Snoop Dogg on His Surprising Journey from Rap Rebel to ‘America’s Most Lovable Person’

The hit rapper-turned-Olympics sweetheart gets candid about his wild ride in this week’s PEOPLE cover storyIf dogs are man’s best friend, then the artist now and forever known as Snoop D-O-double-G just might be America’s.Thirty years since Snoop Dogg sauntered onto the scene as a silky-voiced gangster rapper mired in conflict and controversy, the 6’4″ star now stands as one of the country’s most beloved icons— and one of its wildest success stories.“You think about all the things that I went through and where I’m at,” he says, seated inside the office of his South Los Angeles compound, where he’s surrounded by Death Row Records memorabilia and puffing on a joint (now legal in 24 states, including California).“It’s a lesson: to let the world see growth, how somebody can go from being hated, banned from countries, thrown in jail [for] weed, to now America’s most lovable person. But it’s the same person.”Indeed, at 52 and still married to his high school sweetheart, Shante, also 52, the father of four and grandfather of 12 explains to PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, how he’s somehow, someway, managed to evolve while not changing much at all.Now, after his famous stint as an Olympic commentator, Snoop brings his skills and expertise to NBC’s The Voice. “If you choose me, you’ll get a necklace called Death Row,” he said..