Few figures stand quite as an ‘earthly representative of marijuana’ than Snoop Dogg. Unc reportedly smokes around 80 blunts a day and has advocated its benefits for many, many decades. 

So, when Snoop posted a graphic to his socials saying, “After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.” it seemed pretty obvious, and not cryptic at all, that Snoop had decided to entirely quit smoking weed. With an outpouring of support, confusion and humour by fans and industry-peers alike, we were suddenly faced with a reality in which Snoop Dogg is…sober? 

According to the platform Go Smoke Free as reported by News24, “the online searches for “quit weed” have skyrocketed more than ten times the normal average volume in one week and analysis of Google search data reveals that online searches for ‘quit weed’ exploded 1,152% worldwide after Snoop Dogg’s announcement.” With Snoop declaring an intention to ‘give up smoke’, it seemed many people who may have been entertaining the idea or have been wanting to change their lifestyle, were suddenly given a kind of  nod-of-approval that most stoners would never expect; from Snoop himself. Even fellow rappers declared this new wave led by the Doggfather, with Meek Mill writing on his socials, “Ima go to Dubai and completely stop smoking. Ima follow snoop, my doctor said I got a lil bit emphysema in a chest if I don’t stop smoking it cuts my lifeline in half, I was addicted to the nicotine and this new weed got too many chemicals and too risky to play with my mental!”

Snoop’s ‘Give up Smoke’ Announcement, courtesy of @snoopdogg IG

Then, in a marketing spin on this entire saga, Snoop released a video on his socials in what seemed to be his first appearance publicly speaking about this lifestyle change: until it was  quickly revealed to be an ad with Solo Stove, using the phrase ‘give up the smoke’ to refer to their line of smokeless fire pits. With an upwards of 2.5million ‘likes’ on the clip via IG, one user commented, ‘Snoop never misses a paycheck!’. Now, media outlets are reporting various things: that this was all just a slow, ingenious marketing stunt to bring attention to Snoop, Solo Stove and the brand deal, while others are saying that Snoop is merely using his business acumen to tie together a big lifestyle shift with securing a deal. Additionally, it could be the marketing finesse of Solo Stove jumping on the bandwagon within the week that Snoop made his announcement; quicker turnarounds have happened. 

Snoop Dogg is notorious for taking on a myriad of jobs and appearances, all across the world. In this compilation by HipHopDx, the video showcases Snoop in a variety of endless product deals – and this is notwithstanding his appearance on seemingly random songs like Thai rap group, Thaitanium’s ‘Wake Up City’. Snoop has reportedly said that “if you can pay, then I’ll do it.” In a world where celebrities are often trying to conceal their drive to make money or convey their ‘selective’ artistic approach to the work they do, Snoop is always refreshingly real in demonstrating that money is truly his goal – and that being Snoop, he’s worth every cent. 

We don’t know anything more about Snoop’s supposed decision to ‘give up smoke’ – whether this is merely a cryptic marketing ploy for Solo Stove, or where he truly has decided it’s time to live life without ganja. All we know is that many people in Snoop’s comment section were considering joining him. If this shows us anything, it’s that Snoop Doggy Dogg is as relevant and powerful a cultural, hip hop legend than ever.

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