Snoop Gets Real With The Kids
By Caitlin A. Johnson
Snoop Dogg is tired of everybody hating on rappers - especially when it comes to the way they raise their kids.
Granted, a lot of rappers talk about sex, drugs and violence in their songs, but Snoop says when it comes to being dads, they step to the plate without reservation. So he decided to show the world a different side of Calvin Broadus. "Snoop Dogg's The Father Hood" is a reality show about his family that debuts on Dec. 9, on the E! Network. It stars his wife, Shanté, his two sons, Cordé, 13, Cordell, 10, his daughter, Cori, 8, and of course his crew of bitches (female canines, that is!)
"I just wanted to put together a reality show that shows the positive things that I do in life, along with being a father and a husband," he told The ShowBuzz.
Photos: Snoop Dogg
So viewers who tune in will get to see Snoop do normal dad stuff like coach his son's football team, the Rowland Heights Raiders, and walk the dogs. But E!'s Web site cautions: "This ain't the Huxtables." Snoop after all, raps about being affiliated with the Crips, imbibing large amounts of Gin and Juice, smoking loads of pot, and of course lots and lots of sex. But that's ok with him as a father, he says, because his parenting strategy is to be open with his kids.
"A lot of my songs, they don't really understand the meaning of them, but they make them feel good so they just moving to them and they grooving to them … like when I listened to 'Lets Get it On' when I was a kid I didn't know what 'lets get it on' meant, I just loved Marvin Gaye singing and I didn't know he was trying to get him some."
And today, a parent who tries to keep their kid away from what's really going on is fighting a losing battle, said Snoop, whose new song "Sensual Seduction," hardly shies away from the topic. Snoop says he likes to be more of a friend than a father figure, and that encourages openness.
"Well this is a different world, now it's 2007, holding hands is out the book," he said. "Kids is knowing what's up. They know straight, gay, they know the difference between safe sex and unprotected sex, so you can't even act like it's a puzzle to the kids. You can't act like 'Well I want to talk to you about something' 'cause they already ahead of you, you gotta be ahead of them."
Whether you agree with his approach or not, Snoop says no one can say that he isn't deeply involved in the lives of his kids. He and many of his rapper peers grew up fatherless in poor neighborhoods, he said. But Snoop says they are breaking the cycle. Rappers who have a "scenario on the side" will always take care of those children, Snoop said. They want their kids and they want to be good fathers.
"We're not being appreciated or commended for that," he said. "It's sad because they always want to say 20 rappers are in jails because they did this or that but what about the 100 rappers that are doing positive creative things and being fathers to their kids?"