Especially in recent years, it can be easy to forget how much of a hardcore gangster Snoop Dogg was in the 1990s. While Gen-Z finds themselves overtly familiar with his Martha Stewart friendship or his Nickelodeon appearances, it eludes much of the younger generation that the rapper was once on trial for murder (which, by the way, is in the process of being adapted for a Starz mini-series).
Regardless, Snoop Dogg has had quite a history of run-ins with the law, and that includes the time he went looting during the 1992 LA riots. The LA Riots were a series of civil disturbances that occurred in the spring of 1992.
In an episode of HBO’s The Defiant Ones docu-series, Snoop Dogg admitted he was among those looting during the riots. In the episode, he said, “I went out lootin’ and stole all kinds of shit and brought it all back to the studio.”
In an interview, he further explained his mindset and lifestyle during that era, “That’s the kind of life I was living. I was gangstad’ out, I was 24/7… Me and my homies, we did it all. From the negative, to the rapping, to the violence, all that, we was a part of it.”
Regarding the riots and the looting, he said specifically, “I remember when the riots happened in LA. Before 1992, we was out there in the mix. I was out there looting with the regulars. I had a record out and I was looting, you know what I’m saying?”
He even laughs about being recognised when he was looting, with someone spotting him and saying, “Hey, Snoop Dogg!” It’s unclear if he was serious about being recognised, but it’s still a sentiment that illustrated his point. He quite literally had a record out, and was pursuing his rap career, but still went looting during the LA Riots like he would have done even if he weren’t famous.
Like he mentioned, it was just a part of his lifestyle and how he and his friends were living at that point in time. Although that might be somewhat forgotten from his image now, it’s interesting to hear him talk about it so openly in interviews. Perhaps with the new Starz series in addition to the HBO docu-series, we may see even more in-depth into Snoop Dogg’s past than ever before.
