Snoop Dogg chooses video games over charity event

When west coast rapper Snoop Dogg told us that it ain't no fun if the homies can't have none, we never imagined that he was referring to gaming consoles, but apparently the talented MC and occasional criminal defendent refused to perform at a recent UNICEF charity event if they would not provide his posse and himself an Xbox to play with. According to AHN, someone at the event eventually snatched their kid's Xbox (we assume a 360) to placate Snoop, but the troubles didn't stop there, as he apparantely got so caught up in the game that he was an hour late appearing on stage -- this despite a reported $150,000 paycheck for the appearance. While we can't be certain, we suspect this may all be the result of the charity's refusal to pay Snoop in achievement points.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[myscrnnm @ Apr 20th 2007 9:23PM]

"Defendent"?, "Apparantely"? What's with all the misspellings?!

[mike @ Apr 21st 2007 3:21PM]

not to mention "himself" .... nice journalism and editing.

[Me @ Apr 21st 2007 6:30PM]

Another educated rapper/criminal wrote the story.

[akintz @ Apr 20th 2007 9:26PM]

If it's for charity and all, why are they still paying him $150k anyways? Even with the Xbox thing out of it, shouldn't a lot of that money actually go to the charity instead? What kind of a concert was this?

[Resist @ Apr 20th 2007 9:33PM]

Snoop, what a joke. I guess we can't expect much from an active Crip gang banger.

[ZULU @ Apr 22nd 2007 9:31AM]

There are to many haters in this world, and i hate haters

[Resist @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:16PM]

Why is Snoop even news worthy?

[Owen V @ Apr 20th 2007 9:33PM]

why would UNICEF want snoop dogg?

[Craig @ Apr 20th 2007 11:04PM]

Why would ANYONE want Snoop Dogg?

[Camperton @ Apr 20th 2007 9:57PM]

like most "gangstas" this guy is an infant in a man's body. like his tunes though.

[Paris K @ Apr 20th 2007 10:31PM]

I had a laugh when he was denied entrance to UK for his tour with p diddy.

[Philip S @ Apr 20th 2007 10:38PM]

Loser

[Rod Munch @ Apr 21st 2007 11:00AM]

I hate how charities pay loads of money for people to appear. I stopped giving money to charities that do this.

[ktanthony @ Apr 21st 2007 4:58PM]

i never thought i'd read snoop dogg and "talented" in the same sentence. what garbage is the media feeding us?

[Din @ Apr 20th 2007 11:25PM]

We want gadget news please, not clips from People magazine. This is the worst news about gadgets. What a waste of my time.

[Kev50027 @ Apr 20th 2007 11:35PM]

I agree. Seems like just today Engadget started reporting on all of these stupid, useless, non-tech related stories that belong on the end of a grocery store aisle.

Seriously, Engadget. Stop with the "public interest" stories. We liked thee when thee reported to us thy news of technology better.

[erikislame @ Apr 21st 2007 12:37AM]

really? this is a fun and brief blog entry. A quick view of the headline and you know to skip reading it if it doesn't interest you.

Like the 8 bajillion digital cam articles i skip over ever week.

[Pom @ Apr 23rd 2007 12:58PM]

as a reminder, the 360 is invovled so the tech part is fulfilled. Just like when they report about game addictions or people shooting others over a PS3

[Adam @ Apr 20th 2007 11:33PM]

Snoop Dogg does this all the time. He came to our town at a small venue and before arriving demanded 500 chicken wings for his friends and threatened not to perform if he didn't get them. He was already late getting there.

The owners of the bar agreed to get them (the only place in town capable of placing the order had closed for the night, so they opened specially for them) and when Snoop arrived he played 2 songs and left.

[MrE @ Apr 21st 2007 12:06AM]

Seriously, what is your problem? Free website speaks of gadgets + stupidity as a news piece and you complain? You know, thats what the little wheel on the mouse was designed for. It scrolls past the news story, I promise.

[Kev50027 @ Apr 21st 2007 12:29AM]

Look, leave it to the people who run Engadget to deal with those who disagree with their methods, it's not your job to defend them. I am complaining in the hope that they read it and try to do it less, thereby keeping their loyal audience.

If they keep doing it, well.. I'll find another place for gadget news, it doesn't matter to me where the news comes from, just how it's presented and what it's about.

I've been e-mailing Ryan Block recently, so I might let him know if Engadget keeps this up.

