Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, record executive, songwriter, and actor. A key figure in West Coast hip-hop, he helped define G-funk and gangsta rap, and is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Known for his signature drawled delivery and melodic flow, his lyrics frequently address social issues such as recreational drug use and gun violence.
He rose to prominence in 1992 through his collaborations with Dr. Dre, first on the single "Deep Cover" and later on The Chronic, including "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang". Produced by Dr. Dre, his debut album Doggystyle (1993) debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 806,000 copies sold in its first week. The album spawned the hit singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin and Juice", later receiving quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album, Tha Doggfather (1996), also debuted at number one.
After leaving Death Row Records, Snoop Dogg signed with Master P's No Limit Records, and saw continued success with his albums Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998), No Limit Top Dogg (1999), and Tha Last Meal (2000). His album R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004) spawned the single "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), his first Billboard Hot 100 number one. In later years, he adopted the alias Snoop Lion, under which he released a reggae album, Reincarnated (2013), and a namesake documentary film about his experience in Jamaica. The album was followed by the Pharrell-produced Bush (2015) and the gospel album Bible of Love (2018).Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: In 2022, he acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group and released BODR (2022).
Snoop Dogg has sold over 35 million records worldwide. In 2022, he co-headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show, earning a Primetime Emmy Award. He has received several accolades including seventeen Grammy Award nominations, two Sports Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Outside of music, he has appeared in numerous films and media, including serving as a coach on The Voice.
Early life Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. was born on October 20, 1971, in Long Beach, California, to Beverly Tate (1951–2021) and Vernell Varnado. Varnado, who was a Vietnam War veteran, singer, and mail carrier, left the family only three months after Snoop Dogg's birth, and thus he was named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Sr. (1948–1984). His biological father remained largely absent from his life. As a boy, his mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" due to his love for and likeness to the cartoon character from Peanuts. He was the second of his mother's three sons.
Snoop Dogg was raised Baptist and began singing and playing piano at Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church when he was very young. His mother, a member of the church choir, was one of his "prime musical influences" growing up and introduced him to old-school R&B music. In his youth, Snoop Dogg sold candy, delivered newspapers, and bagged groceries. Snoop Dogg was described as having been a dedicated student and enthusiastic churchgoer, active in choir and football.
In sixth grade, Snoop Dogg began rapping. He would frequently rap in school, as he recalled: "When I rapped in the hallways at school I would draw such a big crowd that the principal would think there was a fight going on. It made me begin to realize that I had a gift. I could tell that my raps interested people and that made me interested in myself".
In his teenage years, Snoop Dogg began engaging in unlawful activities and joining gangs, despite his mother's preventive efforts. He was a member of the Rollin' 20s Crips gang in the Eastside neighborhood of Long Beach; in 1993, however, he denied the frequent police and media reports by saying that he never joined a gang. Shortly after graduating from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1989, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and for the next three years was frequently incarcerated, including at Wayside Jail. With his two cousins, Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead, and friend Warren G, he recorded homemade tapes, with one titled Over the Counter attracting some label interest. The four called their group 213 after the area code of their hometown Long Beach, and they recorded their first four-song demo at their local VIP Records store. One of Snoop's early solo freestyles over "Hold On" by En Vogue was on a mixtape that fortuitously wound up with Dr. Dre; the influential producer was so impressed by the sample that he called Snoop Dogg to audition in 1991 for his label Death Row Records (then known as Future Shock). Former N.W.A affiliate, American rapper Tracy Lynn Curry, better known as The D.O.C., taught him to structure his lyrics and separate the themes into verses, hooks, and choruses.According to Snoop Dogg's memoirs, as told by himself in VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2007
Music career 1991–1997: Death Row, Doggystyle, and Tha Doggfather When he began recording, the young rapper took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. He was introduced to Dr. Dre by Warren G, who gave him Snoop Dogg's cassette tape. Snoop Dogg then signed with Dre's label Future Shock Records (which later became known as Death Row Records). Dr. Dre began working with him, first on the theme song of the 1992 film Deep Cover, and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic, along with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. This intense exposure played a considerable part in making Snoop Dogg's debut album, Doggystyle, the critical and commercial success that it was.
