Rapper Snoop Dogg is African-American, and he first gained notoriety in 1992 when he appeared in Dr. Dre's album "The chronic." Since then, he has sold 25 million records globally and over 23 million albums in the United States. Additionally, he has been seen in the movies "Half fake," "Training day," "Starsky and hutch," and "Old school."

But before all of these, before he would work with everyone from Swizz Beatz to Kanye West to Wiz Khalifa to Willie Nelson and Katy Perry, before he would win an AVN award for top selling porno of the year for his work as a producer on "doggy style," Snoop Dogg got his first taste of fame by singing in his church choir.

Additionally, he was hired for his first job bagging groceries, but he desired to be a rapper. He also had some talent—he was a high school legend—but it wasn't until a family member, a well-known NWA member, connected the two that Snoop Dogg became Dr. Dre's right-hand man.

Snoop made his music debut on Dr. Dre's multi-platinum 1992 album "The chronic," appearing on more than half of it. Snoop followed up on this success by releasing his own album, "Doggy style," which would go on to become the best-selling rap album of its time. However, all of this success almost disappeared as quickly as it arrived because the man was facing 25 years in prison for murder.

Without further ado, let's swiftly explore Snoop Dogg's fascinating life and career before becoming well-known.

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, better known as Snoop Dogg, was born on October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California. He was the second of three sons and was given the stepfather's name, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. His father, Vietnam War veteran, musician, and mailman Vernell Fernando, abandoned the family when Snoop was just three months old. His mother, Beverly Tate went on to name the boy after his stepfather, indicating that this wasn't a pleasant change.

Young Snoop earned his nickname because he enjoyed watching a particular television program so much.


He is first cousins with the WWE professional wrestler, Sasha Banks, R&B singer Brandy, Ray J, and future collaborator Nate Dock. According to a DNA test that was discussed by George Lopez and Lopez tonight, Snoop is primarily of African heritage (71%), Native American (23%), and European descent (6%).

By the time he was ten years old, Snoop was singing and playing the piano with the Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church. He also decided to try rapping in the sixth grade. He would continue doing this throughout high school, and he was extremely excellent at it. He established a name for himself as one of Long Beach's top up-and-coming rappers.

His high school girlfriend, Shantae Taylor, who he later married in 2004, was one of his closest friends. They would briefly split before later renewing their vows, and now they are parents to three kids.

Snoop tried his hand at employment throughout high school while attending Long Beach Polytechnic High and worked as a grocery bagger at a nearby store called Lucky's. But since this wasn't covering his expenses, he made the decision to start peddling drugs.

He now spent three years entering and exiting prison where he was frequently detained for drug possession. He was a member of the 20 rolling crips gang and was connected to the crips. 

He sold to a police officer undercover at the age of 18, which earned him a full year in jail. After this, Snoop began to take his music more seriously after realizing that his life was heading in a perilous direction. In 1990, he completed high school and started a club called 213, which stood for the Long Beach area code.

This was created with the help of his cousin Nate, Dogg, Lil 1/2 Dead, and friend Warren G. Warren was Dr. Dre's stepbrother and at the time of its formation, NWA had blown up. Warren G begged Dr. Dre to listen to the underground tapes that 213 had started to make.

Then, one night at a house party, he had his chance. Dr. Dre knew he had to meet with the rapper as soon as he heard Snoop Dogg's swaggering gangster delivery. As soon as possible, Dre and Snoop started collaborating on the song "deep cover" for the corresponding film. Snoop was Dr. Dre's right-hand man by the time he began recording "the chronic," contributing to more than half of the album.

Now that "the chronic" had become a huge success, everyone was curious to learn more about this new character, Snoop Doggy Dog. At that point, the two entered the Death Row Records studio and started to create music "doggy style." This was one of the most eagerly awaited rap albums in history, and it became the first debut album to reach the top of the charts.

With so much drama in the album, songs like "what's my name" and "Gin and juice" swiftly became national party anthems, and Snoop Dogg quickly became a household name. Prior to the release of this album, however, Snoop Dogg was detained and charged with being an accessory to murder in the death and drive-by shooting of Philip Waldermarion. Snoop Dogg's bodyguard shot Philip in self-defense after he was accused of stalking Snoop.

Snoop was on trial in LA, and the case was dismissed in February 1996 after Snoop and his bodyguard were found not guilty on all charges. He swiftly got back to work on his follow-up album, "The dog father," with Dr. Dre serving as his producer. The record received double-platinum certification the following year.

Snoop joined with No Limit Records after leaving Death Row Records in January 1998, and three of his albums were released there: "Tha Last Meal," "Da Game Is to Be Sold," and "Not to Be Told". He signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002 and released "Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss". In 2004, he signed with Geffen Records and released "R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece," "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment," and "Ego Trippin'."

His albums "Malice 'n Wonderland" and "Doggumentary" were both published by Priority Records in 2009 and 2011.

Snoop Dogg has appeared in films and hosted a number of television programs, including Dogg After Dark, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, and Doggy Fizzle Televizzle. He also oversees the football teams for a high school and a youth league. He was appointed by EMI as the chairman of a revived Priority Records in September 2009.



After visiting Jamaica in 2012, Snoop revealed his conversion to Rastafari and adopted the moniker Snoop Lion. Early in 2013, he went by the stage name Snoop Lion and released the reggae album "Reincarnated" and a movie with the same name about his time in Jamaica. 

Snoop Dogg made a comeback with the release of his 13th studio album, "Bush," in May 2015. "Coolaid," his 14th studio album by himself, was made available in July 2016. He made multiple appearances for the company, including serving as master of ceremonies for a match at WrestleMania XXIV, and was inducted into the celebrity section of the WWE Hall of Fame in March 2016, the evening before WrestleMania 32 in Arlington, Texas.

Snoop released his debut gospel album, "Bible of Love", the same year he declared himself "a born-again Christian" and made the announcement. Snoop Dogg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 19, 2018. "I Wanna Thank Me," his eighteenth solo album, was released in 2019. after that "BODR," Snoop Dogg's 19th studio album, was released in 2022 after he purchased Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group (formerly known as eOne Music).