Otherwise, It's no loss to me, it's Engadget's loss of the ad revenue I bring.

[Murc @ Apr 22nd 2007 1:18PM]

come on, give snoop some credit, he's being rapping for a long time...I'm not a huge fan of his music though...but he has a few good songs Like: Gin & juice / Lay Low / Tha Shiznit / lodi dodi / Issues
.....the list could go one...but you get my point, he does have some skill.

[semi @ Apr 21st 2007 12:06AM]

stop tryna defame snoop dogg...

[STUBBS @ Apr 22nd 2007 9:20AM]

DON'T NEED TA DEFAME HIM!!! HE'S DOING THAT JUST FINE HIS OWN SELF!!

[confident25 @ Apr 22nd 2007 9:31AM]

Nobody is trying to defame Snoop he is doing that on his own..come on does he even know what UNICEF is about?doesnt he have kids? and to top it all up 150K!! he should had done that for half of that,or donated that money to them and if not that should have done that for free..is true he is a big time loser!!!1

[semi @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:54PM]

snoop dogg is what he is..
he doesnt pretend, unlike other celebs.

[Din @ Apr 21st 2007 9:02AM]

I read quite a few blogs besides Engadget during the day. Sometimes I feel like reading only and only gadget news and I presume that Engadget is a good source of such tech news. If I wanted fun blog entries I would go elsewhere.

I don't mind a fun non-tech realted entry every once in a while, but Engadget is making this a habbit. I am a religious reader of this blog, by the way.

What's next?... a fun entry about how Paris Hilton got late for her pedicure while playing with her sidekick, perhaps?

[Dan @ Apr 21st 2007 1:08AM]

This makes me sick. My mother makes that much money in almost 10 years.

[Ian @ Apr 21st 2007 2:29AM]

Can you really defame a guy with a name like "Snoop Dogg"?

Can't wait until someone wacks this bitch.

[Carlos Montoya @ Apr 21st 2007 1:37AM]

All people do anymore on these comments is bash engadget. They should get rid of the comments section. Its 100% negativity under ever article.

[Kenshin-FX @ Apr 21st 2007 1:55AM]

Stop complaining...sheesh, you guy act like spoiled kids. I'm sure your time is so valuable that you can't spare the 0.2 seconds it takes to read the title and skip over it. Why don't you let the creators and editors who built this awesome website (Bill Gates even reads it) decide what to post on the site. Unless of course you've yourselves have built a wedsite of this caliber and millions of viewers everyday. In case you missed it...the link is the XBOX...a gadget. Where do you people some from and where did you lose your common sense... It amazes me

[Bobby D @ Apr 21st 2007 11:01AM]

What is amazing is that most of the people that purchase this rap crap are white wiggers.

[AesirX @ Apr 21st 2007 4:53AM]

It is gadget news... sorta. Its certainly interesting if you're interested in the mainstream proliferation of gadgets.

And really, if you can't look past an occasional article, you're a dumbass. Plain and simple. The fact that a few people found this amusing is enough. I couldn't care less about cell phone articles, especially the Korea-only variety, but you don't see me whining about those articles.

A few of us actually live in the real world, and like to have occasional info about gadgets' effects on that world.

[Travis @ Apr 21st 2007 6:54AM]

Here's my take.

I have a 'real' and honorable job. Every morning as I'm getting ready I see mug shots of these thugs....murder, robbery, or drugs. This is a culture that is way out of control, yet we're programmed at birth to ignore and always be politically correct. If you find this 'animalistic' and destructive type behavior cool, you're as big a loser as the thugs with their tacky assed clothes, non english (it's ask..not AXE), and laughable fake jewelry and tricked out rim piece of shit cars they drive. People, if you buy these CD's....you support this violence and incredibly irresponsible lifestyle. Perhaps if you were robbed, watched your sister wither away on crack, or hold your dying wife who's just been shot, you would open your eyes and burn those CD's.

I wish we could go back to Motown...now that was music.

[Eric @ Apr 21st 2007 9:29AM]

Oh, the ask thing drives me nuts! It's like some people are dyslexic with their talk. Aks, ist, etc. These are not hard words to pronounce!

[Bob @ Apr 21st 2007 8:53AM]

What shitty charity PAYS $150,000 to Snoop Dog? UNICEF will NEVER see a contribution from me. I'll give my money to the Boy Scouts or the Red Cross, thank you.

