Snoop Dogg has defended himself against accusations of sexism in his lyrics, claiming that his attitude towards women has “changed” since he first emerged onto the scene in the early ‘90s.

The iconic rap veteran, who as long ago as 2007 was branded a “misogynist” by Oprah Winfrey, was speaking to Sky News. “What's changed for me is that I have a family,” he said. “I have a different perspective and view on life, I have more concern with life. Twenty years ago I didn't have no responsibilities, I was an ex-gang member who was still affiliated with gangs. I was hard headed and didn't listen. I had nothing to live for but me.”

Snoop DoggSnoop Dogg spoke about his past lyrics

However, despite the different perspective he now has, the rap legend doesn’t regret writing the lyrics he wrote. “I am more sensitive and more vulnerable writing-wise and accepting a woman for being a beautiful person, as opposed to me saying she is a b***h or a w***e because that was how I was trained when I first started, so I have no regrets.”

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“As I grew I fell in love with my wife and started to love my mother, my grandmother and my daughter. I understood what a woman was and I started to write about and express that,” he said about the process that he had to go through to arrive at his current attitude. “Once I figured out there was room to grow and learn and to be a better person, then I incorporated that in everything I was doing. I don't feel like you can be ashamed or mad about not knowing - if you don't know, you don't know.”

The 43 year old rapper, who broke through with his debut album Doggystyle back in 1993 and sold 6.5 million copies, has always been an outspoken figure, open about his views on marijuana and about his time spent in gangs before he was famous.

In a separate interview earlier this month, ahead of the release of his thirteenth album Bush, he told music site Pigeons And Planes that its producer Pharrell Williams challenged him over the content of his lyrics during the recording process. “That’s what I love about [Pharrell] as a friend: he ain’t afraid to challenge me,” he explained. “He said to me ‘You ain’t 25 no more. You’re 43, you’ve got a daughter’.”

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