Rapper, reality TV star, purveyor of soft drinks, producer, Bollywood actor, football coach… when a man wears as many hats as California-born rapper Snoop Dogg does, he has to have some little life lessons nuggets to impart about his trials and tribulations.
From gang member to Dr Dre collaborator, and ex-con to award-winning, multi-platinum-selling artist, Snoop's done it all, and he's certainly learnt a few things along the way…
On Peace
"This is the West Coast, we built on gangsta, gangsta, gangsta, but sometimes we gotta know when to have peace."
Behind the wisdom Having been involved in a war of words with Death Row Records head honcho Suge Knight, who he accused of being involved in rapper Tupac Shakur's death, Snoop famously hosted a Hip Hop Summit back in 2002 and put an end to all his feuds, insisting, "I ain't got time to beef."
On Fatherhood
"It's more than a job, it's more than a responsibility. It's a lifestyle. You gotta be prepared to live it."
Behind the wisdom Father to sons Cordell and Corde and daughter Cori, Snoop's parenting has been the subject of his reality TV show Snoop Dogg's Father Hood. And the rapper has revealed that it was Cori's diagnosis with lupus that made him change his mind about divorcing his wife Shante.
On his Image
"It might look easy, but it ain't."
Behind the wisdom To date, Snoop - real name Calvin Broadus - has been in and out of prison multiple times, beat a murder charge, belonged to LA gang the Crips, been arrested in the UK, Sweden and the US and was refused entry to Australia in 2007. All that definitely ain't easy!
On his Locks
"James Brown told me one day, ‘Don't ever cut your hair, ‘cause your hair is your strength.' For a while now, I've been letting it grow. It's just me."
Behind the wisdom The rapper's plaits have become something of a trademark, and there's even a Facebook page ‘Snoop Dogg's Hair' dedicated to his style.
On Education
"A lot of people like to fool you and say that you're not smart if you never went to college, but common sense rules over everything."
Behind the wisdom Snoop never graduated higher than high school. He's worth around Dh550 million. ‘Nuff said.
On Business
"You don't ever hear about me doing a half-[baked] performance or coming halfway. I always go full speed."
Behind the wisdom Having helped invent gangsta rap, been involved in the creation of the G-funk sound, gone mainstream with California Gurls and Signs and got the whole world tagging ‘izzle' onto the end of every word, Snoop's right, you could never accuse him of not putting his hizzle and sizzle into everything he does.
