Snoop Dogg Opens Up About Being a Grandpa, Reveals the Sweet Name His Grandkids Call Him: ‘Love Them All’

The rapper is dad to sons Cordell, Corde and Julian, and daughter Cori

Snoop Dogg at the premiere of “Dear Mama” in April. PHOTO: 

Snoop Dogg may have changed his name over the years, but there’s one title he’ll never shake off — Grandpa.

While appearing on an episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, the rapper, 52, chatted with host Jennifer Hudson about his grandkids, revealing the sweet name that they call him. Snoop is dad to sons Cordell, 26, Corde, 29, and Julian, 25, and daughter Cori, 24.

“Now, OK, I was trying to imagine Snoop as a granddad. So how many grandkids do you actually have?” Jennifer Hudson asks.

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“Actually, I have a total of 12 grandkids,” he responds. “12?” Hudson asks incredulously.

“Yes, yes I do. And they’re different ages, ranges, sizes and I love them all the same way. Actually, my oldest grandson, his birthday is today so I’m on my way to his birthday party when I leave here.”

“He’s going to be 9 years old, that’s Zion Broadus,” Snoop says.

“That is adorable. What do your grandkids call you?” Hudson asks.

“Well, he was the first one to name me. He used to call me Papa Noop, because he couldn’t say Snoop, so he started calling me Papa Noop. And then as time went by, he learned how to say Snoop, so now I’m Papa Snoop.”

In June, the rapper opened up about his grandkids in an exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE from Words + Music: From the Streets to the Suites.

“I am a grandfather of six, with one on the way. And my grandkids are my everything because they all individually get a piece of my heart and they’re different,” he said in the clip. “My oldest grandson Zion told me he’s the biggest star in the family. He took my Snoop Loopz box and put his own little cover on the front and made his own cereal.”

“And then my granddaughter CC (Journey), she plays tennis, she loves her papa. She sees me in the store in my little Corona ads and what not — [she says], ‘Papa!’ That s— means the world to me for them to call me that because I had a papa.”

He added, “My grandpa was my best friend and for me to be that for my grandkids is showing that I actually did well and I was able to outlive the circumstances. Now I can look back — I can teach those who want to get to this level. Or at least give them a blueprint and help them avoid some of the traps that had to deal with.”