The reason why Snoop Dogg was bullied as a kid: “I cried like a baby”
Snoop Dogg’s sheer popularity is something to behold. More than three decades deep into a career that has expanded way beyond music, the man remains as broadly beloved as ever—which makes it difficult to conceive of a time in which he struggled with bullying.
Despite the fact that Snoop’s life and career under the spotlight has hardly been free of controversy, he has nonetheless grown into a sort of elder statesman of hip-hop. His cool manner and love of weed has made him a much-loved figure to so many, but, when he was a kid, it seems that he still hadn’t fully developed his laid-back charm.
During an interview with Esquire in 2008, Snoop spoke about his childhood days, mentioning how, at that time, he really couldn’t stand losing. In fact, it was so bad that he would end up drawing some unwanted attention to himself.
“I hate losing,” he said during the interview. “I’m a sore loser. When I was a kid, I used to cry when I lost. I cried like a baby—for real. N—as used to pick on me behind that.”
Snoop’s public persona gives the impression of a man who is not fazed by anything. He is calm and collected at all times, often stoned, and always in a good mood. Obviously this is a carefully cultivated character for the public, but, still, it is jarring to think of a time in which Snoop couldn’t keep his cool.
Still, the young Snoop did manage to adjust to his surroundings. During this same Esquire interview, Snoop reflected on his days in elementary school, where his peers were largely white. This was the sort of school with facilities that Black kids like Snoop weren’t necessarily used to, and it was something of a shock to the system.
“They had gymnastics,” Snoop noted, “they had swimming, they had track and field, they had music classes—they had all this shit we wasn’t getting in the ’hood. It opened my mind up.”
The experience of going to this school revealed another side of life, which, until this point, Snoop had never gotten the chance to enjoy. It also introduced him to white people to a greater extent than ever before, which later served him as a musician.
“It showed me how to interact with white people,” Snoop said of his time at this elementary school. “When I started making music, it wasn’t a surprise to me that white people loved my music as much as Black people. I knew how to relate.”
Despite his early issues with crying and bullying, Snoop clearly adjusted and learned how to get on with people. It is a skill that continues to serve him.