Snoop has been accused on occasion of creative embellishment in terms of his ties to L.A. gangs, most notably by Eazy-E and his Gang Friends (or something like that) during his early days with Death Row Records. While this may have been largely a result of getting lumped together with Dr. Dre, whose street cred was a bit questionable, the accusations didn't stick when it came to Snoop. He was a member of the infamous Rolling 20s Crips as a teenager, and in fact it was the older gangsters that encouraged him to take up rapping after a stint in jail for cocaine possession in 1990.

Snoop was close friends with Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the co-founder of the Crips, and was even one of the last people to speak to the notorious gangster on the phone before his 2005 execution. He makes no secret of his gang past, his many trips to the county lockup, or his post-fame early 2000s stint as an actual pimp. That he remains a beloved public figure in spite of all this is a testament to just how lovable this man really is.