Why Dogg remains defiant

Snoop Dogg isn’t giving up the N-word, says Matilda Egere-Cooper in the London Independent. While Bill Cosby and many other prominent blacks have been calling on rappers to stop using the word “nigga,’’ Dogg is refusing, on the grounds that it accurately captures his experience. “I’m a nigga, so I’m not gonna ever be treated fair,’’ he says. “There will always be some new niggas coming out, gangbanging, not giving a damn, just living their life, because that’s what America breeds. We’re bred to do that s---, so you can’t get mad at us. You gotta get mad at the system.’’ Born Calvin Broadus Jr., Dogg grew up on the streets in Long Beach, Calif., where he ran with the Crips. He’s been charged with—and acquitted of—murder, and arrested on weapons and marijuana charges. Now 35, he says he’s cleaned up his act—some. “I got a conscience. I got kids. I’m a Little League football coach. I’ve got my own league with 3,000 kids. I’m a role model. I’m looked up to.’’ But to the larger world, he says, he’ll always be disreputable—“a nigga’’ from the streets. “No matter how old you get or where you get to, that’s a jacket that’s hard to take off. And once they label you a bad guy, you’re always a bad guy.’’

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up