His career is smokin’

The group of young boys shifted uneasily, eyes fixed on the gangly figure towering over them. They were an exclusive audience about to hear Snoop Dogg do his latest rap. But they didn’t feel so lucky -- they knew it was going to be a bad rap on them.

“You better go gangsta -- they can’t beat us, so they’re tryin’ to cheat us!” snarled Snoop Dogg, tearing into the Rowland Heights Raiders, a team of 8- to 10-year-olds -- including one of his two sons -- in the Orange County Junior All-American Football League. The Raiders were taking on the Norwalk-Santa Fe Springs Saints, and though the unbeaten Raiders were ahead by a touchdown at halftime, the Saints were breaking their spirit with rough-and-tumble play and crunching tackles.

The eyes of a few Raiders were wet with frustration and pain. The eyes of Snoop were narrow with rage.

“You better get your minds right, or you’re gonna get beat,” the Raider coach growled. “I don’t care about nothin’ else, ‘cause if you lose, I’m out! You’re better than this team! You better get your focus back now, knowwhatImsayin’? Quit cryin’ and do your job, get focused!” He gestured dismissively toward a cooler on the sidelines: “Now go get some oranges or something!”

As he berated the youngsters, Snoop ignored the nearby crowd of parents and fans in the stands shouting out to him. This was not show time, not the time or place for rhymes about the chronic, partyin’, pimps and hos. This was serious.

For now, nothing else mattered: Not his chart-topping “Drop It Like It’s Hot” single with sizzling producer Pharrell Williams that has again made him the champagne toast of the rap/pop music world. Not his just-dropped album “R&G; (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece,” already a bestseller. Not his star turns this year in films such as “Starsky & Hutch” and “Soul Plane” that endeared him to a cross-section of moviegoers. Not his growing status as a pitchman for corporate America.

At this moment, he was merely Coach Snoop, desperate for another notch in the win column. He says the quest for a championship trophy with his boys is more fulfilling than acting or music, his two “girlfriends.” And the tirade worked -- the Raiders trounced the Saints in the second half. Overjoyed, Snoop jumped and clowned around with the team in a victory celebration, then ran to a truck in the parking lot to award each player with a brand-new WRFF bike.

The scene united the conflicting sides of Snoop that have made him practically ubiquitous in today’s pop culture -- the streetwise former thug from Long Beach who can “throw down” when pushed against the wall; the showman who shines in the spotlight; and the playful, generous artist who can turn into a 6-foot, 3 1/2 -inch kid at a moment’s notice. As the rapper, who resides in Diamond Bar, juggles his various prospects, youth sports has provided him much needed balance amid the showbiz whirlwind enveloping him.

More than 10 years after his lazy, distinctive drawls made him one of the top original gangsta rappers on the West Coast scene, and more than eight years after being acquitted of first- and second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of a Los Angeles gang member, Snoop Dogg (who was born Calvin Broadus) wants to turn Hollywood into -- to quote one of his hits -- “a Doggy Dogg world.”

Playing off his dual images as a no-nonsense gangsta with Pied Piper appeal who can poke fun at himself, the 33-year-old is tackling a dizzying array of diverse projects designed to position him as a hip-hopper who can maneuver easily between the arenas of mainstream popular culture and hard-core rap. New ventures range from small independent films to clothing lines to video games to animated series.

Seemingly already unavoidable with his commercials, film appearances, TV guest shots and music videos, Snoop, along with the prestigious management company the Firm, is determined to further boost the profile of Snoop Inc.

“There’s a definite strategy to what we’re doing as far as shaping Snoop’s future,” said Constance Schwartz, the rapper’s manager. “We don’t want him everywhere, but we want him in all the right places. He’s proven that he can do cameos in movies, and now he wants to prove he’s a serious actor.”

While rappers such as Will Smith, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Eve and Missy Elliott have crossed over, most have opted to soften the harsh edge that first established them in the hip-hop world. Not so Snoop Dogg; he’s been able to make the leap without undermining his outlaw image.

References to drug use and violence peppered throughout “Drop It Like It’s Hot” are overshadowed by a sing-song chorus and an infectious percussive beat that could feel at home on any schoolyard playground. He was able to jump back and forth between his “Doggy Fizzle Television” MTV comedy series and less savory projects such as his video “Doggystyle Vol. 1.”

He appeared in numerous straight-to-video and low-budget films such as “Bones” and “The Wash” but also held his own against Oscar winner Denzel Washington in a small role in “Training Day.” He can kick it with the hosts on “The View” with ease, even though it’s hard to imagine Meredith Viera and Barbara Walters bobbing their heads to the flow of profanity and N-words exploding through such “R&G;” tracks as “Can U Control Yo Hoe” and “Pass It Pass It,” a track that has nothing to do with sports.

The full range of Snoopworld was in evidence last week. Last Sunday, Snoop performed “Drop It Like It’s Hot” with Williams at the nationally broadcast American Music Awards (much of the song was unintelligible because of the heavily edited lyrics) and appeared in a star-studded commercial for T-Mobile.

