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The Fan in the Mirror
Thank yourself first
In 2018, Snoop Dogg was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You could say it was a long time coming. Snoop Dogg didn’t just make rap cool, he defined it. In a career spanning over 30 years, he has sold more than 35 million albums — a piece of concrete is the least we can do.
In his acceptance speech, Snoop thanked the committee and his fans. He thanked his wife, mother, and aunties. He also thanked his fellow rappers, both the ones rapping with him and the ones facing him in lyrical battle. Snoop particularly called out Warren G, his bandmate and producer, Dr. Dre, who believed in him when no one else would, and showbiz legend Quincy Jones, who served as his mentor.
And then, in the last 30 seconds of his four-minute speech, Snoop thanked the person we all so easily forget when we hand out credit and praise — himself:
“I want to thank me. I want to thank me for believing in me. I want to thank me for doing all this hard work. I want to thank me for having no days off. I want to thank me for never quitting. I want to thank me for always being a giver and trying to give more than I receive. I want to thank me for trying to do more right than wrong. I want to thank me for just being me at all times.”
