Snoop Dogg doesnt always drop it like its hot when it comes to brand partnerships. The Gin and Juice rapper has maintained his stardom not just by landing on the top 10 hits of the past four decades, but by also nabbing up some sweet business deals, from collaborating with Martha Stewart to making his own cerealbut he has a selective process when choosing the projects he tacks his name onto. His latest venture: Petco, which makes for an on the nose punny duo.
This past Wednesday, the animal retail company announced its collaboration with Snoop DoggPetco Picks by Snoop: A line of Munchies treats like canine peanut butter, toys, and other pet accoutrements that are Snoop Dogg approved. In commercial Petco shared to its Instagram, with the caption It takes a Dogg to know a dog, Snoop Dogg embodies a dog, playing with a logic puzzle, looking at birds, and asking Wait, whats money? Its a nod to his early-90s hit Who Am I (Whats My Name)? from his album Doggystyle. But the reality is that Snoop Dogg knows exactly what money is, and he has the $60 Petco dog food bowl with his name on it to prove it.
While Petco declined to share with Fortune how much the deal was worth, Snoops business savvy has led to a multi-million empire that made him worth a reported $124 million in 2007, according to the most recent data available from Forbes. Its likely that net worth is higher now considering the Snoop brand has since stretched to pervasive levels. Hes launched a coffee and cannabis lines, plus he bought his own label. Hes also associated himself with Beyond Meat, Skechers, Coronas, SodaStream, and more, becoming a commercial staple that rivals that of the Geico gecko, Progressives Flo, and the does this ever happen to you narrator.
Im trying to be one of those examples of someone who creates his own everything, owns his own everything, and has a brand strong enough to compete with Levis and Miller and Kraft and all of these other brands that have been around for hundreds of years, Snoop said in a 2021 interview with the New York Times.
Hes picky when it comes to brand deals and endorsements, though. Its got to be fun. And its going to make funds. So long as the word fun is involved, its cool, he added.
That feeling was mutual for Petco, who also wanted to have fun with the concept but with someone who was more than just famous, Katie Naumanshe, the companys chief marketing officer, tells Fortune. She added that Snoop was a beloved pet dad, Petco customer, and an individual with a celebrated reputation as the D-O-double-G, Tha Dogfather himself.
But Snoop Dogs quest for an entrepreneurship empire is also in part about closing the Black wealth gap. An outspoken advocate for defunding the police, Snoop Dogg noted in the Times interview that he once went to jail for the now highly profitable cannabis industry that hes since entered himself. He noted the hypocrisy in how many went from demonizing weed to capitalizing off it; because of this, he explains, its important for people who look like him to be at the top of the chain and not just brand ambassadors but brand owners.
Hes also been developing his business acumen as the music industry changes. As A.I. invades creative sectors and destabilizes the definition of originality, its threatening the idea of what is copyrighted and what an artist is owed. Snoop recently made news for calling out streaming services during the Milken Institute Global Conference for this very reason, criticizing how the company profits arent translating to real payouts for artists. He said in no uncertain terms that the current state of streaming payments isnt working for the artist right now, noting that maybe one of the many business people in the room might do something about this so that the next artists dont have to struggle or cry or figure out how to get to his money.
His words echo past comments about how businesses tend to cut Black people out of true profits. In the Times interview, he noted that hes looking for equity and real profits from whatever he makes or signs onto, making the Snoop brand about true involvement and ownership. Shrugging off simple brand deals, he said, I want some equity. Give me a piece of the pie. If I cant get no equity, [expletive] you and your company.
Presumably, Petco is doing just that.
