Nicknamed Snoop by his mother because of his appearance, Calvin Broadus was raised in Long Beach, California, where he frequently had trouble with the law. The 2010s saw him branch out into reggae (2013's Reincarnated), house (as a DJ), and gospel (2018's Bible of Love), but he has remained hip-hop at his core, releasing projects in the 2020s such as The Algorithm (2021), his first album as executive creative consultant for Def Jam, and BODR (2022), which marked a return to Death Row Records, his first label home. His biggest hits as a lead artist during the first decade of the 21st century included "Beautiful" (2003) and the chart-topping "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004), and he was also featured on a slew of major hits by fellow rappers, R&B crooners, and pop groups alike. His own Doggystyle (1993) become the first debut album to enter the Billboard 200 at number one, and featured the Top Ten pop hits "What's My Name" and "Gin and Juice." After the popularity of gangsta rap waned in the late '90s, he proved himself to be a masterful chameleon, riding his pot-loving image in various directions that helped buoy his career through the 2000s. Dre's Top Five rap hit "Deep Cover" (1992), Snoop quickly became one of the most famous stars in rap, partially due to his drawled, laconic rhyming, as well as the realistic violence implied in his lyrics. In July 2016, Snoop followed with his 14th studio album, Coolaid, which also garnered positive reception.One of the most iconic figures to emerge from the early-'90s G-funk era, Snoop Dogg evolved beyond his gangsta rap beginnings to become a lovable pop culture fixture with forays into television, movies, football coaching, and wrestling while expanding his musical reach far beyond his primary genre. 1 on the hip-hop/R&B charts and debuted at No.
With the release of singles like "Peaches N Cream" and "So Many Pros," the album shot to No. Snoop's 13th studio album, produced by Pharrell and titled Bush, arrived in May 2015. That same year he also launched a new digital-media venture called Merry Jane, which focuses on the latest marijuana news. In November 2015, he launched Leafs By Snoop, becoming the first A-list celebrity to brand a line of cannabis products. Outside of music, Snoop has made investments in the burgeoning cannabis business. In August 2012, Snoop released Reincarnated's debut single, "La La La." Cannabis Business Later that year he announced that he was dropping "Dogg" from his name to become Snoop Lion.Īccording to the Los Angeles Times, Snoop decided to change his name after traveling to Jamaica where he met with a priest, who told him: "You are the light, you are the lion." Moved by the meeting, Snoop immediately changed his name. In early 2012, Snoop announced that he was working for the first time on an all-reggae album, called Reincarnated.
In 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, citing his prior criminal convictions, banned him from entering the country and appearing at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards. Later in 2006, he was arrested at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, after officers found marijuana and a gun in his vehicle. By now his sound had become less "gangsta rap" and somewhat smoother. His last album for No Limit, The Last Meal, came in 2000 and sold over 2 million copies.
He scored the top slot on the hip-hop charts with his next two albums: Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998) and No Limit Top Dogg (1999). Snoop then left Death Row himself, falling out with label mogul Suge Knight and moving to Master P’s No Limit Records. 'Da Game Is to Be Sold' to 'The Hard Way' While it didn’t perform as well commercially, it still showed that Snoop was a major-league artist. Snoop's next album, Tha Doggfather (1996), also reached the top of the charts, despite the absence of Dre, who had left Death Row over a contract dispute. Next came a short film called Murder Was the Case, the soundtrack of which went double platinum. Dre gave Snoop a sound that would resonate in the minds of hip-hop fans for generations. 1 spot on Billboard's hip-hop and Top 200 charts, based in part on the success of the singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice." It built on the G-Funk template that The Chronic had established, as Cypress Hill’s B-Real later reminisced: “I think Dr. Snoop's first album, the Dre-produced Doggystyle (1993), climbed its way to the No. Hit Albums: 'Doggystyle' & 'Tha Doggfather'