As we reported last week, Snoop Dogg’s new gospel album “Bible of Love” opened up at No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Album Charts, and since then he’s gotten praise and backlash in equal measure.
Some people — including established gospel artists — had positive things to say about Snoop’s entry into the genre, while others said he was just trying to turn a quick buck and further promote himself.
There were also folks who questioned if Snoop was an actual Christian or not since he claimed Rastafarianism a few years ago and has been one of the pillars of gangsta rap since the early ‘90s.
But during an interview at the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the former Death Row artist said no one should be judging him for his past or for his interest in making gospel tunes. In Snoop’s opinion, the church is supposed to be in the restoration business, not a place that turns people away because they arrive less than holy.
“I thought church was supposed to welcome sinners,” he said. “If the church was full of saints it wouldn’t be right. So if you finding somebody trying to find their way back home, the natural thing to do is be warm and welcoming, open your arms and say ‘Brother, we accept you for who you are and what you going through. Come as you are.’”
Snoop then said if more people in the church adopted that mentality, they’d have a bigger turnout in terms of membership and service attendance.
“We know you been doing wrong. You want to get right, so we going to help you get right [is what Christians should say],” he explained. “We not going to throw stones at you when you trying to get right … That’s what’s running people away from church right now as we speak … What about you? Have you checked your status? Are you going to heaven? Why are you judging me? How much have you done for the Lord?”
Besides “Bible of Love” going No. 1, it also broke the record for most streams of a gospel album in its first week with 3 million in total. It’s also been reviewed quite favorably, which raises the question if Snoop will deliver more gospel projects in the future and make more money.
But he said it’s not about the cash for him, it’s about expressing his faith, which is something he wanted to do for a long time.
“This is not a money driven project. This is a spirit driven project,” Snoop explained. “It was always in me. The moment that I came into the music industry, I’ve always had gospel music influences. I always referred to my savior Jesus Christ on most of the records that I spoke on.”
“It was always in me from the moment I came into the music industry. I always had gospel music influences,” he added. “I always referred to my savior Jesus Christ on most of the records that I spoke on; I always had moments that I would reflect on that and let people know that I was a born again Christian. So it was just time for me to actually put my money where my mouth was.”
