did my thug thang, it's just gangbanging 101.


Dubcnn: What do you think of your chemistry with Game?

Man that shit is a fuckin' hit record! Everything me and this nigga done been a hit.


Dubcnn: This is gonna be a hard question, but which one do you like more, "Gangbangin' 101" or "California Vacation"?

I like "Gangbangin' 101" more because it's more pulling the bloods and the crips together, with that chant. With that "CRIP!, SOOWOO", that's their call! Every crip nigga, when he see his homies he's like "CARIIIIP!" Every real blood nigga when he see his homies "SOOWOOOOO" So it's like, this is a jam where you can catch them all together at a party, banging, but not banging on each other but just representing! And once me and Game hit the road, do shows together in L.A. where it's just 100,000 gangbangers, that's gonna turn the muthafucka out! And we need that kind of music! When I do the show in L.A., and the Ese's show up, I never had a song for them. Now I got Vato! That's their song, I made it for them!


Dubcnn: The beat on that "California Vacation"... That took me back to the mid 90's when I heard that!

Man that shit is ridiculous man! It's dope as fuck, and the way we flowing on that muthafucka is ridiculous. "My heart beat for the West.. Coast..!" That shit is stupid! But at the same time, it's like the "Gangbangin' 101", I just like the way Game was really representing that B-Dogg shit, putting it out there, letting muthafuckas know that we mashing together.


Dubcnn: Now we're getting to the first Dr. Dre track of the record, which is "Boss' Life", with Akon. When was that recorded? Is that an older track?

Brand new, end of the record.


Dubcnn: Cause I remember when we did the interview this summer, you said you only had one Dr. Dre track at that time.

That was "Murder These Murderers" [feat. Kam], that's not even one of those that's on the album!


Dubcnn: What happened to that man? Everybody has been asking me about that. Why didn't it end up on the record?

Too violent, man. The shit we was saying.


Dubcnn: How are you going to keep a Kam and Snoop record, produced by Dr. Dre from us man? You can't do that!

We probably wouldn't be on this tip doing this right now, you understand what I'm saying? So we let it alone, and made another creative song, as far as making something more acceptable.


Dubcnn: Any chance that you might slip that out on a mixtape or something?

I don't know, I think we burnt the files on that...


Dubcnn: Back to "Boss Life". Dre sounds like he's been taking piano lessons or something, all the beats he got are like real piano beats.

Yeah, he's doing his muthafuckin' thang man! I've been watchin' shit on TV, I've been seeing shit where niggas been acting like they made beats for Dr. Dre and they did this, and did that, like the nigga can't make beats! What I've been wanting to say is that, if you was one of the keyboard players, or a nigga that was a part of making some of his hit records, then Dr. Dre coached your ass on what to play. You didn't just come in the studio and think of the melodies and the type of rhythms to play. Nigga that shit was given to you by the mind of Dr. Dre! And if you were that good, why haven't you continued to make hit records and he's still continued to make hit records? I just want to speak on that, cause I've been seeing some shit on TV, that's been throwing me the fuck off, with niggas saying they did this and did that. The nigga Dr. Dre is the nigga that gave them the opportunity. He can do the shit by his muthafuckin' self, me and him done sat in the studio where he done made hit records, without nobody there but just me and him! You feel me?


Dubcnn: You can say whatever you wanna say about Dr. Dre, but one thing that's for sure is that he's got something, because whatever he touches is gold. Whatever he does, he does it right.

And then at the same time, it's like, you'll always find niggas crying about "I was one of the producers for Dr. Dre, he stole my shit!" He ain't stole nothing from you, nigga! If you that good, why don't you continue to make it!



 

That's got you fiending for more huh? Well it's coming; Part 3 will entail the second half of the album and enable you to gain some insight into the work that went into the rest of the tracks and much more in our exclusive interview. Stay tuned to dubcnn.