Snoop Dogg On How The Pimp Game Shaped His Style Rules

From the magazine: ISSUE 94, on stands October 21st. Pre-order a copy here.

More than any of his hip-hop peers, Snoop Dogg has brandished an ever-evolving personal style over his 20-plus-year, platinum-selling career. Be it under the name Snoopzilla, Snoopadelic, Snoop Lion, or plain old Snoop, the California rapper has taken us on a sartorial journey from cornrows and creased Dickies, to drop curls and pimped-out suits, to dreadlocks and Rastafarian-ready mesh merinos. On the occasion of his collaboration with Sweden’s Happy Socks, we asked Snoop to share his tips on how to stay one step ahead of the style game. 

Start from the bottom

I’m a sock man. I like having my sock game together, because, you know, we like to be g’d up from the feet up. You gotta start from the bottom to get to the top. And if you’re spooned and groomed, dipped and whipped, suited and booted, you will be gooted and looted. So that’s why it all starts from the bottom. 

Be a chameleon

Being able to express myself is something that I’ve always been able to do very well. Even as a kid doing plays in church, finding out how to act and how to sing, it helped me to fall into different characters and develop who I am today. Being infatuated with the pimp game, infatuated with reggae music, infatuated with gangsta shit—all of that engulfs me. I want to master all of these worlds. I’m just a jack of all trades! 

Step out clean

The game is this, though: a real pimp focuses [on making] sure he’s manicured, he’s pedicured, his hair is done, his face is right, his outfit is cold, his car look good, got a pocket full of money, conversation strong, smell good. These are pimp traits and characteristics that have been hard for me to relinquish. I don’t pimp no more physically, but I still have pimpish ways in how I groom myself, the way I talk. As a kid growing up in the ’70s, watching players with long perms—they always stepped out the house looking on point. That, to me, is the strongest style tip.

Embrace your softer side

As males we all have feminine ways, just like women have masculine ways, so it’s okay to tap into those inner ways. We have certain characteristics, values and traits that our mothers gave us. I’m a man that can tap into my feminine side and still know that I’m a masculine man with a manicure. Cause it’s called a manicure, not a bitchicure.

Keep your ’do done

The part of my personal style that I’ve been the most playful with has always been my hair. My hair game is legendary and was always laid. You also got people in the industry like Verdine White from Earth, Wind & Fire; his hair has always been beautiful. There were always moments in the hair game that kept me wanting to be different. Even when I came with the Shirley Temple curl in the “Next Episode” video—no one had rocked Shirley Temples in the rap game. For me to rock it in the pimping style that I did, I brought Shirley back to life again. You’re welcome, Shirley. Thanks to me, she was popping again.

Break the rules

The best style advice that my Uncle Junebug bestowed on me was “Fuck it up.” That was his favorite shit: go hard to a point where no one has went before. Fuck it up to where when I finish doing whatever I do, they know. 

The Snoop Dogg x Happy Socks Art of Inspiration collection is available November 1st at HappySocks.com