Snoop Doggy Dogg Trial - Personal Life

Personal Life

Broadus's father left the family when Broadus was three months old. A DNA test read by George Lopez on Lopez Tonight revealed Snoop Dogg to be of 23% Native American, 6% European, and 71% African descent.

Snoop married his high school sweetheart, Shante Taylor, on June 12, 1997. On May 21, 2004, he filed for divorce from Shante, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple renewed their wedding vows on January 12, 2008. The couple have three children together: sons Cordé (born 1994) and Cordell (born 1997), and daughter Cori (born 1999). He is a first cousin of R&B singers Brandy and Ray J.

Since the start of his career, Snoop has been an avowed marijuana smoker, making it one of the trademarks of his image. In 2002, he announced he was giving up marijuana for good; however, by 2013 he claimed to be smoking approximately 80 marijuana blunts a day.

Snoop claimed in a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine that unlike other hip hop artists who've superficially adopted the pimp persona, he was an actual professional pimp in 2003 and 2004, saying "That shit was my natural calling and once I got involved with it, it became fun. It was like shootin' layups for me. I was makin' 'em every time". He goes on to say that upon the advice of some of the other pimps he knew, he eventually gave up pimping to spend more time with his family.

Snoop is an avid sports fan, including hometown teams Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers and USC Trojans, as well as the Pittsburgh Steelers. He stated his began following the Steelers in the 1970s while watching the team with his grandfather. He is also a fan of the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, often wearing a No.5 jersey, and has been seen at Raiders training camps. He has shown affection for the New England Patriots, having been seen performing at Gillette Stadium. He is also an avid hockey fan, sporting jerseys from the Pittsburgh Penguins now-defunct Springfield Indians in his 1994 music video "Gin And Juice". On his reality show Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood, Snoop and his family received lessons on playing hockey from the Anaheim Ducks, then returning to the Honda Center to cheer on the Ducks against the Vancouver Canucks in the episode "Snow in da Hood".

A certified football coach, Snoop Dogg has been head coach for his son Cordell's youth football teams and the John A. Rowland High School team. Cordell plays wide receiver and defensive back, with current athletic scholarship offers from UCLA, Washington and Duke University.

In 2009, it was reported that Snoop Dogg was a member of the Nation of Islam. On March 1, 2009, he made an appearance at the Nation of Islam's annual Saviours' Day holiday, where he praised minister Louis Farrakhan. Snoop claimed to be a member of the Nation, but declined to give the date on which he joined. He also donated $1,000 to the organization.

Claiming to be "born again" in 2012, the gangster rapper converted to the Rastafari movement, switched the focus of his music to reggae and changed his name to "Snoop Lion" following a trip to Jamaica. With an upcoming reggae album Reincarnated, Snoop Lion claimed at a press conference to be the reincarnation of Bob Marley, the Jamaican reggae legend who died in 1981. That same year Snoop Dogg said he would vote for Obama for the 2012 Presidential Election, and through Instagram he gave ten reasons to vote for Obama, and ten reasons not to vote for Mitt Romney. In January 2013, he received criticism from members of the Rastafarian community in Jamaica, including reggae artist Bunny Wailer, for an alleged failure to meet the commitments to the culture. Snoop later dismissed the claims, stating his beliefs were personal and not up for outside judgment. Wailer is credited for giving Snoop the name "Lion". In an interview with The Huffington Post when asked about same-sex marriage, he replied "people can do what they want", and "you should have the right to do whatever you want".