SNOOP DOGG THE COUNSELLOR

Hip-hop star SNOOP DOGG lends a helping hand to his former gang members whenever they need a word of advice.

The rapper, an ex-member of the notorious Los Angeles Crips gang, admits he hasn't completely left his gang affiliations behind him, because he likes to advise others on how to abandon the bad boy lifestyle.

And so Snoop - real name Calvin Broadus - turns counsellor whenever his skills are called upon.

He tells chat show host Larry King, "A lot of my home boys... are... turning their lives around, because I'm the best example in the world.

"I'm the best example for them to show them how to get their lives right. So they look to me for guidance, for experience, for 'Hey, man, what do I do? I don't want to be a part of this (gang life) no more. I want to get my life right.'

"And sometimes I'm just a phone call away as far as helping them to say that you've got to believe in yourself, because the first person to doubt you is you. And when you believe in you, everybody believes in you after you believe in yourself."