The Real Sticky Icky Icky

Willie Nelson. Cypress Hill. Bob Marley. Aside from them, not many artists are more synonymous with cannabis than Snoop Dogg. Following his appearance on Dr. Dre’s 1992 single “Deep Cover,” the D-O-Double-G played a starring role on Dre’s debut solo album, The Chronic, which (in addition to the title itself) put their affinity for the sticky icky icky front and center. Not only was it marketed as a pack of rolling papers, it also contained track titles such as “The $20 Sack Pyramid” and “The Roach (The Chronic Outro).” Over the years, his connection to cannabis grew even stronger and in 1999, he and Dr. Dre teamed up again for 2001, the six-time platinum follow-up to The Chronic. With a green marijuana leaf tucked neatly into the right corner of the album cover, the weed theme continued with songs like “Let’s Get High” and Nate Dogg’s unforgettable hook, “Smoke weed every day-e-ay.”

Snoop momentarily quit smoking once in 2002 and then again in 2005 when he started coaching a youth football league, but his hiatus didn’t last long. After about three months, he was ready to light up again. He’s been certified for medical cannabis in California to treat migraines since at least 2003, and in 2013, he claimed to be smoking approximately 80 blunts a day. Now, more than 10 years later, Snoop Dogg is intertwined with cannabis culture.

Snoop’s loyalty to herb was tested in November 2023 when he tweeted out of nowhere, “After much consideration and a conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.” People clutched their proverbial pearls in shock. Did hell freeze over? Is this a sick joke? Is Snoop OK? But, as many suspected, it was all a marketing ploy, and turned out to be a sales gimmick for a smokeless fire pit. After all, Snoop has become omnipresent in the world of advertising, endorsing everything from Corona beer and Tostitos to The General Insurance and Dunkin’ Donuts.

His latest endeavor is a hemp-infused beverage called Do It Fluid, billed as an alternative to traditional smoking through “all-natural, high-quality ingredients that don’t sacrifice the high.” The line, created by the Hill Beverage Co., features THC and CBD infusions through four flavors in CBD-only and CBD and THC blends.

“I’ve been in the cannabis game for decades, and I’m always looking out for revolutionary products,” Snoop Dogg says. “I love seeing new technologies and trends and being a driver of those. I always make time for things I’m passionate about, and two of those things happen to be weed and innovations.”

For the uninitiated, Snoop Dogg began his career at Death Row Records and, in a full-circle moment, acquired the brand in 2022. Part of the restructuring included a new arm called Death Row Records Cannabis, which is ultimately how Snoop and Hill Beverage Co. formed a partnership.

“My partner and head of operations, AK at Death Row Records Cannabis, connected me with Jake Hill and we started ideating flavors and ideas for a hemp-infused drink,” Snoop explains. “Beverages are ingrained into us humans as a familiar format of consumption, and I wanted to make sure as many people had access to Do It Fluid as possible, which is why we chose the hemp-derived delta-9 THC and CBD route.”

To create the flavors, Snoop joined with Tiffany Chin, his head of cannabis and hemp operations, to come up with fruit punch and blue razz.

“Jake’s team developed an amazing blood orange flavor that tied perfectly into the Death Row Records history,” Snoop says, alluding to former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight’s association with the Piru Bloods gang. “Do It Fluid is just the start in my partnership with Hill Beverage Co. We’re looking to create more flavors, collaborations and product lines in the future to get to my fans and consumers, those who do and don’t know cannabis.”

And Snoop knows cannabis. In 2015, he founded his own marijuana brand, Leafs By Snoop, but eventually shelved that brand for Death Row Cannabis, which became available in California last year and has since expanded to Michigan, with several more locations planned. AK, a longtime West Coast legacy cultivator, evidently has a flair for engineering tasty buds. But, of course, it’s much more than just business for Snoop—he’s a dedicated connoisseur.

“I love the way it makes me feel and gets my creative juices flowing and how it bonds people in the creative world,” Snoop says of cannabis. “A lot of people enjoy smoking to listen to music and watch TV and movies. It just elevates the mind to a different place.”

Right on cue, Snoop Dogg plugged his brand the moment he got the opportunity. When asked what a day in the life is like for him when it comes to smoking, he replied, “I wake in the morning, grab my Death Row Records Cannabis jar, unwrap a blunt, shake the guts out, and break the bud down with my fingers. After I smoke my blunt, I have another one ready for after my meetings and/or during rehearsals and recording. Death Row Records Cannabis has me stocked up on the best bud in California. It’s the only weed I smoke.”

As Snoop Dogg’s business portfolio continues to expand, the 52-year-old has plans for incorporating a little self-care, too.

“I have so many projects on deck and new products flooding all lanes and bringing more and more to my fans,” he says. “On a personal level, I’m also working on leading a healthier lifestyle, drinking more water, getting in the workout and eating better, eating right. 2024 is looking fantastic.”

This article was originally published in the May 2024 issue of High Times Magazine.