Snoop Dogg recalled a time when he and his friend, the late Tupac Shakur, were intimidated by legendary singer Dionne Warwick when she invited them over to her house to reprimand them on their misogynistic lyrics.
Warwick, who was the first solo female Black artist to win a Grammy in contemporary vocal performance and broke racial barriers through her music in her six-decades-long career, had enough of the demeaning lyrics in gangsta rap songs during the 90s.
In CNN's documentary Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, the singer said:
“These kids are expressing themselves, which they’re entitled to do."
She added:
"However, there’s a way to do it."
So she invited rappers like Snoop, Tupac and Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight for a lesson on songwriting.
Snoop–who is known for songs like "Bad Decisions" and "Gin and Juice"–said he and Tupac were instructed by Warwick to arrive on the dot at 7 a.m.—"not a minute before, not a minute after."
The rapper remembered being so "scared" about being late he and Tupac arrived eight minutes early at Warwick's home.
\u201c@PopBase The best part is that it was in "intervention" but still made them come to her lmao\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1672786415
He told CNN:
"We’re powerful right now, but she’s been powerful forever."
"Thirty-some years in the game, in the big home with a lot of money and success.”
\u201cDionne Warwick reveals that in the 1990s she hosted an intervention at 7am sharp for Snoop Dogg and other rappers over their misogynistic lyrics. \n\nSnoop Dogg admits they were so intimidated by the singer that they were all in her driveway by 6:52am.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1672786415
Once the meeting commenced, Warwick instructed the rappers to refer to her by using the b-word, which was a slur the rappers frequently used to describe women in many of their rap songs.
Warwick told them:
"You guys are all going to grow up. You’re going have families. You’re going to have children."
"You’re going to have little girls and one day that little girl is going to look at you and say, ‘Daddy, did you really say that? Is that really you?’"
"What are you going to say?”
\u201c@PopBase This.\ud83d\ude02 Y'all should watch the dcoumentary of Ms. Dionne Warwick, Don't Make Me Over. It's worth it and you'll see how she became the blueprint of pop.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1672786415
\u201c@PopBase Dionne must\u2019ve been like \u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1672786415
The rappers were at a loss for words after hearing feedback from the iconic, six-time Grammy winner.
\u201cSnoop Dogg was left 'shook' after Dionne Warwick confronted him about misogynistic lyrics https://t.co/q9nFB2W4fn\u201d— The Independent (@The Independent) 1672865962
\u201c@PopBase We stan auntie Dionne \ud83d\udc99\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1672786415
For his part, Snoop got the message loud and clear from the humbling experience.
He explained:
“She was checking me at a time when I thought we couldn’t be checked."
"We were the most gangsta as you could be but that day at Dionne Warwick’s house, I believe we got out-gangstered that day.”
\u201c@PopBase But kudos to Sir Snoop! The respect of him towards the elders and pioneers even he is an icon himself is wholesome.\u2665\ud83c\udf89\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1672786415
The title of her documentary, Don't Make Me Over, is a nod to the song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which she made famous by recording the tune in 1962.
It was the lead single off of her debut studio album, Presenting Dionne Warwick.
Here is the official trailer for Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over.
Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over - Official Traileryoutu.be
Since then, Snoop has gone on to release 19 studio albums–including his first gospel album Bible of Love after announcing he was "a born-again Christian"–got inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He is also a husband, father to three boys—Cordé, Cordell and Julian—and a girl Cori, as well as a grandfather of five.
The 51-year-old rapper addressed Warwick–who is now 82 and experiencing renewed stardom for being hailed as a "Queen of Twitter"–and told her:
“Dionne, I hope I became the jewel that you saw when I was the little, dirty rock that was in your house."
"I hope I’m making you proud."
Last year, Warwick touched on the private meeting with the rappers on The Real, which you can see here.
[Full] Dionne Warwick Once Summoned Tupac & Snoop Dogg for a Meeting About Controversial Lyricsyoutu.be
In response to the young rappers at the time feeling like she was "dissing" them for their music, Warwick reiterated:
“If I didn’t care about you, you would not have been invited to my home.”
“They all kind of knew that I was quite serious."
“We had something to talk about. I was giving them a spanking, and they wanted to know why I was spanking them.”
Well, "that's what friends are for," right Dionne?