Terri Hardin
TRICHOMES Staff
You may have seen the YouTube tour of Doggyland with Pineapple Inc.’s Cordell Broadus (Snoop’s son) and Pineapple Inc. CEO Shawn Credle. (if you haven’t, here it is.) You may have heard the announcement that the exclusive VIP access Doggyland Casino will be branded the “Pineapple Express Doggyland Casino Lounge,” complete with merch and a bud bar.
But what you may not know is how it all started with an introduction to Big Percy, Snoop Dogg’s tour manager, through Pineapple Express’ spokesperson, Debo Tiny Lister. “Because of 2020, it was 4/20 for the whole month,” remembered Credle, “and we had a sweepstakes every Friday, with Tiny delivering to winners on his bicycle.” (Sadly, Lister passed away last December from COVID complications.)
Lister told Credle, “Once I put you in front of these people, you know, they’re going to get behind you.”
And that has been the case; in September, Big Percy joined Pineapple Inc. in Business Development. Big Percy’s involvement also brought Credle into Snoop Dogg’s circle, where he met Cordell Broadus.
Family Affair
“Percy has a Classic Car Club, called the Rider Gang, where a lot of celebrities get together every week and ride around LA in a caravan of classic cars and lowriders. Snoop, Wiz Khalifa and all these other guys usually end up at the famous Mel’s Diner. Because of the pandemic, people stay in their cars but can be together. About a month ago they also were filming parts of Snoop’s last single, ‘Roaches in My Ashtray.’ I happen to be there, as was Cordell. He said, ‘Hey, I want to try to collaborate with Pineapple.’
Credle looked around the Doggyland (which is managed by Snoop’s wife, Shante) and chose to take his claim in the Doggyland Casino Lounge, which overlooks the famous basketball court. Cordell didn’t know: “I don’t know Pop’s gonna want that to happen.” Credle said, “‘Bring it up nice.’ And he did, actually. [Snoop] didn’t even hesitate.”
The Right Vibe
What’s important for everybody is the vibe at the ultra-exclusive VIP space. “I said, ‘What if we make this the Pineapple Express Doggyland Casino Lounge, and lightly accent what is already there with pineapple flair.’ And that’s it.
“We moved in last week. We’re going to have Pineapple Express etched glasses for people that want to have a cocktail, and we’re gonna have a permanent bud bar next to the craps table. And we’ll have gifting, not only from Pineapple, but from the various brands that we carry. So we’ll be basically subletting sponsor space in there, as well.”
In Business with The Doggfather
“Snoop is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life,” said Credle. “I’ve never seen him turn down a selfie or an autograph, ever. But,” he added, “this is the first time that Snoop Dogg has allowed a brand to come into the compound and be a part of the family.”
Even though Pineapple’s in the lounge, COVID will keep events outside, near the (movie screen), for the foreseeable future. “When we have events, we have all of our events do free rapid COVID testing before you can enter. We do it for peace of mind; if you’re clear, you’ve got peace of mind. If you’re not, now you know.”
Source https://trichomes.com/tcsearch/view/Behind-the-Exclusive-Pineapple-Express-Snoop-Dogg-Partnership