Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (/ˈbroʊdɪs/; born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion),[note 1] is an American rapper. His initial fame dates back to 1992 following his guest appearance on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, "Deep Cover", and later on Dre's debut album, The Chronic that same year. Broadus has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States, and 35 million albums worldwide.[4][5] His accolades include an American Music Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and 17 Grammy Award nominations.
Snoop Dogg
- Snoop Doggy Dogg
- Snoop Lion
- Bigg Snoop Dogg
- Dogg Father
- Snoop Rock
- DJ Snoopadelic
- Snoopzilla
- FaZe Snoop
- Niggarachi[1]
- Rapper
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- actor
- media personality
1991–present
- Founder of Doggy Style Records
- Owner of Death Row Records
- Executive Creative Consultant at Def Jam Recordings
4
- Bing Worthington (brother)[2]
- Sasha Banks (cousin)[3]
- Daz Dillinger (cousin)
- Nate Dogg (cousin)
- RBX (cousin)
- Mr. Malik (cousin)
- Lil ½ Dead (cousin)
Produced entirely by Dr. Dre, Broadus' debut studio album, Doggystyle (1993) was released by Death Row Records and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Selling 800,000 copies in its first week, the album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the following year and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin and Juice". He was the lead performer on Death Row's soundtrack album for the 1994 short film Murder Was the Case, wherein Broadus made his acting debut. His second album, Tha Doggfather (1996) likewise debuted atop the chart and received double platinum certification. In 1998, he parted ways with Death Row in favor of Master P's No Limit Records, through which he saw largely 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). He then signed with Priority, Capitol, and EMI Records to release his sixth album Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss (2002), which was further commercially-oriented. This effectively continued upon him signing with Geffen Records to release his next three albums: R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004), Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006), and Ego Trippin' (2008); the former spawned the single "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), which became his first to peak atop the Billboard Hot 100. He then returned to Priority and Capitol—upon his hiring as chairman of the former label—to release his tenth and eleventh albums, Malice 'n Wonderland (2009) and Doggumentary (2011), both of which saw mild critical and commercial response.[6]
During this time, Broadus starred in films and hosted several television shows, including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, and Dogg After Dark. In 2012, following a trip to Jamaica, Snoop converted to Rastafari and adopted the alias Snoop Lion, under which he released a reggae album, Reincarnated (2013) and a namesake documentary film about his Jamaican experience. His thirteenth studio album, Bush (2015) was produced entirely by frequent collaborator Pharrell, while his fourteenth studio album, Coolaid (2016) was released the same year as his induction into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.[7] In 2018, Broadus became "a born-again Christian" and released his first gospel album, Bible of Love in March of that year.[8] In November of that year, Broadus was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[9] In 2022, Broadus acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group (formerly known as eOne Music), and released his nineteenth studio album, BODR (2022)—preceded by the independently-released I Wanna Thank Me (2019) and From tha Streets 2 tha Suites (2021).[10]
Early life
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. was born on October 20, 1971, in Long Beach, California, to Vernell Varnado and Beverly Tate.[11][12] Varnado, who was a Vietnam War veteran, singer, and mail carrier, left the family only three months after his birth, and thus he was named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Sr. (1948–1984).[13] His father remained largely absent from his life. As a boy, his mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" due to his love and likeness of the cartoon character from Peanuts.[14] He was the second of his mother's three sons. His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975.[11] When Broadus was very young, he began singing and playing piano at the Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church. In sixth grade, he began rapping.[15][16] As a child, Broadus sold candy, delivered newspapers, and bagged groceries to help his family make ends meet. He was described as having been a dedicated student and enthusiastic churchgoer, active in choir and football. Broadus said in 1993 that he began engaging in unlawful activities and joining gangs in his teenage years, despite his mother's preventative efforts.[17]
Broadus 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."[17]
As a teenager, Broadus frequently ran into trouble with the law. He was a member of the Rollin' 20s Crips gang in the Eastside neighborhood of Long Beach;[18] in 1993, however, he denied the frequent police and media reports by saying that he never joined a gang.[15] Shortly after graduating from high school at 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.[13] With his two cousins, Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead, and friend Warren G, he recorded homemade tapes; the four called their group 213 after the area code of their native Long Beach at that time. 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 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.[19]
Music career
1991–1998: Death Row, Doggystyle, and Tha Doggfather
When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. He was introduced to Dr. Dre by Warren G who gave him Broadus's cassette tape. Broadus then signed with Dre's label, Future Shock Records (which later became known as Death Row Records).[20] 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.[13]
Artistry
Snoop Dogg had been mainly described as a hip hop,[134][135] West Coast hip hop,[134][136] g-funk,[13][137] and gangsta rap artist.[13] Kool Moe Dee ranks Broadus at No. 33 in his book There's a God on the Mic, and says he has "an ultra-smooth, laidback delivery"[138] and "flavor-filled melodic rhyming".[139]
Peter Shapiro describes Broadus's delivery as a "molasses drawl"[140] and AllMusic notes his "drawled, laconic rhyming" style.[13] Kool Moe Dee refers to Snoop's use of vocabulary, saying he "keeps it real simple...he simplifies it and he's effective in his simplicity".[141]
Broadus is known to freestyle some of his lyrics on the spot – in the book How to Rap, Lady of Rage says, "When I worked with him earlier in his career, that's how created his stuff... he would freestyle, he wasn't a writer then, he was a freestyler",[142] and The D.O.C. states, "Snoop's [rap] was a one take willy, but his shit was all freestyle. He hadn't written nothing down. He just came in and started busting. The song was "Tha Shiznit"—that was all freestyle. He started busting and when we got to the break, Dre cut the machine off, did the chorus and told Snoop to come back in. He did that throughout the record. That's when Snoop was in the zone then."[143]
Peter Shapiro says that Broadus debuted on "Deep Cover" with a "shockingly original flow – which sounded like a Slick Rick born in South Carolina instead of South London"[144] and adds that he "showed where his style came from by covering Slick Rick's 'La Di Da Di'".[140] Referring to Snoop's flow, Kool Moe Dee calls him "one of the smoothest, funkiest flow-ers in the game".[139] How to Rap also notes that Snoop is known to use syncopation in his flow to give it a laidback quality,[145] as well as 'linking with rhythm' in his compound rhymes,[146] using alliteration,[147] and employing a "sparse" flow with good use of pauses.[148]
Broadus listed his favorite rap albums for Hip Hop Connection:
10. Mixmaster Spade, The Genius Is Back
9. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
8. Ice Cube, Death Certificate
7. 2Pac, Me Against the World
6. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die
5. N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton
4. Eric B. & Rakim, Paid in Full
3. Slick Rick, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
2. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle
1. Dr. Dre, The Chronic ("It's da illest shit")[149]
Studio albums
Collaboration albums
