A colorful pop icon that has continued to change his repertoire throughout the years, Snoop Dogg has transformed his image from being the epitome of 90’s gangsta rap to becoming the well-liked personality that he is most famous for today. Born Calvin Broadus in Long Beach, California, the eccentric rapper was nicknamed Snoop by his mother because of his appearance. As a teenager on the streets of Long Beach, Snoop was always in some sort of trouble, and after graduating from high school, he served three years in prison for possession of cocaine. Like most rappers that walked the streets of the late 80’s and the early 90’s though, Snoop soon found an escape from crime through his musical talents, recording homemade tapes with friend Warren G, who was also related to the infamous Dr. Dre. After Warren introduced Snoop, Dre was instantly impressed with the young rapper’s unique style and menacing appearance, urging him to tag along on his next album, The Chronic. As a major player on Dre’s debut solo album, Snoop set the groundwork for his own release, but after he was arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting, his highly anticipated album was put on hold.
When Doggystyle was finally released in November of 1993, the album shot to the top of the charts and debuted at number one, thanks mostly to hit singles like “What’s My Name?” and “Gin & Juice.” Snoop became an instant hit and within a year, Doggystyle had gone quadruple platinum, but the impending murder trial that Snoop had been preparing for continued on nearly three years before he was finally cleared of all charges. By late 1996, Snoop released his sophomore album, The Doggfather, to mediocre sales and reviews, but it was too late. Gangsta rap was quickly declining with the recent death of 2Pac Shakur and it looked like Snoop had lost out on his small window of opportunity. The following years found Snoop releasing a number of albums, from Dead Man Walkin to The Last Meal, but his recording career became almost secondhand to the marketable personality he had molded himself into. Snoop was on the fast track to stardom and low-selling rap albums wasn’t part of the plan.
By the new millennium, Snoop had secured a book deal for his autobiography and Hollywood was calling with a stack of movie roles that were perfect for him. Snoop wasn’t an amateur to the film world and had already appeared in the stoner film “Half-Baked” playing himself. Within two years, the rat-faced rapper started reeling in genuine roles in films like “Baby Boy” playing a fresh-out-of-prison convict and “Training Day” as a handicapped druggie. The roles had little depth, but they showcased Snoop’s decent acting skills enough to surprise film critics. Since 2002, Snoop has appeared in over ten films (including box-office hits like “Old School” and “Starsky and Hutch”) and has even branched out in to the Adult Video industry with a number of productions that exploit the popularity of his name in their titles. Whether you like the guy or not, Snoop is a one-of-a-kind character that has continually adapted and matured over two decades to become a respectable star in the entertainment industry.
Snoop on the Screen and Radio
You either love him or you hate him, but regardless of how you feel about the lanky rapper known as Snoop Dogg, he has become an undying presence in the world of music and more recently film and TV as well. Throughout his musical career, Snoop has released a number of successful rap albums that range from his debut solo effort Doggystyle to his most recent Paid Tha Cost to Be Tha Bo$$. Aside from the appearing in heaps of atrocious rapper films that haunt the straight-to-video aisles at Blockbuster, Snoop has made acting one of his newest agendas. Starting out with a cameo as himself in “Half-Baked,” Snoop quickly moved on to bigger and better things, like supporting roles in John Singleton’s “Baby Boy” and “Training Day” to starring in films like “Bones,” “The Wash” and “Soul Plane.” Snoop’s most recent film credits include another cameo appearance in “Old School,” a credited voice talent as Ronnie Rizzat the rat in “Malibu’s Most Wanted” and a much bigger role as the iconic Huggy Bear in the 2004 remake of the 70’s hit TV show, “Starsky and Hutch.” Snoop also starred in his own sketch comedy show, “Doggy Fizzle Televizzle,” that aired in 2003 and has produced a number of adult video titles like “Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle” and “Girls Gone Wild: Doggy Style.” While his acting talents haven’t yet made the rapper a credible screen presence, don’t expect the eccentric personality to leave anytime soon.
Living Doggy Style
On the “Harry Potter” craze:
“I keep hearing about mutha f***ing Harry Potter. Who is this mutha****er?”
On Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera:
“Britney would make a better prostitute than Christina. She’s thicker.”