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5 Things We Learned From Snoop Dogg’s ‘Red Table Talk’ Interview

By BreAnna Bell

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – After a few weeks in hot water, rapper Snoop Dogg made an appearance on Jada Pinkett Smith and family’s ” Red Table Talk ” web series to clear the air on a few trending topics — the biggest being his recent feud with Gayle King, for which he has since apologized for inciting.

Following the death of legendary Laker Kobe Bryant, many people expressed their mixed emotions regarding the NBA champion’s legacy, most of which stemmed from his connection to a 2003 sexual assault case. In a clip released from King’s interview with WNBA champion Lisa Leslie, the “CBS This Morning” co-host asked Leslie if it were fair to bring up the case when speaking about Bryant’s overall legacy. Leslie replied “no.”

Shortly after, posted a video condemning King for posing the question in her interview. He also called her a slew of degrading names, which prompted many people to take sides.

In addition to his commentary on the public debate, he also opened up about a few other issues including the loss of his grandson, his friend Nipsey Hussle, the change in his own music, and his personal relationship with Charlie Wilson, whom he credits with saving his marriage.

Here are the five major takeaways from his interview:

He says he made his comments toward King because he wanted to “protect” Bryant’s family. 

While he maintained that he was wrong for the way he responded, he claims his intentions were good. “I wanted to make sure the message was across that we love Kobe and be respectful of Vanessa and those kids. That’s what the whole intent was: to protect that woman and them babies over there because she’s still grieving. Let’s give them that respect.”

Surprisingly, the rapper mysteriously managed to skirt around his equally controversial comments in support of Bill Cosby.

After Snoop made his initial comments toward King, he proceeded to go after her friend Oprah Winfrey. The rapper posted a photo of Winfrey and Harvey Weinstein on his Instagram with the caption: “Did that fake ass Micheal Jackson s–t to tarnish his name with them lying ass kids and here she is with a known rapist smiling and laughing. F–k u and Gayle. Free bill Cosby.”

Cosby was convicted last April on three counts of indecent assault stemming from an incident with former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. The comedian is currently serving three to 10 years in a Pennsylvania prison (which he refers to as his “gated community “).

He lost a few people very close to him from the past year, including his grandson. 

Snoop Dogg explained that he responded angrily to King’s interview with Lisa Leslie mainly because he was dealing with a lot of complex emotions due to losing a few people very close to him. “It was a matter of me losing control because we still haven’t swallowed Nip [Nipsey Hussle]. We’re still engulfed in that. He’s still in our heart right now and we’re still hurt behind that. And then, Kobe and his daughter,” Snoop said.

He went on to acknowledge the death of his grandson and his healing process from there saying, “I got to be strong in front of everybody. Remember that part. You got to turn it on. It’s time to be Snoop again. But, what about when I want to cry? What about when I’m hurt and I’m feeling bad and I feel disgusted and I want to be angry and I want to just blurt out?”

He claims his family healed themselves after his son posted a message saying: “God wanted his angel up there [heaven] rather than down here.”

He seems to regret using so much profanity throughout his career. 

As a rapper coming up in the early ’90s, Snoop Dogg was a part of the era of gangsta rap along with other artists such as Tupac, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. The artists were known for stirring up trouble with their incredibly gritty and raunchy lyrics — many of which was viewed as degrading to women. In 2020, Snoop Dogg says he tries to be more careful when choosing his words because he recognizes the power of them. However, he recognizes the damage that’s already been done. “It’s hard trying to be one individual when you’ve actually been a part of the problem. I admit that I’ve been the one that said ‘n—a, bitches, and hoes. I used that my whole seven to ten years of the beginning of my career,” he told the women. “So, it’s kind of hard to take those words out of the equation when I got to do shows that people love and that’s the songs that people love. That song with those words.”

He went on to share that he’d even discussed his change of heart with Tupac before the rapper’s untimely death. “Even me and Pac got into it because he wanted me to stay gangsta, and I was like, ‘Cuz, I got a baby on the way. I just beat a murder case. I have a lot to live for.’ He had no kids.”

He briefly spent some time with rapper Pop Smoke before he died on Feb. 19. 

Snoop claims he viewed the bright side of Pop Smoke shortly before the rapper was gunned down in an L.A. rental property. “I was just with that young man in New York and just seeing his spirit and watching him do his thing and watching him coming to L.A. trying to get away.”

Willow also commented on the death of the young rapper saying, “Some of my friends were so heartbroken.”

Snoop closed his comments on him by adding, “It’s a fast life and a lot of times, a lot of people don’t really understand what goes into this thing right here. This is a business and it’s also trifling if you don’t have the right people around you. You have to know who you are as a person because the music you represent represents you as a person as well.”

He named Charlie Wilson of the GAP Band as his source of guidance. He also credits him with saving his marriage. 

Snoop told the Smith family, “I used to seek counsel from Charlie Wilson from the GAP Band. Charlie Wilson helped keep my marriage together because there were times where I felt like ‘I don’t want to be in here no more. I want to go.’ Just being stupid, period. And Charlie would bring me back to reality like, ‘That’s the best thing that ever happened to you.’

The rapper and his wife have been married for 24 years and were high school sweethearts. “If you gone love, you gone love love,” he said. “When you get to where we’re at now, it’s just all fun.”

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