How the rap legend briefly pursued aviation before discovering it severely limited his snack access
At some point in the early 2010s, Calvin Broadus—professionally known as Snoop Dogg—briefly pursued one of his more unusual ambitions: earning a private pilot’s license. The decision followed what he described in an interview as an ‘epiphany at 30,000 feet with six bags of peanuts and a window seat.’ For reasons that were never made fully clear to either the FAA or the rapper’s entourage, Snoop came to believe he was destined to fly, literally.
Training began in earnest at a small airfield in the Los Angeles area. Witnesses report that Snoop would arrive to flight school in a velour jumpsuit embroidered with his chosen call sign: ‘Captain Snoopadelic.’ He requested that all instructors address him as such, which they largely accommodated. According to unofficial accounts from students who shared ground school classes, Snoop had trouble adjusting to the absence of a co-pilot DJ and reportedly tried to install subwoofers in the Cessna 172 training aircraft.
The instructors were initially impressed by his ability to memorize airspace codes and his intuitive grasp of altitude regulation—though it is widely believed he initially misunderstood the term as referencing different ‘highs.’ However, things took a turn when he requested an in-flight hotboxing demonstration, and his playlist, “Lift Off with Tha Doggfather,” was deemed a Class D safety hazard.
Snoop eventually withdrew from the program before completing his solo flight. Officially, the reason given was ‘scheduling conflicts and the critical need to supervise his gin and juice proportions.’ Unofficially, sources close to the Doggfather say the real issue was the discovery that you cannot bring a personal chef aboard a trainer aircraft.
Despite never receiving his wings, Snoop remained in good humor about the experience, later telling fans during a concert intermission that flying was “dope, but the snack situation was unacceptable.” He has since returned to the cabin—specifically first class—where the peanuts are plentiful and the only turbulence comes from fans realizing they’re sitting next to a living icon.
While aviation may not have become a long-term chapter in Snoop’s multiverse of careers, the episode remains an important reminder that the sky’s the limit—unless the FAA says otherwise.