Jersey Club Salutes....

....Calvin Broadus!

Calvin Broadus has been working under the names "Snoop Doggy Dogg" and simply "Snoop Dogg" for the last 75 years, earning a living by making and performing rap music all over the world. The Jersey Club is a proud supporter of his entire career, but is especially fond of his love of hockey jerseys, that created a whole new element to the hip hop gentleman's wardrobe.

Snoop ushered in a new generation of jersey style when he rocked two beauties in his 1994 music video for "Gin & Juice", a song about two girls who literally get sipped up by Snoop and tha Dogg Pound while rolling down the street, smoking endo.



The first jersey featured is a 1992-95 era Pittsburgh Penguins away jersey #94 with "GIN AND JUICE" across the back. I much prefer this road jersey to the home version due to the "PITTSBURGH" across the front. I like this style because it's unique to hockey jerseys and I like unique things such as black gum.

The second jersey featured is a real beauty - an AHL Springfield Indians, circa 1994 (their last year of existence), #00 with GIN AND JUICE on the back. Since the Indians were the farm team of the Hartford Whalers at that point, the jersey features the Whalers then current colour scheme with that classic Indians logo.

The indian has the same bone structure as the Dogg himself

When I was a kid I'd occasionally be bored enough to watch TSN's "Rinkside", a show no one asked for that featured all the latest news from a league no one cared about. So when I saw the Gin & Juice video at age 12 for the first time I recognized the jersey right away and immediately respected Snoop as a jersey connoisseur and deep hockey fan much like myself. I was pretty much wrong, as Snoop wears jerseys because they look cool and represent the colours of the gangs he's affiliated with, but hey, I also thought Carla from Cheers was attractive when I was 12, so no big deal.

Throughout the years Snoop has continued to rock hockey jerseys as part of his style profile, being a frequent visitor to Anaheim Ducks games. I don't know when they actually shot "Gin & Juice" but this 1993 video of Snoop on the Arsenio Hall show may predate it. Here's Snoop wearing a beautiful Leafs jersey, #1 with SNOOP (probably) on the back:



Arsenio Hall. Snoop Dogg. Eazy-E diss track. Leafs. This combination basically summarizes the things I liked in high school, except Arsenio Hall.

Check out this excerpt from an interview Snoop did with Jersey Club approved citizen Narduar the Human Serviette, where he explains why he wore the Leafs jersey:

Snoop Dogg, speaking of wearing stuff and jerseys, I saw that you were wearing a Maple Leafs hockey jersey in 1993 on Arsenio Hall.
Yeah, 'cause the Maple Leafs remind me of a chronic leaf and I was representing that, you know what I'm saying? I didn't know the Canada flag was so close to the chronic leaf; I just liked the way it looked so I was representin' and it was blue.

Duh.

The interview continues with some great tidbits about hockey and jerseys:

But that's amazing. That's some O.G. hockey stuff, like '93, reppin' the Leafs.
I was reppin' the Leafs. I was reppin' the Penguins. I was reppin' the Oilers, everybody. I was the first rapper to wear hockey jerseys in videos, onstage, everywhere I went. That was my look, you know what I'm saying? 'Cause I was trying to do something that was different, and I respected hockey 'cause hockey is a tough sport and it takes a real man to play hockey, so I was trying to be different by doing that.

Snoop Doggy Dogg, what about the movie Black Ice? Willie O'Ree [first black player in the NHL], that hockey movie!
I really wanted to do that movie. I hope they do it, man. Willie O'Ree, I had a chance to meet him and he's a great guy, you know what I'm saying? And very in-depth. He was one of the greatest guys to ever slide across that ice, you know what I'm saying? He paved the way for a lot of these hockey players that are doing what they're doing, so I'd really like to see that story come to life.

Snoop, one of the times I was trying to talk to you is when you were doing Hockey Night In Canada. I was trying to get down to L.A., but you were busy doing Hockey Night In Canada. What do you remember about that? You rapped on Hockey Night In Canada to Bob Cole.
I mean, that's what it's all about, man. I mean, Snoop Dogg is an international individual who loves people, and people love Snoop Dogg for who he is. I can connect with any world or any realm of people, and hockey is a great sport, and I fell in love with it and once I fell in love with it, I started to get more into it, so whenever they call on me to do things, like interviews on Hockey Night, why not?

And you did that rap to Bob Cole, which is great. That's equivalent to Monday Night Football. That's big, Hockey Night In Canada.
Yes, sir. That's what I do. You know what I'm saying? I'm big Snoop Dogg.

And all international individuals love you, Snoop!

Here's the full interview, with Snoop wearing a LaMarcus Aldridge Blazers jersey:



If you've never watched Narduar interview Snoop, there's like four others. In the one above he teaches us that if you microwave your joint for 11 seconds, you'll get better results.

Calvin Broadus, for bringing hockey jerseys into the world of hip hop, the Jersey Club salutes you!


Next time:

It's not going to be about Tupac. I just wanted to put up this picture. Sick.