Snoop Dogg Pays Tribute to His Mother with Performance of “Stand By Me” in Boston

On Sunday, October 24, Beverly Tate, the mother of multi-platinum rap legend, Snoop Dogg, passed away.

In less than 24 hours, Snoop has posted several tributes to his mother, who always played a pivotal role in the now-50-year-old rapper’s life. “Walk by faith not by sight,” he wrote in the caption of his first post after her passing. “‘Smile Snoopy,’ that’s what U would say when it was time to take a picture… TWMA.”

A few hours later, he shared a recent photo of him and his mother with the caption “Mama thank u for having me.” After that, he posted another photo of her, with the caption including “TWMA,” an acronym for “Till we meet again.”

Then, in the early evening, Snoop posted a dimly lit video of himself listening to music with the caption of a broken heart emoji. 

All of these posts came in before Snoop was booked to do a set in Boston (an evening dubbed “Snoop Dogg vs DJ Snoopadelic”). With the difficult news arriving just a few hours before the performance was set to start, there was uncertainty as to whether or not the show would go on… but sure enough, Snoop arrived and made the evening something special for everyone involved.

“Before we leave, we’re going to play this record for my mama, and I want y’all to sing it with me,” Snoop told the cheering crowd as he turned on Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.” Then he continued: “Put two fingers in the air—you know the words, feel free to sing along with me.” 

An emotional moment, Snoop wore his heart on his sleeve… especially when he sang along to the lines “I won’t cry/ No, I won’t shed a tear/ Just as long as you stand by me.” Witnessing the love he had for his mother and the unifying power of music in action… the grand effect of the video is goosebump-inducing.

Beyond being the woman who raised Snoop Dogg, Tate lived an inspiring life, writing several books and serving as a spiritual role model for many. Snoop initially announced that she was ill earlier in the year. At the time of her passing, Tate was 70.

Watch an excerpt of an interview with Tate that Snoop posted on his Instagram story below:

(Photo: NBC)