Fueling the ascendance of West Coast G-funk hip-hop, the singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months. Gangsta rap became the center of arguments about censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians. Unlike many of the harder-edged gangsta rap artists, Snoop Dogg seemed to show his softer side, according to music journalist Chuck Philips. Rolling Stone music critic Touré asserted that Snoop Dogg had a relatively soft vocal delivery compared to other rappers: "Snoop's vocal style is part of what distinguishes him: where many rappers scream, figuratively and literally, he speaks softly". Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label, including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and others.
In 1993, Snoop Dogg was charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of a rival gang member, who was actually killed by Snoop Dogg's bodyguard. Snoop Dogg was acquitted on February 20, 1996, and the case was finally closed in 2024. According to Snoop Dogg, after he was acquitted, he did not want to continue living the "gangsta" lifestyle, because he felt that continuing his behavior would result in his assassination or a prison term.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial, Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack. On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc., a record label founded by Snoop Dogg, was registered with the California Secretary of State as business entity number C1923139.
After his acquittal, Snoop Dogg and the mother of his son, along with their kennel of 20 pit bulls, moved into a home in the hills of Claremont, California, and by August 1996 Doggy Style Records, a subsidiary of Death Row Records, signed the Gap Band's Charlie Wilson as one of its first artists. He collaborated with fellow rap artist Tupac Shakur on the 1996 single "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted". This was one of Shakur's last songs released while alive; he was shot on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas, dying six days later.
By the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the price of appearing to be a gang member "living the gangsta life" had become very evident. Among the many notable hip-hop industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg's friend and labelmate Tupac Shakur and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight. Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 because of a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.
This album featured a distinct change of style from Doggystyle, and the leadoff single, "Snoop's Upside Ya Head", featured a collaboration with Charlie Wilson. The album sold reasonably well but was not as successful as its predecessor. Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style. Snoop Dogg was scheduled to release an EP titled Doggumentary on July 8, 1997, but the album had been canceled. Despite this, a music video was released for its projected first single, Midnight Love. Snoop Dogg realized that he was subject to an ironclad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), and refused to produce anymore tracks for Suge Knight other than the insulting "Fuck Death Row" until his contract expired. In an interview with Neil Strauss in 1998, Snoop Dogg said that though he had been given lavish gifts by his former label, they had withheld his royalty payments.Strauss, Neil. Everyone Loves You When You're Dead: Journeys into Fame and Madness. New York: HarperCollins, 2011, p. 12–13
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that after Tha Doggfather, Snoop Dogg began "moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic": for instance, Snoop Dogg participated in the 1997 Lollapalooza concert tour, which featured mainly alternative rock music. Troy J. Augusto of Variety noted that Snoop's set at Lollapalooza attracted "much dancing, and, strangely, even a small mosh pit" in the audience.
1998–2006: Signing with No Limit and continued success
Snoop Dogg signed with Master P's No Limit Records (distributed by Priority/EMI Records) in March 1998 and debuted on the label with Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told later that year. He said at the time that "Snoop Dogg is universal so he can fit into any camp-especially a camp that knows how to handmake shit[;] [a]nd, No Limit hand makes material. They make material fittin' to the artist and they know what type of shit Snoop Dogg is supposed to be on. That's why it's so tight". His other albums on No Limit were No Limit Top Dogg in 1999 (selling over 1,510,000 copies) and Tha Last Meal in 2000 (selling over 2,100,000). In 1999, his autobiography, Tha Doggfather, was published.
In 2002, he released the album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, on Priority/Capitol/EMI, selling over 1,310,000 copies. The album featured the hit singles "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" and "Beautiful", featuring guest vocals by Pharrell. In the same year, he featured in the remix of "Welcome to Atlanta" by Jermaine Dupri. By this stage in his career, Snoop Dogg had left behind his "gangster" image and embraced a "pimp" image.