A nigga ain’t gonna be out there slippin’”), and he never roams without the Dogg Pound – Daz, Kurupt, RBX, and his other buddies from the ‘hood.’ So he doesn’t even worry about the static that inevitably results from walking a fine line between ghetto life and life as a rap star. He still packs tow guns (“It’s just a protection thang. If you want a rapper who dramatizes the harshness of ghetto life, this is it.Īnd, on the surface at least, Snoop’s lyrics are his reality. With his weary, understated cadence, Snoop Doggy Dogg has upped the hip hop ante: No waving of baseball bats on album covers, no spitting in music videos, no bald heads. He’s just a regular kid from the block who happens to have a rhyme virtuosity that’s the envy of rappers on both coasts. In essence, then, Snoop is more than hype. So here he is – 21 years old, six foot four, pencil thin, and quite obviously only one generation removed from his family’s Mississippi roots – arguing about his ability to protect himself against overzealous fans and envious knuckleheads. Until recently he had no car, and he still shares an apartment in Long Beach with his first cousin That Nigga Daz, and barely notices any of the women who parade in and out of the studio in search of him, Dre, or rapper the D.O.C. But in spite of the buzz around Snoop’s rap career, he refuses – as evidenced by his argument with his cousin – to succumb to the demands of fame. These performances marked him as one of the few rappers in hip hop history to establish a firm and identifiable presence before the release of his own debut album, Doggy Style, slated to hit the streets in early September. Snoop’s singsongy-hardcore style broke loose from the other guest vocalists on the album and stole the show. If that tease wasn’t enough, on Dre’s multiplatinum The Chronic (the title was suggested by Snoop and by his own estimates he contributed a good 65 to 70 percent of the lyrics). Dre’s “Deep Cover” single to number one on the rap charts. Like that display of raw energy, Snoop blazed through rap music last summer on a mission, his drawl chanting from jeeps and groove-filled clubs – “Cuz it’s 1-8-7 on a undercover cop” – helping propel Dr. Save the local underground scene, had ever heard of Snoop Doggy Dogg. “He was telling me,” he begins in his syrupy southern twang, “for security purposes I need to probably hire him…” I fade out Snoop’s voice for a moment, mentally juxtaposing last year’s explosion of black rage with the fact that at that time no one. Confused by the swirl of events on and off screen, I ask Snoop what’s going on. Like a restless toddler, Snoop spontaneously lunges over his cousin’s left shoulder blade, molds his long fingers into a gun, and aims at the screen directly at Koan’s mouth: “Bam!” Taking the oral bullet as a cue, the man eases off Snoop’s case and retreats. On the screen, the talking head of former Los Angeles police sergeant Stacey Koan is bubbling about Rodney King, the need for law and order, and the South Central rebellion, which occurred a year ago this day. I half listen to their disagreement and stare at the massive television set mounted on the wall behind them. “This shit don’t make no sense to me right now,” Snoop retires with a wave of his hands. “You’re doing it, there it is,” says the cousin, dejectedly. “That’s how it’s gonna be,” Snoop replies. “That’s how you want it?” his cousin says, trying to cover his concern for Snoop with a display of machismo. Inside the television room of the Village Recorder studio in West Los Angeles, Snoop Doggy Dogg stands nose-to-nose with his cousin, a tall, copper-complexioned man who is wildly defending his point. Join Kevin Powell for a Snoop Dogg-day afternoon.- Kevin Powell (Sept. His album is the most eagerly anticipated debut in hip hop history.