In a new video interview with Rolling Stone, Snoop Dogg recounts the influence funk legend George Clinton has had on his life and his career. Of particular interest is how Clinton epitomized “dope” for him before he even knew what dope was.
“I remember Sir Nose,” he explains. “I had his poster – the character he created with a long nose and the white brim on, standing on top of water because he didn’t like to swim. And I had that poster in my room because it was so funny but it was dope. As a kid I didn’t even know what dope was. I didn’t know what fresh was, but I knew it was funny and it felt good to me.”
“When hip-hop came about he didn’t antagonize,” he continued. “He allowed us to use his music and sample his creativity, and he worked with us…A lot of those artists that were old were disgruntled, and they didn’t want the hip-hop artists to use their samples and built up a bad relationship with the hip-hop community.”
Watch the full clip here.