Editor’s note: CNN movie Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over Premieres Sunday, January 1 at 9 p.m. ET exclusively on CNN.
CNN
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Gangsta rap dominated the music scene in the ’90s, and then the intervention of one legendary singer changed the genre forever.
Grammy winner Dionne Warwick is known as the unofficial “Queen of Twitter” with her adorable direct tweets — like teasing Oreo And the Jake Gyllenhaal.
So, when I heard misogynist lyrics in the ’90s, I decided to confront the rapper personally.
“These kids express themselves, which they are entitled to do. Dionne Warwick: Don’t make me any more,” Warwick said on CNN Film.
Warwick, who was the first black female solo artist to win a Grammy in Contemporary Vocal Performance, decided to host a get-together with Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, and several other rappers at her home.
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the time? 7 am on point. Not a minute ago, not a minute later.
“We were kind of scared and shivering,” Snoop Dogg said when he heard about the invitation. “We’re strong now, but she’s been strong forever. About thirty years in the game, in a big house with lots of money and success.”
The rapper said they were all in her driveway at 6:52 am
After greeting the men, she asked them to call her “ab****,” a word they often use to describe women in their songs.
Warwick said to them, “You’re all going to grow up. You’re going to have families. You’re going to have children. You’re going to have little girls and one day that little girl is going to look at you and say, ‘Dad, did you really say that?'” Is that really you?’ What are you going to say?”
Rappers were dumbfounded upon hearing their own words used against them by one of the greatest female singers of all time.
“She was checking on me at a time when I thought it couldn’t be verified,” Snoop explained. “We were the most gangsters you can be, but that day at Dionne Warwick’s house, I think we got out of the gangsters that day.”
Then Snoop changed his tune with his new album, “Tha Doggfather.”
He said, “I made a point to make joy records—I lift everyone up and nobody dies and everyone lives.”
He went on to release 19 studio albums and 175 singles, including “Drop It Like It Hot”. He is now husband and father of three children and – as predicted by Warwick – one daughter.
“Dion, I wish I could be the gem you saw when I was the dirty little rock that was in your house. I hope I can make you proud,” Snoop said.
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