Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and was later convicted for cocaine trafficking. Snoop Dogg was a member of a local Crips gang in Long Beach. Snoop Dogg's conviction caused him to be in and out of prison for the first three years after he graduated from high school. Older Crips members and prison inmates affiliated with the Crips gang had a long-standing pattern of recognizing talent (particularly musical or sports talent) among their membership, and Snoop Dogg was pushed to make something of himself as a rapper rather than as a street hustler. Snoop thus followed up on the homemade rap tapes that he had made with his cousin Nate Dogg and best friend Warren G (stepbrother of Dr. Dre of N.W.A.). Originally, Snoop's and Nate's cousin Lil' 1/2 Dead was also part of the group, called 213, named after the Long Beach area code at the time. This was largely in homage to Richie Rich's group 415, which was named for the (then) area code of Oakland, California (now the area code of San Francisco and its northern neighbor Marin County). Several of his cousins also became hip hop artists and Aftermath collaborators, including RBX, Joe Cool, and his cousins, Nate Dogg and Daz Dillinger. He's also the nephew of Soul/Gospel singer Willie Norwood and cousin of his R&B singing children Ray J and Brandy and he recently released "Smokin Trees" with Ray J and a duet with Brandy was pre-recorded for Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, but was not part of the album.

Dr. Dre began collaborating with Snoop Dogg, first on the theme song of the feature film Deep Cover, and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. Snoop Dogg's contribution to The Chronic was considerable; the rapper's rhymes were as present as Dr. Dre's. The huge success of Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle was partially due to this intense exposure.

While recording Doggystyle with Dr. Dre in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested in connection with the death of Phillip Woldermarian, a member of a rival gang who was fired at and killed in a gang fight. Snoop Dogg was defended by David Kenner, with his bodyguard McKinley Lee, while Sean Abrams (accompanying member in the jeep) was defended by Johnnie Cochran.Both Snoop Dogg and McKinley Lee were acquitted; Lee was acquitted on grounds of self-defense, but Snoop Dogg remained entangled in the legal battles around the case for three years. His video "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" with Tupac Shakur chronicled the difficulties each rapper was dealing with as a result of their unrelated but concurrent criminal prosecutions.

The Doggystyle album was released in November 1993 on Death Row Records and became the first debut album ever to enter the charts at #1, helping to fuel the ascendance of West Coast "g-funk" rap. The singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months. Gangsta rap became the center of arguments for censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians.

Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others. In 1995 Snoop Dogg and the Dogg Pound were featured on the Los Angeles Based hip-hop show "Street Vibe '95, produced and directed by Edmund Darris . This show a spin off of the St. Louis Based show "Eddie D Live" that promoted heavily rap and hip-hop artist on midwestern television. Snopp Dogg was reported as being a king among men, according to Edmund Darris, who interviewed him and the Dogg Pound exclusively. Darris reported that despite what the media portrays Snoop Dogg, he is a talented genius and has the power of words...he is our modern day Shakespere with raging skills and charisma.

A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial called Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack.

However, by the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the price of imitating (or sometimes just living) the "gangsta" life had become very evident. Among the many notable rap industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg's friend and label-mate Tupac Shakur and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight. Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 due to a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.

This album featured a distinct change of style as compared to Doggystyle. While the album sold reasonably well, it was not as successful, and it was widely believed that its quality suffered from Dr. Dre's lack of involvement. However, Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style, and Snoop Dogg used a less energetic and more charismatic type of rhyming style, which would be more widely incorporated and exercised later on in his career.

In the immediate aftermath of Dr. Dre's withdrawal from Death Row Records, realizing that he was subject to an iron clad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), Snoop Dogg refused to produce any more tracks for Suge Knight, other than the insulting "Fuck Death Row", until his contract expired.


Post-Death Row (1998-2003)
Upon leaving Death Row Records Snoop was approached by a number of record labels. He eventually signed a contract with Master P's No Limit Records. No Limit was quite popular at the time, as Southern Hip Hop was going through a revival and beginning to dominate the charts in a way which had not been seen since Florida rap dominated the charts in the early 1990s, thanks to 2 Live Crew and Luke. Snoop shortened his name from Snoop Doggy Dogg to Snoop Dogg, and received a great deal of criticism for signing to the label.

Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told was the first album Snoop released at No Limit. It received negative reviews, yet still sold well. Snoop put his stamp of the now ubiquitous "Dirty South" sound on this album. Similar to the group focus of Death Row Records, many other No Limit Records artists appeared on the album, and it was produced mostly in-house by Beats By The Pound. Snoop's next effort, No Limit Top Dogg would re-unite Snoop with his mentor Dr. Dre for some highlight tracks and see a return to the G-funk style of his Death Row days; it proved to be a success in both ratings and sales, as the album embraced both old and new styles of West Coast hip hop along with assorted guests from the No Limit roster. Snoop Dogg followed this up with his last album on No Limit Records titled Tha Last Meal, which built upon the mixture of styles on No Limit Top Dogg. Later that year, he collaborated again with his old friends Nate Dogg and Warren G as part of 213. They released an album The Hard Way, which featured the single "Groupie Luv", and reached #4 in the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts.

Snoop Dogg released an autobiography in 2001 titled Tha Doggfather: The Times, Trials, and Hardcore Truths of Snoop Dogg, co-written with Davin Seay. In 2002, Snoop announced that he was giving up women and drugs. Later that year he released the album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, on Capitol Records which featured the hit singles and videos "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" and "Beautiful" featuring guest vocals by Pharrell Williams.

On May 21, 2004, Snoop Dogg filed for divorce from his wife Shante Broadus, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of their three children, Corde, Cordell, and Cori; they have since reconciled. At the age of 30, Snoop gave up smoking weed.

In 2004, Snoop signed to Geffen Records/Star Trak Entertainment both of which are distributed through Interscope Records; Star Trak was headed by the Neptunes, who produced several tracks for Snoop's 2004 release R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), the first single released from the album, was a hit and became Snoop Dogg's first single to reach number one. His third release was "Signs", featuring Justin Timberlake & Charlie Wilson, which entered the UK chart at #2. This was his highest entry ever in the UK chart. The album sold very well, and most of its singles were heavily played on radio and television.

Snoop Dogg's latest music is being featured on West Coast rap albums such as Laugh Now, Cry Later by Ice Cube and Cali Iz Active by Tha Dogg Pound. He is featured on 2 tracks from Cube's album including the single "Go to Church", and several tracks on Cali Iz Active. Also, his latest song, "Real Talk", was leaked over the Internet in the summer of 2006 and a video was later released on the Internet. "Real Talk" is a dedication to Tookie Williams and a diss to Arnold Schwarzenegger. His two other new songs are "Keep Bouncing" by Too $hort, Snoop Dogg & will.i.am; and "Gangsta Walk" by Coolio & Snoop Dogg.

Snoop Dogg's 2006 release, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, did well on its first week, debuting at #5, which has been his highest since 2000's The Last Meal. The album, and the second single "That's That Shit" featuring R. Kelly have been received good critical response so far. In the album, he collaborated in a video with E-40 and other West Coast rappers for his single "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)", the first Snoop Dogg song to contain elements of the hyphy sound from E-40.

In July 2007, Snoop Dogg also made history by becoming the first artist to release a track as a ringtone prior to its release as a single, "It's The D.O.G.". Currently Snoop Dogg is working with producer JT the Bigga Figga on a documentary DVD entitled Mandatory Business, which will feature the likes of Russell Simmons, Spike Lee, Xzibit, Young Buck and 50 Cent. There will also be a soundtrack released for the documentary. On 7 July 2007 Snoop Dogg performed at the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg

In 2000, Snoop (as "Michael J. Corleone") directed Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, a pornographic film produced by Hustler. This film, combining hip-hop with X-rated material, was a huge success and won "Top Selling Release of the Year" at the 2002 AVN Awards. Driven by this success, Snoop directed Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp in 2002 (this time using the nickname "Snoop Scorsese").

Perhaps in conjunction with his entry into the x-rated world, Snoop claimed in a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine that unlike other hip hop artists who've superficially adopted the pimp persona, he was an actual professional pimp in 2003 and 2004, saying "That shit was my natural calling and once I got involved with it, it became fun. It was like shootin' layups for me. I was makin' 'em every time." He goes on to say that upon the advice on some of the other pimps he knew, he eventually gave up pimping to spend more time with his family.

Snoop founded his own production company, Snoopadelic Films, in 2005. Their debut film was Boss'n Up, a film inspired by R&G starring Lil Jon and Trina.

In 2004, Snoop appeared on the Showtime series The L Word as the character "Slim Daddy", a portmanteau of Slim Shady and Puff Daddy. He also notably played the drug dealer-turned-informant character of Huggy Bear, in the 2004 remake film of the 70's TV-series of the same name, Starsky & Hutch. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the Showtime series "Weeds."

