Snoop Dogg

Whether you know him as Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoop Dogg, or Snoop Lion, rapper Calvin Broadus has become just as recognizable over the past three decades as the Peanuts character that inspired his nickname. Thanks to his smooth flow, clever wordplay, and chill, weed-loving swagger, Snoop became an overnight sensation in the gangsta rap world as a guest on Dr. Dre's first solo releases. Snoop's solo debut, Doggystyle, sold even better than Dre's The Chronic and positioned him to become the most famous rapper to emerge in the Nineties and set him up to become a cultural icon in the decades that follow.

But Broadus' beginnings were humbler. His mom gave him the "Snoopy" nickname as a kid growing up in the mean streets of Long Beach, California. He was arrested on a cocaine charge just after graduating high school and spent three years in and out of jail. During this time, Broadus honed his flow and recorded tapes with his friend, Warren G, in 1990. Warren passed the recordings to his stepbrother, Dr. Dre, who liked what he heard. The producer, who'd just exited N.W.A, recorded "Deep Cover" with Snoop and brought him into the studio for the making of The Chronic. Snoop rapped on more than half of the album and wrote verses for Dre. Snoop's stardom was obvious, so Dre got him in the studio immediately to record Doggystyle, which featured the hits, "What's My Name?" "Gin & Juice." The album debuted at Number One the week it came out in 1993.

Just as Snoop was experiencing fame, though, police arrested him in 1993 in connection with the death of a man whom Snoop had called a stalker. He and his bodyguard were ultimately acquitted of murder in February 1996. A soundtrack album, Murder Was the Case, which featured Snoop on three tracks including the Doggystyle song that gave the film its name, became a Number One hit in 1994 as the case was still in contention.

Snoop split with Dre for another Number One album, 1996's Tha Doggfather, and within a couple of years moved over to Master P's No Limit label, where he recorded two albums, Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998) and No Limit Top Dogg (1999). He then launched his own Dogg House Records imprint where he put out the first album by tha Eastsidaz. Before the decade was up, he reunited with Dre for 2001 (1999) and released his autobiography, Tha Doggfather: The Times, Trials, and Hardcore Truths of Snoop Dogg.

A decade removed from The Chronic and Doggystyle, Snoop was still releasing platinum albums — 2002's Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss and 2004's R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece — and he scored a megahit with "Drop It Like It's Hot" produced by the Neptunes. A few years later, "Sensual Seduction," off Snoop's Ego Trippin' album kept him in the Top 10, a feat he'd repeat as a guest on Katy Perry's "California Gurls" (2010) and Jason Derulo's "Wiggle" (2014), as well as his "Young, Wild & Free" duet with Wiz Khalifa. Snoop's next Top 10 single, "Bad Decisions" (with Benny Blanco and BTS), wouldn't arrive until 2022.

Outside of music, Snoop has acted in the movies The Wash, Bones, and Mac and Devin Go to High School, in addition to making guest appearances in film and television shows. In 2000, he released a porno film, Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, which he directed. In 2016, he teamed improbably with Martha Stewart for Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, making appearances with her ever since, including at the 2024 Olympic Games. He has also released a cookbook, provided commentary for boxing, and worked as an A&R exec for Def Jam. Most recently, he returned to his first loves, music and weed, by relaunching the label that gave him his start, Death Row, and opening his first legal marijuana shop, S.W.E.D., in Los Angeles, of course. — Kory Grow