
Stylist: Annette Lamothe-Ramos
Photo Assistants: Rafael Rios and David Swanson
Special thanks to Milk StudiosThe 2000s saw fashion and style surreptitiously removed from the overmoisturized hands of high-end designers and busybody critics. It was snatched from them in the dead of night by forward-thinking bloggers, affordable boutique brands, and most importantly, rappers.
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Snoop Lion: I mean, they never left, you understand? I always incorporate a little bit of anything and everything. I always go back to yesterday, and it’s good to be able to find yourself completely in that moment, in that era, with that mind state, and be able to capture that.You’ve defined a lot of fashion just by being who you are, by wearing clothing you like and feel comfortable in. But we pulled some pretty specific clothing for the shoot, like the Crip suit. Where did that come from? Was it your idea?
The first time I saw that suit was on Coolio and a bunch of guys called the 40 Thevz—they were a rap group that were backing him up. He had the suit on and I liked it, so he turned me onto the guy who was making them—Perry White—and I started wearing them. Before you knew it, they became a part of my look because it was so symbolic of who I was and what I represented. It was the first statement of me being in the fashion world, to show that I did have style and understood what style was along with being gangster and West Coast.
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I was, like, more about what made me look fresh, you understand? If certain designers, like for example if Tommy Hilfiger had a tight shirt, I would get a Tommy Hilfiger shirt with some Capezio shoes or maybe some Girbaud pants or some Guess overalls. Whatever fashion I was on was whatever my money could afford, and at the same time whatever made me look good. It wasn’t dictated by a fashion designer or maker, it was more about the style, and certain makers had different styles that fit me that I would take and make mine.But you have remained loyal to certain brands over the years. Specifically, Polo and Adidas come to mind. What is it about these companies that has kept you coming back for more over the years?
They stay true to what they do, and they appeal to me because they won’t change. They make it the way that they make it; they stick to the script, and that’s who I am. I like to wear clothes and things that represent the same things that I represent, and those two brands, Polo and Adidas, stay true to the streets. They stay true to their look, and they make gear that fits a real player.People have been wearing football jerseys forever, but I think you may have been the first rapper, and really the first musician or notable person, to consistently wear hockey jerseys in a fashionable way. Where’d this look come from? Are you a big NHL fan?
You know what it was? I had a stylist at the time called Toi Crawford. She brought the hockey jerseys because I liked the African-American hoodies people were wearing back then—the ones from black colleges. Then she said, “You should try this hockey jersey.” It had an Indian on it or something. And another had, like, a leaf, a chronic leaf. I liked that one. Then there was the black-and-yellow one for the Pittsburgh Penguins. There were so many things about them that were fly to me. I liked the way they looked, and they were big, and I was like, “Ain’t nobody wearing these. This is me, this is my look.” It was just something that felt good to me.
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We called them Pendletons. They made it like it was a fashion statement, but that was the only thing we could afford back then in the West. We would go down to the surfer’s store and get like ten, maybe 15 of them at a nice little price, you understand? It was warm and representative of who we were and what we craved. It was like our dress code.They were utilitarian and functional while also fashionable, which is why I think people were so surprised when you started dressing like a pimp. But again, it was what you were living at the time so people shouldn’t have been so shocked. In contrast to your previous style, it was very flamboyant.
It was flamboyant and outlandish. One thing about that look is that it represented you, your girls, the car that you drove, and this is in the pimp world. It represented the pimp. If his color scheme was green and yellow, he had on green and yellow, his car was green and yellow, his apartment was green and yellow, the girls wore green and yellow, and everything was about that particular color scheme. They matched all the way from the top to the bottom. It was about flair, glamour, glitz, and all of that comes out of the era I grew up in. I was infatuated after seeing it from afar. Most of my uncles dibbled and dabbled in pimping, and my wife’s father was one of the biggest pimps around. It was fascinating for me to see that look and say that I was in that world and to wear that fashion for the eyes of the world. It was a beautiful feeling because I know what that fashion means; it’s a real fashion statement. Even when I’m getting getting my nails done, that’s real player. The average guy can’t see himself getting a French-tip manicure, but I’m not the average guy.
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It’s about being spooned and groomed, dipped and whipped, suited and booted, gooted and looted, scuttered and buttered.

[laughs] That’s out of the pimp files. I’ve got so many different animal furs: beavers, chinchillas, lambs, horses…Horses?
Yeah, I got horses, too. I got everything, man. Everything. You understand? When I was in the pimp world, I’d be shopping all over the world and we would always try to find things nobody had, because when you go to a player’s ball you get some of the flyest pimps in the world, and they show up with some of the grandest outfits you can imagine. So you try to upstage. One year I remember I had a big black-and-gold sombrero with diamonds and rhinestones on it, and I had it tied around my head. All my girls dressed like they were Mexican girls, and it was just awesome. When I was there I was the real el jefe.

I had different stylers, and I’d seen different things. I liked that sombrero because I’d seen a lot of the players wear the nice hats. But no one wore one like that. I’d seen Bishop Don “Magic” Juan wear one before, and his was like Louis Vuitton. That’s a fly style right there: When you’ve got a nice suit on and you wearing that sombrero, you gotta understand me, that’s some real fashion.
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Yeah. I still have some of that, but most of them are a thing of the past. They went with the times.Your next evolution in style was, for lack of a better term, your “business look.” It was around this time that you were appointed creative chairman of EMI’s Priority Records. I imagine this was the impetus for the new duds?
It was about transforming myself from an artist to a boss, and then trying to be more effective on the business side and not just creating but understanding that, creatively, I am the boss because I’m creating everything people want to buy and see—so why not be in control? It’s the fact of me having to fire people and having more control over what I do and say. I had to have a look to match that. You have to look the part to play the part. No one would take me seriously if I came in with a jogging suit on. They would think I was going to jog. So I was going to put a business suit on so they would know I was going to do business. One thing about the business that I do is it’s about fun. Once we get past the fun, it becomes a great business venture because if it’s fun we’re going to love doing it, we’re going to do it all the time.

I got a store that I shop in, you understand me? Rastafari, sugah! I don’t want to give that location out because I don’t want to have too many people looking like me. You know, before I know it I’ll see you doing the interview looking just like me. [laughs]
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It’s your strip. That’s what it’s all about. Most definitely, that’s been my style since day one; my hair has always been my main focus. I always make sure it looks right, and that I’ve got a new style, something that fits me that’s different. Even when I wore it in pigtails, or permed my hair like Shirley Temple, whatever it was, it was always something that was on the edge. It was like, “Wow, it looks nice.” But it was always different, so even now that I’m locking up, this is me being me. My hair has always told the story, and this is my journey at the moment.Reincarnated is playing in select theaters beginning March 15, with a DVD release to follow on April 16. The album will be released in April.Love Snoop? We do too. Check these out:We Got High with Snoop LionSnoop Lion Ft. Angela Hunte - "Here Comes the King"Our Favorite Reactions to Snoop Dogg Becoming Snoop Lion
