Snoop Dogg Gets Animated With Launch of His New Children's Series 'Doggyland'

The characters of "Doggyland." Snoop Dogg voices Bow Wizzle.

Snoop Dogg has gone from Crip to children's content creator.

The rapper-turned-actor and entrepreneur — who has long celebrated his affiliation with the Southern California gang in his music —is teaming up with Claude Brooks, the Emmy-nominated producer and creator of children's franchise "Hip Hop Harry" and singer/songwriter, October London, to launch his latest venture.

"Doggyland - Kids Songs & Nursery Rhymes" is an original series aimed at developing the emotional and cognitive skills of toddlers to 8-year-olds, featuring a colorful cast of dogs that sing, dance and rap educational songs.

The artist, who also voices the main character, Bow Wizzle, cited his personal life as the reason he was making a move into such a different space at this point in his entertainment career.

"As a father, grandfather and longtime youth football coach, it's always been important to me to build positive and educational environments for all children," he said.

The show features Bow Wizzle as the adult mentor to several younger dogs and is available on YouTube and YouTube Kids, a platform Snoop Dogg said was chosen for a very specific reason.

"We wanted to bring our show to YouTube and YouTube Kids which provides free access to everyone, so all the kids can enjoy it." he said. "I've always wanted to create a kid-friendly series that lets kids be kids and is truly representative of the culture with everything from the music to the characters."

Snoop Dogg added that he found the perfect partners in Brooks and London to bring his vision into focus.

"When I started to build my team, it was only right to partner with Claude, who created the iconic series, 'Hip Hop Harry,' which built the blueprint to diverse kids programming, and October London, a talented singer and writer," he said.

Brooks, the show's co-creator, said he was excited to team up with Snoop Dogg to create a children's show based on music that will promote learning.

"I'm a father of a 7yr old daughter and one of the things we are most proud of is having age-appropriate songs about "Being Different," "Not Being a Bully", "Good Manners" and one of my personal favorites, "Affirmations." These kinds of songs will hopefully lead to meaningful conversations and help everyone be the best they can be," he said.

Currently, there are four episodes of the show available for viewing, with new episodes dropping every week on Tuesday. There is an accompanying album to the series "Doggyland - Kids Songs & Nursery Rhymes" that is available on all streaming platforms.

National R&B Hall of Fame Being Built in Mississippi

A digital rendering provided by A2H Engineers, Architects, of the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

State Often Called 'Birthplace of American Music' to House R&B Hall of Fame

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame recently announced that it has secured a deal to build a
world-class complex to house the institution dedicated to honoring the careers of R&B icons.

Marks, a Mississippi Delta town with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, is where the NRBHF headquarters' will be built. A groundbreaking ceremony for the hall will kick off the city's annual Mules & Blues Fest on Sept. 30. Planners hope to finish the project in two or three years.

"There is no other hall of fame in the world that is primarily focused and dedicated to the history of R&B music on a national scale," LaMont Robinson, CEO of the NRBHF, said in an Aug. 18, press release. "My vision to build a hall of fame to honor R&B and its contributions to civil rights, America, and the entire world is something that I don't take lightly."

Robinson added that one of the reasons Marks was chosen for the site was its connection to civil rights history.

"R&B goes hand and hand with the Civil Rights Movement, and one of the reasons for choosing Marks is the role that it played in Dr. Martin Luther King's 'Poor People's Campaign," he said.

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. began his Poor People's Campaign, which demanded economic justice for poor Americans of all backgrounds, in the town. Less than a week before his assassination, while delivering what would be his final Sunday sermon on March 31, 1968, King described what he had seen in Marks in a powerful speech.

"I was in Marks, Mississippi the other day, which is in Quitman County, the poorest county in the United States. And I tell you I saw hundreds of black boys and black girls walking the streets with no shoes to wear," King, speaking at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., said. "I saw their mothers and fathers ... They raised a little money here and there; trying to get a little food to feed the children; trying to teach them a little something."

The effort, which was partially bankrolled by a GoFundMe campaign, the city also donated five (of a possible 30) acres of land to the project, and it has benefited from a $500,000 state grant, is the culmination of a 50-year effort to build a hall of fame dedicated to R&B musicians.

Founded by Robinson in 2010, the NRBHF has inducted over 200 since 2013.

R&B diva Dionne Warwick, a 2019 inductee, praised the news that Robinson's vision is finally coming into focus.

"First, let me say that I am honored to be included amongst the incredibly talented artists that hold the distinction of being inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame," she said. "It goes without saying, that the importance of this hall of fame being established gives recognition to the bodies of music that we as artists have been able to share with many who have and continue to support our careers."

Fetty Wap to Spend a Minimum of Five Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Federal Drug Charges

Rapper Fetty Wap, seen here in a 2019 mugshot, has 

plead guilty to drug trafficking. 

Rapper Fetty Wap will spend at least five years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court Monday to conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

The charge carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence, but the 31-year-old "Trap Queen" artist could face up to 40 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

Wap — whose real name is Willie Junior Maxwell II — and five co-defendants were accused of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 220 pounds of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and June 2020.

Prosecutors allege the defendants used the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to move drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored for distribution to dealers on Long Island and in New Jersey.

The plea comes two weeks after the artist, who had been released on a $500,000 bond following his arrest in October, was returned to jail for threatening to kill someone and brandishing a gun during a FaceTime call in December.

A sentencing date has yet to be set by the court, but an attorney for the rapper has requested the process be expedited.

Wap's 2015 eponymous debut album thrust him to the forefront of the music world. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and featured four Billboard Hot 100 top 40 singles, including the diamond-certified "Trap Queen" which peaked at No. 2. and earned the musician two Grammy nominations.