Snoop Dogg
NAME
Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.) also known as Snoop Lion
BORN
October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California, USA
BASED
California, USA
YEARS ACTIVE
1992 – present
NET WORTH
approximately $135 million
WHO
Snoop Dogg was as ubiquitous as PlayStation and Michael Jordan to anyone growing up in the ‘90s. The smooth idiosyncratic drawl coupled with his laidback demeanor and wit made him instantly likable. Adding to that, his name which he got from his mother, who called him Snoopy after the popular cartoon. The Long Beach-native brought a whole new gangsta rap to the table, and also branched out into Hollywood, making him a cultural icon and one of the most successful rappers of his generation.
Born Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr. in Long Beach, California in 1971, Snoop Doggy Dog – as was his full name – started playing piano at an early age and got into rap in sixth grade. He recorded early demos with his cousin Nate Dogg and long-time friend Warren G as 213, which would peak the interest of Dr. Dre, (the step-brother of Warren G). The rest is rap-history.
Snoop and Dre collaborated for Dre’s seminal debut solo album, The Chronic, in 1992, paving the way for the G-Funk sound that would propel Snoop into the spotlight.
Encouraged by Dre, Snoop released his first album, the Dre-produced Doggystyle, in 1993. It was a huge success, reaching the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 and hip-hop charts, spearheaded by hit-singles “Gin and Juice” and “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?.” Snoop was labeled as the most exciting newcomer in rap, landing a cover of Rolling Stone, and a feature in Newsweek, becoming Snoop with the whole world.
Hand in hand with his musical career he would go on to make headlines for his legal troubles on numerous occasions, including possession of marijuana – before it was legalized in his home state. In 1993 he got embroiled in a murder trial, when Snoop’s body guard fired off a shot during a verbal altercation that had escalated, fatally wounding a man. Snoop surrendered to police and paid the $1 million bail. They both pleaded self-defense and was acquitted in 1996.
The case spawned the short film and soundtrack album “Murder Was The Case” released on Dre’s Death Row Records in 1994, which also reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Snoop was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” (with Dr. Dre) that year, and Best Rap Solo Performance for “Gin and Juice” in 1995. He would continue to stack up 17 Grammy nominations throughout his career.
Between 1996 and 2000, Snoop continued to put out chart topping albums without Dre, Tha Doggfather, Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told, No Limit Top Dogg and The Last Meal.
Then came monster-hit R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece on Doggystyle Records in 2004, with production by The Neptunes and The Alchemist amongst others. The album’s lead single “Drop It Like It’s Hot” featuring Pharrell Williams went on to top the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned Snoop several Grammy nominations. Two years later his Tha Blue Carpet Treatment dropped, with the likes of Dr. Dre, Timbaland and The Neptunes appearing on the album, and it was certified Platinum.
In 2007, he released the track “It’s The DOG” as a ringtone ahead of the single release, making him the first artist to ever do so. In this period he also picked up acting, and featured in several films, including Training Day and Starsky & Hutch, along with several TV-shows such as Weeds and The L Word, and Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party. He also starred in his own E! reality show, Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood, in 2007.
He put out another string of albums, Ego Trippin’ (2008) , Malice n Wonderland (2009) and Doggumentary (2011). The first and the last all made the Top 10 of the US Billboard 200 chart, whereas the 2009 release was his lowest charting release up until that point, debuting in 23 on the US Billboard 200.
Then in 2012 Snoop announced that he was working on his very first reggae record, after a trip to Jamaica and studying the Rastafari movement. The following year he unearthed Reincarnated, his twelfth album, under his new reggae guise Snoop Lion. Diplo was on production duty for the record, along with a string of guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora, and Drake among others. It was subsequently nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album, proving that Snoop was not just tied to one genre.
Two years later he returned with the Pharrell and Chad Hugo-produced album Bush, and hit-singles like “Peaches N Cream” and “So Many Pros” landed the album a number 1 position on the hip-hop/R&B charts. The following year in 2016, he teased his new album title Coolaid on Jimmy Kimmel Live! It also received positive reviews.
In May 2017 Snoop dropped his fifteenth studio album Neva Left, tapping the likes of Redman, Method Man, KRS-One along with frequent collaborators Charlie Wilson and Wiz Khalifa on guest vocals.
Snoop was honored with a highly-coveted star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in late 2018, aged 47. But before that he had time to make his gospel debut, releasing his double studio LP Bible of Love featuring an impressive total of 32 tracks, with guest appearances such as Faith Evans and gospel singer Tye Tribbett and was exec produced by Snoop himself. It received a mixed bag or reviews, but was hailed by Christian publications and it topped the Gospel Albums chart for seven non-consecutive weeks.
The same year his football docuseries dropped, Coach Snoop, as an avid fan of the sport himself, setting up the Snoop Youth Football League to keep kids off the streets.
In 2019 he released his 17th album, I Wanna Thank Me, featuring the likes of Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, Slick Rick, the late Nate Dogg and many others, and also appeared in Harmony Korine’s new movie The Beach Bum alongside Matthew McConaughey. He was also cast for Netflix’s biopic on cult comedian Rudy Ray Moore, starring Eddie Murphy and featuring Wesley Snipes, Tituss Burgess and Chris Rock to name a few. In late September he also released a video for the BBC with a cover of Peaky Blinders theme song, “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. He also announced a highly anticipated UK arena tour in 2020 with special guest Warren G and others.
To date Snoop clocks in 17 studio albums and 17 Grammy nominations, with countless singles, compilation albums, mixtapes and more in between. He has sold over 23.5 million albums in the US and 37 million albums worldwide.
Alongside his long and prolific music career and numerous Hollywood roles, the rap-icon manages his brand, and over at Snoopermarket you can cop everything from merch and cookbooks to candles, music and DVDs. He has also invested in the cannabis business, launching his own line of cannabis products, and the digital platform Merry Jane keeping you abreast of the latest cannabis news.
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
Doggystyle
Released: November 23, 1993
Label: Death Row
Tha Doggfather
Released: November 12, 1996
Label: Death Row
Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told
Released: August 4, 1998
Label: No Limit
No Limit Top Dogg
Released: May 11, 1999
Label: No Limit
Tha Last Meal
Released: December 19, 2000
Label: No Limit
Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss
Released: November 26, 2002
Label: Priority, Capitol
R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece
Released: November 16, 2004
Label: Doggystyle, Star Trak, Geffen
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
Released: November 21, 2006
Label: Doggystyle, Geffen
Ego Trippin’
Released: March 11, 2008
Label: Doggystyle, Geffen
Malice n Wonderland
Released: December 8, 2009
Label: Doggystyle, Priority
Doggumentary
Released: March 29, 2011
Label: Doggystyle, Priority
Reincarnated
Released: April 23, 2013
Label: Berhane Sound System, Mad Decent, Vice Records, RCA
Bush
Released: May 12, 2015
Label: Doggystyle, i am OTHER, Columbia, Sony
Coolaid
Released: July 1, 2016
Label: Doggystyle, eOne
Neva Left
Released: May 19, 2017
Label: Doggystyle, Empire
Bible of Love
Released: March 16, 2018
Label: RCA, All the Time Entertainment
I Wanna Thank Me
Released: August 16, 2019
Label: Doggystyle, Empire