He also made an appearance on the hit TV shows Entourage and Monk in July 2007.

On Aug. 25, 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice in the killing of reputed gang member Philip Woldemariam in Woodbine Park in the Palms district of West Los Angeles. Broadus' bodyguard actually pulled the trigger and claimed self-defense at the trial. Both were acquitted.

A woman named Kylie Bell claimed that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Broadus and four others. In December 2004, one month before Bell filed her suit against him, Snoop sued her, accusing her of extortion. Bell eventually dropped her lawsuit, and Snoop dropped his US$5 million countersuit against her. Snoop's publicist said "absolutely no money" was paid by the rapper in reaching a settlement.

On April 26, 2006, Snoop Dogg and members of his entourage were arrested being turned away from British Airways' first class lounge. Snoop and his party were not allowed to enter the lounge because some of the entourage were flying first class, other members of the party were flying economy class. After the group was escorted outside, they vandalized a duty-free shop by throwing whiskey bottles. Seven police officers were injured in the fracas. After a night in prison, Snoop Dogg and the other men were released on bail on April 27, but he was unable to perform at the Premier Foods People's Concert in Johannesburg on the same day. As part of his bail conditions, he had to return to the police station in May. The group has been banned by British Airways for "the foreseeable future."

On May 11, when Snoop Dogg appeared at a London police station, he was cautioned for affray under Section 4 of the Public Order Act for use of threatening words or behavior . On May 15, the Home Office decided that Snoop Dogg should be denied entry to the UK for the foreseeable future due to the fracas at Heathrow as well as his previous convictions in the United States for drugs and firearms offenses.http://uk.news.launch.yahoo.com/dyna/article.html?a=/060516/340/gbrj1.html&e=l_news_dm

Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and The Game have been sued for assaulting a fan on stage at a May 2005 Auburn concert at the White River Amphitheatre. The accuser claims he was beaten by the artists' entourage while he was running up to touch Snoop. He alleges that he reacted to an "open invite" to come on stage. Before he could, Snoop’s bodyguards grabbed him and he was beaten unconscious by crew people, including the rapper and producer Soopafly. Snoop and The Game were included in the suit for not intervening to hold the fight. The lawsuit focuses on a pecuniary claim of $22 million in punitive and compensatory damages, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On September 27, 2006, Snoop Dogg was detained at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California by airport security, after airport screeners found a collapsible police baton in Snoop's carry-on bag. The baton was confiscated but Snoop was allowed to board the flight. He has been charged with various weapons violations stemming from this incident. When arrested, he told deputies the baton was a prop for a movie. Bail was set at $150,000, which Snoop has paid.

Snoop Dogg was arrested again on October 26, 2006 at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California while parked in a passenger loading zone. Approached by airport security for a traffic infraction, he was found in possession of marijuana and a firearm, according to a police statement. He was transported to Burbank Police Department Jail, booked, and released on $35,000 bond. He faced firearm and drug possession charges on 12 December at Burbank Superior Court.

He was again arrested on November 29, 2006, after performing on The Tonight Show, for possession of marijuana and a firearm.

Snoop Dogg was arrested again on March 12, 2007 at 1:25 a.m CET after performing in a concert with P.Diddy in Stockholm's Globe Arena, Sweden. Snoop Dogg was arrested along with a woman after the pair reportedly "reeked" of marijuana. They were arrested and released 4 hours later after providing a urine sample. Pending results on urine will determine whether charges will be pressed. However the rapper denied all charges.

Snoop Dogg's visa request to enter the United Kingdom was rejected by local authorities because of the Heathrow incident on March 24, 2007. A planned concert at London's Wembley Arena on 27th will go ahead with Diddy (with whom he toured Europe) and the rest of the show. However the decision affects four more British performances in Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham and Glasgow and Budapest (due to rescheduling).

On April 12, 2007, Snoop Dogg was sentenced to five years of probation for gun and drug charges. He is expected to continue touring.

On April 26, 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship banned him from entering the country on character grounds, citing his prior criminal convictions. He had been scheduled to appear at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 29, 2007. The ban was not lifted and Snoop Dogg was not able to attend. MTV Australia currently has a petition going to get him Australian citizenship.

Snoop Dogg's many legal issues forced San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to withdraw his plan to issue a proclamation to the rapper.