Snoop Dogg isn’t backing down.
Amid a swirl of criticism for performing at President Donald Trump’s January inauguration “Crypto Ball,” the 53-year-old hip-hop legend is firing back—with a new album and a blunt message to his detractors. Appearing this week on The Breakfast Club, Snoop unveiled Iz it a Crime?, released May 15, as a defiant retort to those calling him a “sellout.”
“But I’m not a politician. I don’t represent the Republican Party. I don’t represent the Democratic Party. I represent the motherf—ing Gangster Party period point blank, and G s— we don’t explain s—, so that’s why I didn’t explain. That’s why I didn’t go into detail when motherf—ers was trying to cancel me and say he a sellout,” he said, according to Fox News.
“Made a whole bunch of money, made a lot of relationships to help out the inner city,” he said. “That’s the mission.”
Financial literacy—understanding how money works, how to build wealth, and how to avoid predatory systems—has become a throughline in Snoop’s public persona. By tapping into the crypto economy, he says, communities traditionally shut out of the financial system can gain new tools for independence. It’s not about political alignment. It’s about ownership.
Snoop, born Calvin Broadus Jr., has always played by his own rules. And he’s not shy about calling out the noise. Critics flooded his social media after the inauguration, accusing him of abandoning his principles. Snoop’s response? He showed up in their DMs with unfiltered video replies. “I see motherf—ers like, ‘Oh he a sellout.’ … I jump all off in your s— and talk to you face to face,” he said. “Then it’s all, ‘Much love, Unc.’ Every time.”
To be sure, the Crypto Ball set—featuring a mash-up of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and his own “Drop It Like It’s Hot”—surprised many, . noted a few reports. Especially given Snoop’s long history of clashing with Trump. In 2017, he depicted Trump as a clown in the music video for “Lavender.” In 2020, he declared he was voting for the first time—just to keep Trump out of office.
But something shifted after Trump pardoned Michael “Harry-O” Harris, a co-founder of Death Row Records, in 2021. Snoop took note. “He ain’t done nothing wrong to me,” he said back in 2024, calling the pardon “a real move.”
Still, not everyone was ready to accept the evolution. The backlash came loud and fast. But Snoop met it the way he always has—with style, wit, and refusal to apologize for staying true to himself.
In a recent Instagram clip, gospel music playing softly in the background, he addressed the drama head-on: “Get your life right,” he said. “Still a Black man. Still 100% Black.”