The following day at the Vibe Awards he presented a lifetime achievement award to his friend and mentor Dr. Dre. Snoop was in midtribute when Dre was attacked and a melee broke out in the audience. Though Snoop was not involved in the riot, he issued a warning onstage when the fracas calmed down: “If y’all want problems with me and my crew, we want problems too. So leave Dre alone and come see us.”

Remarked comedian Jimmy Kimmel on his ABC late-night show: “Snoop took the smoldering embers of hatred -- and poured on some soothing gasoline.”

On Tuesday, he made a visit to a workout of the top-rated USC Trojans football team, serving as receiver and guest coach. The gig was taped for an MTV special. Wednesday he did interviews and filmed a special for BET. He will make a return appearance to “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Tuesday.

Analyzing Snoop’s wide appeal, Jimmy Smith, executive creative director of BBDO Worldwide, a prominent advertising firm who has worked with the rapper in the past, concluded: “Most gangstas don’t come across as fun-loving guys who you would want to hang out with. But with Snoop, it’s different. He has that Long Beach life, but he can also be appealing to people. He’s got a funny bone, he’s got kids. He’s shown that he’s smart and not just a rapper, and people gravitate toward celebrities who bring diversity to their game.”

SIDE BY SIDE

But even as the plan moves forward at breakneck speed, the rapper remains a Dogg in progress, his increasing determination to explore new horizons clashing with his real-life drama and contradictions.

He filed for divorce in April from Shante, his wife of seven years, but the couple recently reconciled. Despite his insistence that he gets “emotionally high” from his coaching gig, his highly publicized pledge to give up marijuana has gone up in smoke, and he’s not shy about smoking a joint or holding a plastic bag filled with reefer.

The public Snoop of talk shows and movies has an approachable, even warm personality, but the private Snoop is more elusive and moody, playing the promotion game by his own unpredictable rules. In the last few weeks, he would agree to interviews, then show up late and abruptly cut the sessions short, citing other conflicts. At other moments, he would be rude or uncooperative to the press, hiding behind his protective entourage and privately alarming associates trying to steer him in a more responsible direction.

While dedicated to youth-related activities, he is also aggressively unapologetic about his foray into the porno industry. (“Everything I did, I held my head up high.”) His management insists that his porno days are behind him -- and that the just-released “Snoop Dogg’s Buckwild Bus Tour,” a raucous, behind-the-scenes glimpse of the rapper’s Roc the Mic tour, is a collection of old footage.

Whether they’re G-rated or X-rated, Snoop says, all his projects have a sincerity behind them that accounts for his wide appeal.

“Kids gravitate to me because I’m real -- they know I’m not fake,” he says. “I’ve made my mistakes and I’ve fixed them. There’s a side of me that likes to do things for kids and adults.”

The spiked molasses-style delivery that first established Snoop as a major rap star is still clicking, said Eric Parker, music editor of the hip-hop-oriented Vibe magazine.

“He comes across as if he’s having a smooth conversation,” Parker said. “It’s a very warm voice, not threatening. It doesn’t jump from the speakers. It’s a voice that seduces you with its tone, makes you want to get closer to the speakers.”

The message behind “R&G;” and many of his other projects is that life is a continuous party, but many of the events of the last year put the good times on hold, Snoop admits.

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” he says during a rare quiet moment relaxing in one corner of his large trailer during a lunch break. “I go up and down and in loops. I’m just trying to enjoy it all. I take the good with the bad. I really don’t pay attention because I’m too busy trying to do work, trying to do what’s right.” His eyes are downcast, rarely meeting his interviewer, his face largely obscured behind an impossibly large Afro.

Some of the “bad” is an open book. Even with his increasing acceptance, he’s bothered and motivated by how he’s viewed by the industry -- as a former gang member and drug dealer who has more than his share of scrapes even after he supposedly has left the thug life behind.

“A lot of people underestimate me,” he says. “The perception comes from me, from the past and how I used to do it. I’m getting rid of a bad reputation and trying to create a brand-new reputation. A lot of people will think this about me until they get a chance to sit down and see what Snoop Dogg is, why he do what he do. Then it will be all erased.”

He avoids talking about the well-documented specifics -- his 1990 conviction for cocaine possession, the incident last year when his heavily armed motor entourage was pulled over before the Black Entertainment Awards at the Kodak Theatre (the rapper was not in the vehicles). Following the credo he teaches to his team, the goal is to maintain focus on what’s ahead, even if that focus has a tornado-type quality.

In the course of one week earlier this month, Snoop filmed a new commercial for Nokia; flew to New York and contributed a verse to a hip-hop album; performed along with Williams in a surprise appearance at a Jay-Z concert; flew back to Los Angeles and then to Las Vegas to film a car-related edition of “MTV Cribs”; flew back to Los Angeles to participate in a conference call with his managers and made the decision to move the release date of “R&G;” up a week; coached a playoff football game; shot a big-budget music video with Williams for the upcoming single, “Let’s Get Blown”; and wrapped up filming of his first leading dramatic role in “The Tenants,” an independent feature in which he plays a tortured novelist.

Jumping from one project to another with barely a break isn’t daunting, Snoop claims. “It’s easy to switch up,” he says, displaying one of his rare smiles. “It’s like going into a phone booth and turning into Superman.”

