The hip-hop legend has gone from parental advisory to family friendly. This fall, he’ll join The Voice and release a new Dr. Dre-produced album, all while looking for new joint ventures—including the kind you roll—that will keep his grandchildren set for life.
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Here's your Forbes daily briefing for Tuesday, October 1st. Today on Forbes, how Snoop Dogg bet big on himself. Striding through the streets of Paris, the Olympic flame held high above his head, Snoop Dogg was surely the first torchbearer ever asked to do the crip walk. The hip hop strut made famous in his Drop It Like It's Hot video by an adoring fan. The 52-year-old rap legend happily obliged, much to the delight of the French crowd. Moments like that are why people of all ages, genders, and races feel as if they actually know Snoop, like a friend who has been in their lives for 30 years. During an interview as he kicks back in the private casino at his 25,000-square-foot work space come playground in Inglewood, California, that he calls the compound, he tells Forbes, quote, "I'm not distant, I'm like touchable." That familiarity, combined with the unmistakable figure cut by his slender six-foot four-frame and long braided hair, make it difficult for the rapper or born Calvin Brody's Jr. to go out in public without causing a scene. It's why he spends so much time at the compound, which also features recording studios, an arcade, and a basketball court. Armed with a fresh blunt and a comically oversized ashtray, he attempts to explain why seemingly everyone wants a piece of the DO-GG these days. He says, quote, "I just think when you're organic and authentic to who you are, eventually the world will catch up. What I didn't do was try to follow the fads or the trends. I just stayed me the whole way." The public perception of Snoop has certainly come a long way since his early years in and out of prison and his emergence as a West Coast rap pioneer, beginning with 1993's doggy style. While sentiments around hip-hop and cannabis have shifted in the decades since, Snoop has also worked hard at reinvention, while staying true to who he is. Whether he's putting out a reggae or gospel record, appearing in movies such as Old School and Training Day, or producing an animated show for kids, Snoop's brand has morphed from parental advisory to family-friendly. Moving off his work for NBC at the Olympics, Snoop has never been more popular or more in demand. This fall, he'll debut as the newest coach on The Voice, and in December, he'll release Missionary, an album produced by his longtime mentor, Dr. Dre. He also has a handful of entrepreneurial ventures he hopes will benefit from his newfound status as America's favorite stoner uncle. Snoop's latest turn as a so-called peace messenger, the moniker given to any Olympic torchbearer, is one he took very seriously in Paris. Whether he was swimming with Michael Phelps, dancing with Simone Biles, or watching Dressage with his longtime friend Martha Stewart, he radiated a positivity and playfulness that resonated with viewers. Molly Solomon, executive producer and president of programming for NBC Olympics, says she hopes Snoop will return not only for the 2028 summer games in his hometown of Los Angeles, but also for the 2026 winter games in Italy. Despite his popularity surge and past as a pitchman for among much else, Petco, Tostitos, and Corona, Snoop has recently shifted away from endorsements to ventures in which he can participate in profits or get equity stakes. In 2020, he struck a licensing deal with 19 crimes to launch a red wine with his face on the label, which the company says hit its 12-month sales target in the first six weeks. Dr. Bombay Ice Cream, a 50/50 joint venture with Happy Foodie, reported $10 million in sales since launching last August. In the cannabis world, to which Snoop has been connected since he reportedly sold weed to high school classmate Cameron Diaz, he is so influential that a publicity stunt late last year in which he announced he would "give up smoke" caused publicly traded cannabis stocks to plummet until he was later revealed to be promoting a smokeless fire pit. While he has ended his involvement with Casa Verde, the $350 million in 2024 assets under management cannabis-focused venture capital fund he co-founded in 2015, his death row cannabis brand launched last year with stores in Los Angeles and Amsterdam. And last week, music catalog collector Reservoir Media announced a new publishing deal for Snoop's past catalog and future works, as well as the publishing catalog of the death row records label, which Snoop owns. For full coverage and to see our video interview with Snoop Dogg, check out Matt Craig's piece on Forbes.com. This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes, thanks for tuning in. [BLANK_AUDIO]
