Snoop Lion Sorta Defends Rick Ross’ Date Rape Lyric

Remember when Rick Ross dropped a tasteless line about date rape in a recent song, and everyone freaked out, not so much because the verse was any worse than lots of the remaining hip-hop content out there, but because Rozay at that point had an endorsement deal with Reebok? Of course you remember! Unless you’ve tried to erase this whole sordid thing from your brain by listening to Lana Del Rey‘s “Summer Wine” on repeat, like we have.

Well, soon after the initial controversy, Rozay made things worse by (twice) demonstrating a complete lack of understanding regarding why date rape = “real” rape. But don’t worry, Snoop Lion has finally chimed in! He’s a peace-loving Rastafarian now, so surely he’ll plainly point out that The Bawse is in the wrong. Oh, what’s that? He defended Ross?

Said Snoop on RapFix Live: “We as rappers, we have a freedom of speech and our dialect shouldn’t be taken so out of context. He has the right to speak on whatever he wants to speak on and that’s his perspective,” Snoop said. OK, fine. Except, none of the Ross lyrics or quotes have been taken out of context in this debacle.

Now, in Snoop’s defense, he’s not exactly defending Rozay’s specific line, or subsequent refusal to acknowledge that it was about rape. Snoop, ever the businessman, was more interested in the branding aspect of it. “When you’re buying Rozay, you’re buying all that come with it,” he said regarding Reebok and other companies aligned with Ross. “You know what his lifestyle is about, you know what his music is about, so you have to engulf all of that. If you’re not willing to take all that on, then step out of the way and stop playing and acting like he’s bringing harm to your company.”

We pretty much have to agree with Snoop on that point. If you don’t want a spokesman who’s likely to offend, don’t hire a spokesman who has songs called “9 Piece,” “10 Bricks” or “Murda Miami.” That’s marketing 101, no?

What’s your take on the ongoing (still!) controversy? Tell us in the comments below, or hit us up on Facebook and Twitter.