Of all his projects, “The Tenants” represents the greatest departure. The Millennium Films Inc./ Nu Image production, which marks the directorial debut of co-writer Danny Green, revolves around the relationship between Henry Lesser (Dylan McDermott), a Jewish writer, and Willie Spearmint, a black militant and aspiring author (Snoop) who is involved with a Jewish girl (Rose Byrne). Both men live in an abandoned apartment building during the 1970s.

McDermott, best known for his role in ABC’s “The Practice,” said he had the initial idea to cast Snoop in the film, which is expected to hit the festival circuit next year. “I’m a big fan of his music -- I always felt there was enormous poetry in it. Willie’s character has a lot of street poetry in him, and I thought the two of them could just collide into each other. It all comes down to authenticity. Snoop really found Willie in a deep way. He really tapped into this guy.”

There was also a pragmatic rationale behind the casting. “I knew that with a smaller movie like this one, you have to draw some attention, and I knew the casting of Snoop could do just that,” McDermott said.

The rapper’s lack of acting polish contributed to Willie’s realism, said Green, who worked with Snoop as an assistant director on “Soul Plane.” “He always told me, ‘I can do this. I know this guy.’ There are actors who would have to do research, that don’t have the history. But Snoop did.”

Both McDermott and Green were caught off guard during the shooting of one scene, in which Henry informs Willie in his apartment that he’s had an affair with Willie’s girlfriend and plans to marry her. Snoop, who had been sitting at a desk, lunged suddenly at McDermott, startling the actor.

“He told us, ‘Hey, I got to come at you like that. You just stole my girlfriend,’ ” Green said.

Says Snoop, “I fell in love with this project. It’s some of my best work. To me, Willie was a character I needed, particularly as far as my career was concerned.” It also helped him deal with some of his personal stress: “It gave me a glimpse on what life is all about, playing a character so close to reality he really has to check himself out.”

Much of his enjoyment in filming “The Tenants” came from Green and others having faith that he could pull the role off. “Because the director believed in me, I wanted to portray Willie the right way. That’s the ultimate respect. They could’ve written the role for anybody in Hollywood, but they chose me.”

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL

The female extras for the “Let’s Get Blown” video were getting more weary as the afternoon shoot at the Beverly Hills mansion stretched into night. But the gangsta couldn’t stop grinning. The trademark Snoop Dogg snarl was barely in evidence as he demonstrated some graceful “pop ‘n’ lock” moves.

“I’m doing a lot of partyin’ here -- this ain’t one of those thug videos where I’m frowning,” says Snoop. “You’ll be seeing my teeth a whole lot in this video.”

He’s particularly pleased with “R&G;,” though he says the album is not a reflection of his personal turmoil of the last year. “The new album represents Snoop and what he stands for, musically, physically, mentally and spiritually, where he’s been and where he’s going. I make music to show what I’m feeling, and I’m expressing something within me, and hopefully you have the same bones in your body.”

The project features several guest stars, including Williams, rapper 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and others. In addition to the usual raucous party jams and bawdy themes, the album has some surprising elements -- it is bookended by the gospel-flavored “I Love to Give You Light,” and “No Thang on Me,” an ode to the joys of parenthood.

His good mood quickly fades at the suggestion that his adult-oriented tapes might contradict his projects geared toward youth.

“I didn’t hide the [stuff],” he snaps. “I put it out, represented it, promoted it. I said it was made for adults. I never brought it to football games and passed it around. My kids don’t even know I did it. So if a kid did see it, you weren’t doing your ... job as a parent.”

The future includes a tour, more TV projects, several other ventures he declines to discuss. He sees leaving show business behind one day to concentrate full time on coaching.

“All I know how to be is Snoop Dogg, and sometimes he is a little negative, and sometimes he is a little positive,” he says. “But for the most part, he’s going to do more right than wrong.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The poop on Snoop

The multifaceted Snoop Dogg has myriad projects going at one time. Here’s what’s new in his world:

* “R&G; (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece” released last week.

* Debut of satellite-radio show “Welcome to Da Church With Bigg Snoop Dogg.”

* T-Mobile commercial to start airing around Thanksgiving.

* Launch of Doggy Biscuitz sneaker line by Pony in late November.

* Premiere of “VH1 Driven” installment.

* Nov. 23 performance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

* Hosts MTV2’s “Sucker Free Sunday.”

* Need for Speed video game by Electronic Arts featuring Snoop remix of the Doors classic “Riders on the Storm.”

* New Snoop cellphone ring-back tones by Zingy.

* Performing at KIIS-FM Jingle Ball at Universal Amphitheatre Dec. 3.

* Debut of “Let’s Get Blown” video.

* Hosting Spike TV Video Game Awards Dec. 14.

* Debut of special Snoop WRFF bike available online for Christmas.

* Launch of clothing line next year.

* Developing Fear and Respect urban video game with director John Singleton.

* Developing Snoop Youth Football League for next year.

* Monthlong U.S. and European tour to promote “R&G.;”

* Developing animated and reality series and feature films.