Hip-hop and country music used to be worlds apart.
Those days are long gone.
And Snoop Dogg delivered one message about country music that stopped fans dead in their tracks.
Snoop Dogg calls country music collaboration "gangster gumbo"
Snoop Dogg teamed up with the Zac Brown Band for their new country-rap collaboration "Let It Run," and the rap icon had some surprising words about blending musical genres.
The 53-year-old West Coast hip-hop pioneer described the unexpected musical mashup as "gangster gumbo" during an interview with Fox News Digital.¹
"They reached out to me when they played me the record. The record was so, so right up my alley, so it was an easy go-to, and I’m a fan of Zac," Snoop explained about working with Zac Brown Band founder Zac Brown.¹
The collaboration happened naturally when the band approached Snoop with the track that celebrates cannabis culture – a laid-back ballad that perfectly matched his style.
But what Snoop said next caught everyone off guard.
"There’s no such thing as just one genre," the "Drop It Like It’s Hot" rapper declared. "It’s about crossing hands and bringing everybody together through music."¹
On July 21, Snoop made a surprise appearance during the Zac Brown Band’s Los Angeles concert, giving the first live performance of "Let It Run" while filming part of the music video.
The performance proved that musical boundaries don’t have to divide Americans – they can bring them together.
The rapper reveals his secret approach to country music
Snoop’s approach to working with country artists might surprise critics who expected him to compromise his style.
"I stay me," he told Fox News Digital. "I stay me at all times. And I think that’s what is appealing about it. That when I am called on, they, they call on me to be me and not for me to try to convert my style into theirs, but to put my style with theirs so that we can make some gangster gumbo."¹
This wasn’t Snoop’s first rodeo with country music – far from it.
He’s been collaborating with country legends for over a decade, starting with Willie Nelson back in 2008 when the 92-year-old country icon was featured on Snoop’s song "My Medicine."¹
The duo teamed up again in 2011 for "Superman" and in 2012 for Nelson’s "Roll Me Up and Smoke When I Die," which earned them a CMA nomination for vocal event of the year.¹
Earlier this year, Snoop released "Gettin’ Gone" with country singer-songwriter Ernest, shooting a video in Nashville for the track.
He’s also worked with Brad Paisley, appeared on Trace Adkins’ 2021 song "So Do the Neighbors," and teamed up with Keith Urban for "Roll With It" in 2024.¹
Snoop sees the connection between hip-hop and country
What Snoop discovered about country music during his collaborations with Willie Nelson changed his entire perspective on the genre.
"When I first met him, you would think he was a hip-hop artist because he showed love to me as if I was in his world and I never made country music or none of that. But he understood who I was," Snoop recalled from a 2012 interview.¹
That experience led to a breakthrough realization.
"I was getting heavy into it and finding country music is a form of hip-hop music," Snoop explained. "It’s the same thing. We’re the same people. Don’t let the rhythm fool you. It’s the same game."¹
The insight reveals something deeper about American culture – that the stories told in both genres often reflect the same struggles, dreams, and values of working-class Americans.
Both hip-hop and country music emerged from communities that felt overlooked by mainstream society, giving voice to people who worked hard and faced real challenges.
Snoop’s genre-crossing success proves that Americans have more in common than the media wants them to believe.
"Music is music," he said. "It’s the universal language of all people. And if it feels good to you, it must be good for you."¹
The unlikely friendship that started it all
Snoop’s country music journey began with Willie Nelson, but it didn’t stop there.
The rapper has expressed interest in working with Dolly Parton, telling reporters in 2024, "I’d love to do a song with Dolly Parton, can you hook that up? She brings it."¹
He’s also maintained a longtime friendship with Raising Cane’s founder and CEO Todd Graves, appearing in the chain’s Christmas-in-July ad campaign for National Chicken Finger Day.
"I like chicken fingers, and Todd Graves was a good friend of mine," Snoop explained. "And when he decided to make it a real holiday, it was only fitting. It was only right."¹
His personal order at Raising Cane’s reflects his unique style: "Send me 17 strips with two fries and a whole bunch of ketchup with lemonade. It ain’t even on the menu. It’s just, that’s how I get it."¹
Music brings Americans together where politics divide
Snoop’s success crossing musical genres offers a lesson for a divided America.
While politicians and media figures try to pit different communities against each other, artists like Snoop and Willie Nelson prove that Americans can find common ground through shared experiences and mutual respect.
The collaboration between a West Coast rapper and Southern country musicians shows that cultural barriers often exist more in the minds of elites than in the hearts of regular Americans.
"Let It Run" will appear on the Zac Brown Band’s upcoming album "Love & Fear," which debuts December 5 – their first new record in four years.¹
The title itself suggests something our political class could learn from musicians – that love works better than fear when it comes to bringing people together.
Snoop’s "gangster gumbo" proves that America’s strength comes from blending our different traditions, not from keeping them separate.
¹ Fox News Digital, "Snoop Dogg calls country music collaboration with the Zac Brown Band a ‘gangster gumbo’," Fox News, July 30, 2025.
² The Associated Press, Interview with Snoop Dogg, 2012.