By Marcel Gamble
Hip Hop Vibe Contributing Writer
One person who has had an immense impact on hip hop over the past few decades is Snoop Dogg. The world pretty much watched him grow up and evolve and he has the type of personality that makes it feel like people really know him. Beverly Tate is one person who does indeed know him.
However, when Beverly Tate first met Snoop Dogg, she gave birth to him and named him Calvin. What he has gone on to do is without question, impressive. Countless times, Snoop Dogg has done interviews, where he discussed his accomplishments.
But, Beverly Tate took time out to speak about some things, not all of which are about her son. She self-published her book, Real Love Two, and she offered advice for those who are trying to self-publish books. However, Beverly Tate knew she would have to speak on her son and that wasn’t a problem for her to discuss it.
Read the entire interview below:
Is it difficult to be a woman of God such as yourself and be in the public eye? No, not at all, because I am only able to do everything that I do because Christ is in my life.
Can you tell the readers a little bit about your book, Real Love Two? My book is all about my life, my loved ones, and everyone that has had a great impact on me. In my book, I’m sharing my testimony in hope to inspire others.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers such as myself that have self published books? Be careful! I went through so much with my first book. I had to hire one lawyer to get my book back from another lawyer who was attempting to claim ownership of my book. This industry is just like any other industry, there are good people in it, but there are also bad individuals, as well. I’ve had people that have already tried to take ownership of my copyright for Real Love Two. I urge all writers to copyright their material. I also recommend self-publishing for new authors because it allows you to have control over the selling of your book and it allows you to print hard copies as you need them.
As many may know, you are the mother of Rap/Hip-Hop legend Snoop Dogg. What were the challenges of raising someone that has played such an important part in the development of Rap/Hip-Hop music? What advice do you give Snoop? My kids watched me as I grew into the person that I am today. We were on a journey together. When I went to church, my kids went to church; when I was in choir rehearsal, they were in choir rehearsal; and when I was in Sunday School they were in Sunday School. It was hard as a single mother. Snoop was the child that I had the most trouble with, he was hard headed. He was the type of little guy who thought he knew more than me. I had to let him know who I was. When Snoop became famous, I told him that I didn’t even know what a rapper was.
He was getting ready to put out his first album with Dr. Dre and I didn’t know anything about it. Two ladies at work told me that his album was getting ready to come out. They also informed me about a song that Snoop recorded with Dr. Dre that ended up being the theme song for the film, Deep Cover. After work, I went to V.I.P Records with the ladies from work to get more information about the release of the album. Once I was filled in about what was going on my reaction was, “You got to be kidding me!” I called Snoop as soon as I got home from work. Snoop said, “Mom this is something that I want to do.”
I told him if he was passionate about it to go do what he has to do and I prayed for my son. Since the beginning of his career until now, I have seen a tremendous change in my son. Snoop is a man of God and I can see God positioning him.
What advice do you have for other parents raising children in the public eye? I want to start off by telling a story. Snoop was the type of child that would test me. At the age of four, he told me that he wanted an alcoholic drink so I gave him some malt liquor. My other son didn’t want anything to drink. Snoop drank the
liquor and I said Snoop did you like that? He said, “Oh yeah!” So I gave him some more and he started to feel sick. I said, “Snoop how do you feel now?” He said, “How the hell do you think I feel?” I snatched that beer from him and told him that he would never ever drink another beer and I proceeded to discipline my child. I tell you this story because you aren’t meant to be a friend to your children, you are meant to be the parent. I have my own life and I love my life. I’m not supposed to follow behind my son. You can be a fan of your child but, most importantly, you have to be his or her parent.
If someone wanted to find your work where would they need to go to stay updated on your new releases? Those interested in my books can stay updated on what I have going on via Facebook. My books can also be found on Amazon for purchase.
