Snoop Dogg went back on his word with Trump performance. He deserves the backlash. | Opinion
Snoop Dogg lost 570,000 followers on Instagram following his Crypto Ball performance, and 20,000 unfollowed him on X.
Editor's Note: This column contains strong language. Direct links to previous Snoop Dogg comments contain unaltered language, including obscenities and racially insensitive phrases.
Snoop Dogg may be among the most renowned rappers globally for his decades-long career and business ventures.
He’s the CEO of Death Row Records. He served as a special correspondent and torchbearer for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He has received more than two dozen awards, including MTV and American Music Awards. He's earned 16 Grammy Award nominations, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and appeared in various commercials and films. He is a record producer, DJ, entrepreneur and an enthusiastic advocate for cannabis.
However, his recent decision to perform at the Inaugural Crypto Ball for President Donald Trump last month made him infamous among many in the African American and hip-hop communities. He continues to catch flak for his decision, and rightly so – because the issue gets to the heart of leadership and responsibility in the Black community.
Civil Rights Movement's leaders warned popularity is not the same as leadership
While playing for the president of the United States might be considered a crowning achievement for many artists, it was shocking to see Snoop Dogg, 53, hyping up a MAGA crowd, given that just eight years ago he called Trump a “racist” and threatened to criticize any African American who chose to perform at his first inauguration.
“Which one of you jigaboo a--, (N-word) going to be the first to do it. I’m waiting. I’m going to roast the (obscenity) out of one of you, Uncle Tom, a-- (N-word) for doing it. Which one of you (N-word) is going to do it first,” he asked then.
Those words have come back to bite an artist known as “Tha Doggfather.”
After his recent performance, Snoop Dogg’s fans roasted him, but instead of staying quiet, he responded with an Instagram video, saying: “Get your life right. Stop worrying about mine. I am cool. I am together. Still a Black man. Still 100% Black.”
While Snoop Dogg may hope this statement will silence his critics, he is mistaken.
This issue goes beyond the rapper himself; it raises crucial questions about who is chosen for leadership roles within the Black community. The Civil Rights Movement's leaders of the past warned that a person’s popularity does not equate to genuine leadership, nor does it ensure that an individual will remain true to their principles.
Often, popularity is merely a superficial characteristic.
Snoop Dogg criticized Trump for years before changing tune
Snoop Dogg's discontent with Trump stretches back several years and is marked by sharp criticism.
In November 2017, following Trump’s inflammatory tweet about NFL running back Marshawn Lynch – who chose to remain seated during the national anthem while standing for the Mexican anthem – Snoop Dogg expressed his strong support for the Oakland Raiders star.
In an unfiltered response, Snoop Dogg stated, "(Obscenity) Donald Trump, (expletive)." He continued with biting sarcasm, suggesting, "They should suspend your dumb (expletive) for all the goofy (expletive) you do every day. When are you going to get suspended (expletive)? ... (Expletive) you, Donald Trump, and everything you stand for."
He ended his video by saying, “America y’all should be ashamed to call this piece of (expletive) y’all president. He ain’t mine.”
Interestingly, Snoop Dogg said America should feel ashamed, especially since he admitted that he voted for the first time in the 2020 presidential election to get Trump out of office.
He said his vote didn’t matter, and his criminal history made him ineligible. He was convicted of a felony in 1990 and 2007.
Snoop Dogg also made headlines in 2017 for a music video to “Lavender,” in which he depicts a mock assassination of a clown representing Trump. The video ends with the mock Trump shackled in chains and Snoop smoking a joint with his friends.
Trump fired back in a tweet, saying: “Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!”
Snoop Dogg lost over 570,000 followers after his performance
Snoop Dogg and Trump's relationship began to improve in 2021 when Trump, on his last day in office, commuted the death sentence and prison term of Michael Harris, the founder of Death Row Records. He had been advocating for Harris's release for years.
In January 2024, during an interview with a British newspaper, Snoop Dogg expressed a change in perspective regarding his longtime rival, stating that Trump "ain't done nothing wrong to me."
“He has done only great things for me. He pardoned Michael Harris. So I have nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump," he said.
Snoop Dogg fails to recognize that freeing one of his associates does not offset the many other actions Trump has taken, such as dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion efforts ‒ negatively impacting minorities and women.
Snoop Dogg was not the only rapper to perform at an inaugural ball for Trump; Nelly, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy also took the stage. Soulja Boy defended his performance, saying Trump paid him “a bag” for his appearance, while former President Barack Obama “ain’t ever put no money in my (expletive) pockets.”
For the record, Trump didn’t even attend the Crypto Ball. The event’s organizers compensated the performers, not Trump himself. Snoop Dogg lost more than 570,000 followers on Instagram following his performance and nearly 20,000 on X, formerly Twitter.
Snoop Dogg's response to critics misses the point by a mile
I'm disappointed in Snoop Dogg's response to his critics.
He stated that "we" are good at tearing each other down. Still, it seems Snoop Dogg is more focused on the backlash he’s receiving for his performance than Trump’s harmful policies, which are dividing families and negatively impacting people of color and the disadvantaged.
We are not eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion; Trump is.
We are not deporting (or threatening to deport) millions of families and traumatizing children; Trump is.
We are not attacking the LGBTQ+ community; Trump is.
It was Snoop Dogg who performed at a gala to celebrate him.
In 1963, Malcolm X said celebrities had been elevated to heroes in the Black community, even though many were unqualified.
The prevailing belief was that if Black people who achieved significant milestones in sports, comedy and entertainment broke the glass ceiling, they should be admired and respected. However, Malcolm X called this notion misleading.
A person's talent as a basketball player or musician does not necessarily qualify them to be a civil rights leader. The same can be said for Snoop Dogg.
How easily he flipped on Trump proves that he puts himself before the community, and that’s not what a leader with a bully pulpit should ever do.
James E. Causey is an Ideas Lab reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where this column originally appeared. Reach him at jcausey@jrn.com or follow him on X: @jecausey