THE EVOLUTION OF AN ICON

HE WENT F GANGSTER RAP TO OLYMPIC GOLDBUT HE'S STILL THE SAME OLD G

- JANINE RUBENSTEIN

If 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 he 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, the father of four and grandfather of seven has somehow, someway, managed to evolve while not changing much at all. Now on the heels of his heart-stealing turn as an Olympic commentator, Snoop's bringing his talents and hard-won expertise to NBC's The Voice.

"If you choose me, you get a Death Row chain," he says, previewing how, as a coach, he'll entice young artists to join his team. Members of Team Snoop are in for a treasure trove of life lessons more valuable than diamonds. Here he shares a few as he reflects on his remarkable journey.

'No matter where you start, do right by people, keep grindin' Born in Long Beach, Calif., to mom Beverly Tate, the star was named Calvin Broadus Jr. after his stepfather.

From childhood he answered to Snoopy, a nickname his mom gave him because of a resemblance she saw to the Peanuts character. "I thank my auntie, my mom and my grandmother for bringing me up in church, making me do speeches and perform," he says.