Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg, born Calvin Broadus in 1971 and raised in Long Beach, drawls like the whole world can wait, and for a while in the '90s it did. He broke through in 1992 as Dr. Dre's partner in crime, first on "Deep Cover" and then all over The Chronic, where "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" introduced his lazy, melodic flow to the planet. His debut, Doggystyle, was produced by Dre, moved 806,000 copies in its first week and entered the Billboard 200 at number one.

That record defined G-funk: rubbery synth lines, fat bass and a laid-back menace that made gangsta rap sound like a cookout. "What's My Name?" and "Gin and Juice" were the hits, the latter a wobbly house-party anthem that crossed over to rock stations too. His lyrics circle back to drug use and gun violence, delivered in a voice that never raises itself.

He left Death Row for Master P's No Limit Records, then scored his first Hot 100 number one in 2004 with the Pharrell-assisted "Drop It Like It's Hot", from R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. There were detours too, reggae as Snoop Lion and a gospel album, and in 2022 he bought Death Row outright. He co-headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show that year and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.