Snoop Dogg Biography

Rapper / Music Producer

Photos ( See all 42 )

Name at birth: Cordozar Broadus

Snoop Dogg is a hip-hop star who shot to fame after being a featured rapper on Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic. A native of Long Beach, California, Broadus was a teenage gang member and drug dealer before being discovered by Dr. Dre and Death Row Records. A hit single from the movie Deep Cover (1992, with Laurence Fishburne), and the success of The Chronic helped make an immediate bestseller out of Snoop's solo debut album, Doggystyle (1993). His first hit songs, "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice," established him as a star with broad appeal, and his unapologetic admissions of street crimes and a 1996 acquittal on a murder charge gave him "gangsta" credibility. Snoop's distinctive languid drawl set him apart from other rappers, and his bass-heavy sound, influenced by the George Clinton Parliament and Funkadelic records of the 1970s, set the tone for the West Coast "G-Funk" sound. Criticized for his frequent run-ins with police, misogynistic lyrics and success as a producer of pornography, Snoop Dogg is nonetheless a mainstream celebrity who pops up in TV shows, the movies and high-profile ad campaigns. His notable moments on screen include the movies Training Day (2001, with Denzel Washington) and Starsky & Hutch (2004, with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson). His best-known songs include "Murder Was the Case," "Snoop Dogg (What's My Name, Pt. 2)" and "Drop It Like It's Hot."

Extra credit: Snoop Dogg's linguistic trademark is a slang form that substitutes "izzle" for word parts, as in "fo' shizzle" ("for sure")... Snoop's early recordings with Death Row Records are under the name Snoop Doggy Dogg; in 1996 he left Death Row for No Limit Records and changed his name to simply Snoop Dogg... There is much confusion over his real name, but his autobiography, The Doggfather: The Times, Trials and Hardcore Truths of Snoop Dogg (1999), says he was born Cordozar and called Calvin as a boy... Snoop Dogg was a member of the Crips gang in Long Beach, California... In 2006 he was arrested on drugs and weapons charges in September, in October and again in November.

Blog posts mentioning Snoop Dogg: