Snoop Dogg has collaborated with everybody under the sun, but there’s one dream song that he’s never had the chance to make despite working with both individuals involved separately.
Out of all the producers that Snoop has aligned himself with over the years, apart from perhaps Dre, nobody else has got the best out of him in the same way as Pharrell Williams. He knew exactly the kind of beat that would suit ‘The Doggfather’, and they made magic whenever they collided.
Speaking about their relationship to GQ, he said, “Pharrell and I were fascinated with each other, and we knew how to dig into our world. I went into his world, and he went into my world. When we were working on ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, I was on my gangbanging shit. I had a bunch of gangsters with me.”
They came from contrasting backgrounds, and it was a culture shock for Pharrell to be faced with genuine gangsters that surrounded Snoop, but he found it thrilling. On one occasion, 60 Crips were in the studio with the rapper, which made the N.E.R.D. man understand him on a profound level, which improved their connection and their art.
The duo first started working together in the early ’00s while Pharrell was still producing with The Neptunes. However, it wasn’t until 2015 when ‘Skateboard P’ took up the reigns on a full album by Snoop when they created Bush.
While he’s immensely proud of the work that he’s created with Pharrell, he’s always wanted Jay-Z to jump onto one of their productions, but it’s never quite happened.
He added: “He sold the shit out of ‘Signs’ and all that shit. I’m like, OK, OK, Justin Timberlake, all right, all right. But what I didn’t get from him that I always wanted was a song with me and Jay-Z together on a Pharrell beat. Because I felt like [Jay and I] heard his beats the best, you know what I’m saying? We did his beats the most justice.”
In the same interview, the rap legend then discussed the quasi-rivalry between him and ‘Hova’ during this period when they were both relying on Pharrell to supply their hits.
“That’s our producer; he’s our guy,” he exclaimed. “I’m like, ‘Man, that shit you gave Jay-Z was hot. Now you think I can get one better than that?’ You think Jay’s saying, ‘How the fuck do you get this n**** ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’? I’ve been hanging out with you, and you’re going to give him that?'”
For a time, Pharrell Williams was untouchable, and everybody wanted to be spitting over one of his delicious beats. While he did hand them out freely, nobody gave them the delicate care like Snoop or Jay. Hopefully, one day they’ll jump on one together and make every hip-hop head’s fantasy become a reality.
