Snoop Dogg was defiant as he appeared to respond to critics of his performance celebrating President Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this month.
The 53-year-old rap icon Snoop Dogg shared a video to Instagram on Sunday of himself appearing to smoke what appeared to be a blunt while behind the wheel, though he was parked at the time.
‘For all the hate, I’m going to answer with love,’ he said after taking a few puffs.
Snoop Dogg real name: Calvin Broadus Jr. — was widely criticized by fans and Trump critics for playing at the Inaugural Crypto Ball, a pre-inauguration event held on January 17 for cryptocurrency executives that also featured performances from Soulja Boy and Rick Ross, while Nelly performed at the later Liberty Ball on January 20.
Trump was heavily supported by tech executives, particularly in the crypto and AI industries, though the later lost hundreds of billions of dollars this week after their stocks crashed after a Chinese generative AI service was released that was far cheaper than previously dominant American versions.
‘Get your life right, stop worrying about mine. I’m cool. I’m together,’ Snoop continued in his laid-back video, though he didn’t mention the inauguration or Trump by name.
‘Still a Black man. Still 100 percent Black,’ he declared. ‘All out ’til you ball out or ’til you fall out.’
The day before, Snoop discussed the backlash to his performance celebrating Trump’s election win on the R&B Money podcast.
‘You’re gonna deal with hate when you get to the top, no matter who you are…’ he said. ‘Me, personally, I answer it with success and love.
That’s my answer to any hate and negativity that comes my way, ’cause it’s the strongest force that can beat it.’
Although the Chronic rapper has defended his performance at the pro-Trump event, he doesn’t appear to have explicitly stated his support for the second-term president, though many of his fans have interpreted his recent performance as such.
Photos of Snoop mugging with MAGA figures also haven’t endeared him to many of his longtime fans.
Shortly after his performance in DC, fans lambasted him on X (formerly Twitter).
‘2pac always was right about snoop dogg, he always playing both sides for a check and some clout smh,’ said one user.
‘I have deleted all Snoop Dogg songs from my playlists.. i have blocked him from my accounts. I will not listen to his music after i found out that he will be there to perform for the traitors on Monday,’ wrote another.
‘Even Snoop Dogg bent knee to Donald Trump. Never thought I’d see that. His crip walks will never be the same,’ chimed in a
same,’ chimed in a third.
The rapper’s performance at Trump’s pre-inauguration event is a striking contrast from his anti-Trump sentiments in the first Trump term.
In September 2018, the Drop It Like It’s Hot rapper blasted Trump supporters during an appearance on DJ Suss One’s SiriusXM show.
After the host suggested some of Snoop’s fans might support Trump, he furiously responded that those so-called fans were racists.
‘I tell them straight up motherf*****. If you like that n****, you motherf****** racist. F*** you, and f*** him.’
He then accused Trump of having divided Americans with his rhetoric.
‘Before him, there were no lines. Everybody was everybody, we respected everything; we didn’t trip,’ he claimed. ‘But n****, when you drew the line, n**** started pointing motherf***** out… f*** you n****.’
He reserved special fury for the disgraced rapper Kanye West.
‘Kanye too, n****, don’t forget about him too,’ he added. ‘F*** him too. I’m going throw him in the bag too because he right with them motherf****