The legend who called Snoop Dogg “the hardest working man” in hip-hop
Snoop Dogg has achieved so much since he burst onto the scene in 1992 alongside Dr Dre as his protégé. Together, the pair navigated the music industry, and both became legends in their own right. Dr Dre founded Aftermath alongside Jimmy Iovine, while Snoop continued to top the charts for another decade during the 2000s. Whether in music or outside, one undeniable thing is that Snoop Dogg is a hard worker. One legend in particular spotted this trait in Snoop Dogg quite early in his career.
Since his rise to the top of the charts, the Long Beach rhymer has achieved amazing things that would make many rappers look lazy in comparison. Whether that’s starting a youth football league, creating his own cannabis strain, NFT lines or releasing his own brand of cereal, his resumé is quite extraordinary.
That said, since buying Death Row Records and performing at the Super Bowl alongside Dr Dre in 2022, Snoop doesn’t seem to be slowing down or planning on retirement and in several interviews, he has revealed not only why he insists on working so hard but also named some of the legends who schooled him about business and becoming an icon.
Last year, Snoop Dogg released an audiobook in partnership with Audible to celebrate the 30-anniversary of his debut album Doggystyle, and during the book, Snoop Dogg explains the effect the Godfather of Souyl had on him prior to his death.
Recalling the encounter he had with the one and only James Brown, Snoop wrote, “James Brown came to see me and the most important sh*t James Brown said was, ‘You are the hardest working man in the industry. It’s your job to take it where I couldn’t take it.’ And as I’m watching me right now… it’s like he seen it.”
The Ego Trippin’ emcee then told this story in more detail on the The Fucking Metaverse podcast. Speaking about how he became so hardworking and a bit of a workaholic, Snoop explained to the hosts, Wylie Aronow, Greg Solano, and Kerem Atalay, “I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with James Brown for about three hours at my house one night. And the things he instilled in me as far as being the hardest-working man in show business he passed it off to me. For James Brown to give me that, and this was like when he was alive, like three or four years before he passed away.”
He continued, “[Back then] I wasn’t even where I am right now, but to just put that spirit in me and to be able to have conversations with Muhammad Ali was amazing. His grandson went to school with my son, and we used to sit in the crowd together and watch games, and I had a relationship with him before he lost his ability to speak.”
For many, the mere thought of getting advice from icons such as James Brown and Muhammad Ali would be unbelievable, but for Snoop, it was a reality, and it shifted his mentality.
Explaining how he began to change his mindset after these conversations, the ‘Gin & Juice’ performer detailed, “So to have people like that in my life, Muhammad Ali and James Brown instilled in me ‘When we get tis opportunity, we gotta stay great at all times and never take a day off.’”