>>Sal Masekela: What might be some of the
harder decisions you've had to make in order
to stay relevant or to stay on the journey
where you are today?
>>Snoop Dogg: Well, my decisions are never
made based on what the popularity of the world
will think.
It is always based on what feels good to me
and what's best for me.
I don't ever look at, you know, what I'm doing
and say, "What are people going to think?"
I do it for the reasons of if it makes me
feel good, eventually it is going to make
you feel good.
That's all it's always been for me.
Ever since I came into the music industry,
it has always been about the expression of
my expression becoming your expression.
It is just we become one.
I feel like the people feel like Snoop Dogg
is a part of their life.
It is not like I'm a rapper or producer or
actor.
I am like one of their family members because
they have been with me for so long.
I have been so up close and personal.
It has never been, like, a secret.
I have opened my closet up from day one.
>>Sal Masekela: I think that's one of the
reasons why a little -- a little kid and the
grandmother will both be like, "Hey, that's
Snoop Dogg."
>>Snoop Dogg: That's crazy you say that because
a lot of times the kids will approach me,
and I'm trying to figure out why do the kids
like me.
This is before I had a football league, before
I became, you know, more positive in what
I was doing.
And the kids would always come up and say,
"We love you, we love you."
I never understood why they loved me until
I had to figure out that I'm that kid.
I am who that kid is.
He is seeing himself in me.
So regardless of how my rhymes may sound,
if they are derogatory, if they are explicit,
that kid sees something in me that resembles
himself.
So once I figured that out, I started to aim
my pen in a more positive direction to write
songs that matter to the kids and do things
for the kids like the youth football league.
[ Applause ]
