Biography
Renowned just as much for his love of weed as his distinctive laconic drawl, Dr. Dre protege Snoop Dogg made his name as a G-funk pioneer, but his constant musical and pop-culture evolutions ensured his superstar status never once diminished. Born Calvin Broadus Jr. in Long Beach, California in 1971, Snoop Dogg spent much of his post-high school years serving time for various offenses, but his life changed course when an early mixtape impressed Dr. Dre enough to take him under his wing. Snoop later appeared with the N.W.A. co-founder on both his theme to "Deep Cover" (1992) and debut The Chronic, and soon became a hitmaker in his own right with "Gin and Juice" and "Who Am I (What's My Name)," while in 1993 he became the first artist ever to enter the Billboard 200 at number one with their debut album. The chart-topping success of Doggystyle was emulated with 1994's Murder was the Case, the soundtrack to a short film inspired by an impending real-life trial in which Snoop was accused of being an accessory in a drive-by shooting. After being cleared of all charges in 1996, Snoop returned to the number one spot with Tha Doggfather. But following the death of friend Tupac Shakur, he started distancing himself from the G-funk scene and Death Row label that had launched him to fame. 1998 fourth chart-topping effort Da Game Is to be Sold Not to Be Told was released via No Limit, while appearances in films "Half Baked" (1998) and "Hot Boyz" (2000) proved his talents extended beyond hip-hop. Snoop went on to cameo in "Training Day" (2001), take leading roles in "Baby Boy" (2001) and "Bones" (2001) and reunite with Dr. Dre in "The Wash" (2001), also providing the latter's accompanying soundtrack. Snoop continued to successfully flit between music and movies, scoring his first US Hot 100 chart-topper in 2004 with "Drop It Like It's Hot" and enjoying box office success as Huggy Bear in "Starsky and Hutch" (2004). He also provided voiceovers in "Racing Stripes" (2005) and "Arthur and the Invisibles" (2007), starred in "Soul Plane" (2004) and "The Tenants" (2005) and ventured into television with sketch comedy "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle" (MTV, 2002-03) and reality series "Snoop Dogg's Father Hood" (E!, 2007-08). Following a return to his G-funk roots on 2006's Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, Snoop released 2011 sequel Doggumentary and teamed up with Wiz Khalifa for both the album and movie, "Mac and Devin Go to High School" (2011). After converting to Rastafarianism and rechristening himself Snoop Lion, he picked up a 16th Grammy nomination for 2013 reggae LP, Reincarnated, before going back to basics on 2015's Bush. He continued to make leftfield turns, working with Martha Stewart on a VH1 variety series, starring in a Netflix documentary about his youth football coach exploits and embracing gospel for 2018's Snoop Dogg Presents Bible of Love. After playing R&B star Lingerie in "The Beach Bum" (2019), Snoop released his 17th studio effort, I Wanna Thank Me.