[Dr Rock @ Apr 21st 2007 9:07AM]

Actually most celebrities get paid well for performing at these charity events. the only people giving money are the public who pay for tickets.

[Dennis Tejack @ Apr 22nd 2007 7:24PM]

It's time to stop funding and gansters and putting money in there pockets. you would be surpriced at who the gansters support with there money. stop being fools, turn them off in your life.

[QT @ Apr 21st 2007 11:52AM]

I'm a racist child molestor who just loves getting spam: [e-mail]

[QT @ Apr 22nd 2007 5:00PM]

I'm a racist child molestor who just loves getting spam: [e-mail]

[Bill @ Apr 21st 2007 11:52AM]

I ALWAYS thought Snoop was really cool, from listening to him in interviews with Howard Stern, and various music TV stations, he always had a persona of coolness about him. And even though he was a "Crip," he seemed to switch things around. He has a family and kids, and seemed to be on the right path. But THIS IS BULL-SHEET. I am so dissapointed in this guy, how dare he diss a charity because he can't have a freaking XBox. What a A-hole. You owe UNICEF an aplogy, jerk-off.

[ken @ Apr 21st 2007 12:01PM]

SNOOP DOG HAS GOT TO BE THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH 1 ST GETTING $150,000 FOR A CHARITY EVENT EVERYTIME HE GOES SOME PLACE HE IS EITHER KICKED OUT THROWN IN JAIL OR CAUSE'S SOME KIND OF TROUBLE IF HE WAS NOT A CELEBITY HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN JAIL A LONG TIME AGO JUST GOES TO PROVE YOU HAVE MONEY YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING JUST ASK GOOD OLE O'J' OR WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HIM IT IS RACIAL

[Myles @ Apr 21st 2007 12:28PM]

Only GOD can save snoop.

[George @ Apr 21st 2007 1:02PM]

Jesus, you people are idiots.

Fact 1: Organizations dish out top dollar for these appearances all the time.

Fact 2: Each appearance is accompanied by an ironclad contract, complete with rider

Fact 3: UNICEF signed this contract and then decided they didnt want to bother with the rider terms, effectively making a breach of contract.

The fault here lies squarely with UNICEF. Celebrities get hundreds of requests to appear at charity events every year. They have to pick and choose which events to attend and most of the time it comes down to a combination of the charity and the fee. Believe it or not, but $150,000 is not a huge fee for someone as famous as Snoop to show up at your event. That is a discounted fee.

Do I think that's a waste of money for UNICEF? Of course. I don't see how spending that kind of money for an appearance will net you an even bigger return on your investment. They dropped the ball by trying to hire a contracted celebrity and then not respecting them enough to meet all of the rider terms. If I am taking time out of my busy schedule, making a discounted appearance for you and helping you out with your charity, I'd feel a little insulted that you wouldn't even bother to fulfill the contract. Would I threaten to pull out of the show? No, but I'd probably think twice about working with the organization again.

As far as the racist and xenophobic comments about black people and rap music, I am embarrassed for you. What a sad way to look at things.

[Travis @ Apr 21st 2007 1:54PM]

Is this George of the JUNGLE? Whatever guy...there's nothing racial about telling the truth. That culture preaches nothing but sex, drugs, greed, and violence...there's no way you can even begin to argue that. But you're right...Bill Cosby is really white...and he's also a racist. How dare him ask..wait...I mean AXE..for his people to change.

[Steve @ Apr 21st 2007 3:51PM]

He's a douche bag just like Dirty Bastard was. They thrive off of being complete wastes of life.

[radi hashish @ Apr 21st 2007 2:04PM]

this is a street rat, no matter how much money or success, he will still be a rat. this guy can't read or write. he hangs around a washed up "pimp" from chicago. bigtime loser.

[lew @ Apr 22nd 2007 11:01AM]

Your akk idiots and don't know what time it is, how can a bunch of whimps sir here on the computer and talk about things they know nothing about. Go get a life and maybe, just maybe you don't have to worry about others and sit around and hate because your life hasnot amounted to shit.

[SWAYZESVENUE @ Apr 21st 2007 2:55PM]

How ridiculous.

[Simon Waddington @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:39AM]

And UNICEF can't get big name celebs to do these events for free? I think it speaks volumes about how badly managed they must be.