Some rappers slow down after scoring platinum plaques, major movie roles and their own fashion line.
Not Snoop Dogg.
Snoop has proven he can spread himself thin and still win. But like comic book superheroes, super rapper Snoop has a sidekick to help him out: his entrepreneurial 26-year-old brother, Bing Worthington. Together, their endeavors include Snoop Dogg Clothing, Cadillac Snoop DeVilles, Snoop Dogg skateboards and now, foot-long frankfurters.
You guessed it: Snoop Doggs.
Worthington came to Beantown on Wednesday to seal the hot dog deal with Boston-based Platinum One Media. His partners, Jeff Earp and Franco Petrucci, said they plan to have the made-in-Massaschusetts product in stores by January. And, yes, they hope to push Snoop Doggs at Fenway next season.
Lounging downstairs at the Wyndham Hotel, still on what he calls ?L.A. time,? Worthington explained the attraction of a fast-food venture.
?There aren?t any celebrity hot dogs out there,? he said. ?Who?s the competition? Ball Park??
Even though Snoop Doggs will be little more than juicy franks dressed in hip-hop marketing, Worthington promises they?ll have his brother?s flavor.
?Everyone I?ve said it to has laughed,? he said. ?Imagine a long, skinny hot dog just like Snoop.?
All of Worthington?s business decisions reflect the Big Dogg?s style. Case in point is the Snoop Dogg Board Co., which Worthington came up with after hearing Snoop tracks played repeatedly at last year?s X Games.
?I knew there had to be a skateboarding market for Snoop,? Worthington said. ?But when you ride the board we want you to feel the Snoop in it, so we?re gonna have spinners on there.?
Worthington has no end of schemes he wants to pitch. Among them are hip-hop trading cards, model replicas of pimped-out celebrity rides, and his newest as of yesterday: a much-needed player?s club in downtown Boston.
Worthington earned the right to expand Snoop?s empire after proving himself to his brother. Even after Snoop went platinum with ?Doggystyle? in 1993, Worthington insisted he buy his own car and pay his own dues. After what he describes as ?a lot of falls,? Worthington finally learned to develop and carry out ideas that impress Big Snoop.
?Being a little brother I had to prove that I?m not just a little brother,? he said. ?I had to get out there and hustle and bring Snoop the whole package wrapped up.?
High-profile contacts came in handy. For researching skateboards, Worthington went straight to Tony Hawk. For hot dogs, he linked with Platinum One?s Jeff Earp, the former owner of Joe & Nemo?s in Downtown Crossing.
Still, even with hot dogs, extreme sports and merchandising on the brain, Worthington makes time for the original family business. Along with partner-in-rhyme H.I.T., he?s a member of the hip-hop duo Lifestyle. Their debut album, ?Lubrication,? drops in January, right around the time Snoop Doggs will arrive on grocery store shelves.
Like his big brother, Worthington pledges to leave no opportunities untapped.
?Snoop takes advantage of everything,? Bing said. ?This rap money isn?t long. Just ask MC Hammer.?
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