NOTE: SNOOP’S ORIGINAL POST ABOUT GIVING UP MARIJUANA WAS APPARENTLY A TROLL, AS HE LATER ANNOUNCED ON INSTAGRAM, SAYING THAT HE’S REALLY JUST WORKING WITH A SMOKELESS FIRE PIT COMPANY.
Like it or not, Snoop Dogg is an American institution. The rapper, businessman, actor, and entrepreneur has been a fixture in pop culture since the early 1990s. Snoop Dogg has remained popular and beloved for over three decades in an industry that churns through personalities and is incredibly fickle.
Snoop has hosted game shows, starred in movies, hung out with Martha Stewart, filmed more commercials than can be recalled, and still continued to make great hip-hop music. He also has smoked all of the weed. In fact, Snoop has his own cannabis company, Death Row Cannabis.
However, as most people learn as they approach late middle age, you can’t party like a rock star forever. Snoop, now 51, is not only a father, he is also a grandfather. The “Drop it Like It’s Hot” rapper became a grandfather in 2015 when his son Cordé became a father to son Zion in 2015.
The rapper employs a full-time blunt roller who claims she rolls 150 joints a day for the star. Since the birth of his grandson, Snoop has reevaluated his copious weed usage. He said in an interview earlier this year: “Being a grandfather has changed me in multiple ways. The main way is being concerned with how I live, how I move, the kind of people I’m associated with, because I want to see my grandkids grow old. The only way I can do that is to take precautionary steps as far as how I move, who I hang out with, where I go out, my intake, what am I intaking? Am I doing extra-curricular or am I just doing what I’m supposed to be doing?”
Despite the haze of marijuana smoke, Snoop managed to articulate good points. Longevity as an artist is one thing, but longevity as a human requires some sacrifices, especially as we age. The health effects of that much weed can be devastating and eventually kill the aging star.
On Thursday, the “Gin and Juice” rapper shocked the internet when he posted a stunning admission on social media. Snoop posted: “After much consideration and conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.”
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Naturally, social media wasn’t buying what Snoop was selling. Some of the hilarious responses were, “Today isn’t April Fools Day Snoop,” a second read, “Snoop without smoke is like earth without water,” a third commented, “I know you’re high posting this,” and yet another said, “Damn, the world is really really coming to an end.”
While fans might think Snoop Dogg is just blowing smoke, recent history suggests he is serious. Snoop continues to stay immersed in the music business and has numerous side projects, but remains devoted to his family and determined to spend as much time with them as possible.
It has been a weird few years socially in America, and Snoop Dogg giving up weed is totally on-brand for a country that seems to be upside down. However, if that allows the aging rapper to have a few more years as a dad and a grandfather, then who can fault him for making better life choices?