Snoop Dogg stayed neutral during the rap battle that popped off earlier this year between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. However, he’s a big fan of the latter’s knockout blow “Not Like Us.”
Sitting alongside Dr. Dre during a recent sitdown with Drink Champs in Vegas at ComplexCon, Snoop said Kendrick’s anthem united not only West Coast rappers, but also rival gangs.
“Let me tell you what that record did do. It unified the West,” he said. “So, it may have been disrespectful, but it’s hip-hop, so it’s part of hip-hop. I chose no sides because I have no individual cause. That’s a grown man going against a grown man. But what it did do was unite the West, and make everybody out here start looking at each other like how much love we got for each other.”
He added, “The Bloods had a peace treaty. You had certain Crip gangs that came together and became real friends as opposed to being enemies. So, that record did a lot for us on the West as far as uniting, so we should speak on that.”
He said something similar after Kendrick’s Pop Out concert in June. “Sending a big shout-out to K. Dot and all the homies in the West that stood together, unified, organized in peace, love,” he said in a video as he was in Canada. “That was beautiful, that was fun to watch. Beautiful to see all my peoples come together. And K. Dot, you are the King of the West. That’s the kind of sh—t kings do, we unite, bring people together.”
Snoop was inadvertently included in the battle early on when Drake decided to release “Taylor Made Freestyle” featuring A.I. versions of Snoop and 2Pac‘s voices in order to get a response out of Kendrick. That plan backfired, though, as the Tupac Shakur estate threatened to sue, forcing the Toronto rapper to take the song down.
The West Coast legend had a funny response once he got wind of the diss track, posting a video on social media of himself asking questions and being confused. “They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Y’all have a good night,” he said. “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the f—k? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”
Snoop and Dre have been working together once again and are releasing an album soon. Missionary will hit shelves on Dec. 13.
