Doggy Style: The Life of Snoop Dogg

Meet the iconic rap star from Long Beach, California.

What’s his motherfuckin’ name? It’s Snoop Dogg.

Here’s the exciting story behind the weed-puffing rap god of the West Coast. 

Snoopy

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. was born on October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California. He was the second of three boys, raised by a working-class single mother in a dangerous ghetto neighborhood. 

Nobody could pronounce his real name. So his family gave him the affectionate nickname “Snoopy,” since the young boy loved to watch Charlie Brown.

To avoid the mean streets, Snoop’s mother insisted on a churchy lifestyle. The young Dogg was raised as a clean-cut choir boy. But luckily for our rap legend, the household’s rigid religious norms loosened up every Saturday night. When the music played, the rules went out the window. 

As a 12-year-old, Snoop Dogg’s musical interests began to blossom outside the confines of his stern religious upbringing. He instead took an interest in the growing world of rap music. Everyday after school, he would do rap battles with his friends. 

By the time he reached high school, young Snoop was already a schoolyard celebrity—and a favorite with the girls! Shante Taylor was just 14 years old when she fell in love with the cool Dogg. She would eventually become his wife. In their teenage days, Snoop dated her on and off. However, the ambitious teenager was primarily focused on his musical career at the time. 

Gangland

Frustrated by his lack of success, Snoop was stuck bagging groceries for minimum wage. Meanwhile, the drug dealers around him were making tons of money. So the choice felt obvious: sell drugs. With money on his mind, Snoop Dogg began selling cocaine on behalf of the Crips, one of LA’s most fearsome gangs. 

But it was an extremely dangerous lifestyle. Snoop’s high profits made him a target for his violent drug competitors. The violence spilled into his mother’s home, much to her horror. So she disowned her delinquent son. 

Snoop was moving into a deadly direction. Now homeless, he circulated around various homes as a couch surfer. His days were spent dope-dealing on the streets. Fearing for his life, Dogg’s friends begged him to return to music. 

Snoop managed to graduate in May of 1990. But less than a month later, his drug-dealing days came to an abrupt end. Selling drugs to an undercover officer, Snoop got caught by law enforcement. He pled guilty, and was sentenced to four years in prison. Less than a year into his sentence, Snoop got off on parole in the spring of 1991. 

Determined to make something of his life, Snoop stayed away from trouble. He channeled his energy into making music, with help from his friends. They took care of him financially, and encouraged the aspiring artist. 

The Chronic

Snoop Dogg finally got his big break when, through the connections of a local record store, he caught the ear of somebody special. That man was none other than Dr. Dre, a titan of West Coast rap. 

Dogg worked with Dre on the latter’s debut solo album The Chronic. Snoop also worked on the theme song of the 1992 movie Deep Cover. It became one of the summer’s hottest hits, introducing Snoop Dogg to the world. His laid-back persona would ignite a hip-hop revolution. 

Dre and Dogg clicked instantly. Snoop’s vivid lyrics and smooth delivery were a perfect match for Dre’s cutting-edge production style. Their sessions were fueled by alcohol and a powerful brand of weed, called Chronic—hence the album’s name.

The Chronic hit stores in June of 1992. The album celebrated the gritty gangsta life, but Snoop’s seductive smoothness took rap beyond its traditional audience. It shot up to number three on the pop charts, making Chronic the biggest cross-over in hip-hop history! 

The Chronic became the world’s first commercial successful gangsta rap album. The hardness of the sound had finally broken into America’s mainstream culture. 

Doggy Style

Under Dre’s tutelage, Snoop Dogg released his incredible debut album: Doggy Style. His early singles, “What’s My Name” and “Gin and Juice,” solidified his status as a pioneer of the G-funk genre.    

Doggy Style sold several million copies, turning the 23-year-old Snoop Dogg into an overnight pop sensation. Doggy Style topped the pop charts, and it broke rap into the mainstream. He was now the biggest name in the hip hop industry. 

Trial for Murder

But in 1993, something terrible happened. Snoop Dogg was charged with first-degree murder for shooting the member of a rival gang. However, the real killer was Snoop’s bodyguard. Still, the aspiring artist faced the threat of 25 years behind bars! 

The press conjured up an image of Snoop Dogg as a cold-blooded murderer, even though he was deeply disturbed by the victim’s death. Tupac, another rap star, similarly found himself in legal troubles. In a high-profile collaboration, he and Snoop released the song “America’s Most Wanted.” 

With the impending trial, Snoop was placed under house arrest. He was taken aback by the seriousness of the case, which he had previously entrusted to his lawyer’s discretion. Snoop and his bodyguard insisted that they had acted in self-defense. However, the prosecutors alleged that the rap star had aggressively provoked the confrontation. It was a tortuous trial, which lasted several months. Snoop’s estranged parents testified on their son’s behalf. 

Much to his relief, Doggy Dogg was eventually acquitted in 1996. Upon hearing the happy verdict, Snoop clapped his hands in prayer, thanking God. The traumatic experience inspired him to abandon all vestiges of the ghetto lifestyle. While it caused some friction with his friend Tupac, the decision may have saved Snoop Dogg’s life! 

Tupac was assassinated by hired gunmen in Las Vegas. At the hospital, a wounded Tupac clung desperately to his dying moments on this Earth. There, with tears in his eyes, Snoop Dogg bid a painful adieu to his murdered friend. In an ironic twist of fate, Tupac’s life was claimed by the very violence his lyrics glorified. 

A Changed Man

Rattled by his real-life troubles, Snoop Dogg took great pains to distance himself from all things gangsta. He rebranded himself as a more benign “pimp” persona. 

He released his second album, The Doggfather, in November of 1996. Although it sold very well, the artist had serious tensions with Death Row Records. Dre had left it, and Snoop was soon to follow suit. On his own independent label, called No Limit, Snoop Dogg released some more albums. Da Game Is To Be Sold came out later that same year, in 1998. But it failed to make much of a stir. 

Reuniting with his former mentor, Snoop Dogg and Dre joined forces to create the sequel to their legendary Chronic album. Its name was 2001. It included the ultra-famous hit “Still D.R.E.” In the summer of 2000, the rap duo went on the Up In Smoke Tour. They were once again making headlines and topping the charts. 

Snoop Dogg recognizes that he made mistakes in his life. Determined to inspire others to clean up their lives, he founded Doggy Style Records—which attracted gangsters away from crime, toward a new life of musical expression. 

While he may rap about that lifestyle, Snoop vowed never again to participate in such degeneracy in real life. “As long as you living fast and wild and you’re out there, it’s gonna come back to you like that,” the rapper warned. Now, Snoop’s focused on being the best person he can be, inspiring millions of fans globally through his free-spirited creativity and lyrical prowess. 

Today

Today, Snoop Dogg continues to be one of America’s most popular celebrities. 

He appeared with the likes of Eminem and 50 Cent at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2022. That same day, he released his nineteenth album, called BODR. 

As of February 2024, he’s got an upcoming album that will be produced by Dr. Dre, called Missionary.