Snoop Dogg Biography

5/1/2002 12:00:00 AM - by bpatterson

A musical and cultural icon, hip-hop Renaissance man, entrepreneur, and Hollywood’s newest leading man, SNOOP DOGG is quickly becoming the hottest commodity in the world of entertainment.

Snoop’s music fans won’t be disappointed this year with two new projects on the rise. This November, he will drop his highly anticipated solo record Snoop Dogg R&G: Rhythm & Gangsta The Masterpiece. This newest solo album promises Snoop’s same beloved rap style, with a series of surprise guest stars, including Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes. The two have been hard at work in the studio for months collaborating on a fresh new sound for the album. The first single off the album, “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” has already created tremendous buzz on both on the radio and in the streets, positioning the album to be a huge chart topping success.

Already out this year, Snoop re-connected with his childhood friends, Nate Dog and Warren G on the successful album 213: The Hard Way. The album was #1 in Southern California and is rising in the Billboard Top 5 every week. Snoop was also seen on tour this summer performing his favorite old and new school hits with a “rock” flare on the Project Revolution tour. The tour, a musical collaboration that included rock bands Linkin Park and Korn, was a crowd-pleasing success throughout the country.

Furthering his entrepreneurial status, Snoop is partnering with leading modern fashion performance brand Pony, to create a shoe collection called “The One and Only.” This particular line of shoes will marry Snoop’s signature West Coast flavor with the classic Pony design. The collection will be unveiled this November and will be available in exclusive stores globally for the Fall/Winter 2005 collection.

Snoop is venturing into a project that is close to his heart. He is heading up the “Snooper Bowl” football tournament in which he coaches his son’s team. The Inaugural “Snooper Bowl” is an upcoming charity football event being put on by Snoop, the Super Bowl Host Committee, The Firm, and Jacksonville-based Axcess Sports & Entertainment. This event will pit Snoop’s youth all-star team from California against an opposing Jacksonville youth all-star team. The game will be played the day before Super Bowl XXXIX (February 5th, 2005) at Raines High School in Jacksonville, where the teams will compete for the “Snooper Bowl Trophy,” which is being provided by the world-renowned Tiffany & Co, makers of the Lombardi Trophy given to the winners of the actual Super Bowl. All proceeds from the “Snooper Bowl” will go to Snoop’s Save A Life Foundation, which works with inner-city youth and children’s hospitals.

Snoop was last seen on the big screen starring in MGM’s comedy hit SOUL PLANE. He heads up an all-star comedy cast in this story of the first ever ride of the black owned NWA Airlines. Snoop plays none other than ‘Captain Mack,’ a cool, smooth-talking pilot that, once he takes flight, discovers he has a fear of heights. The film had audiences laughing hysterically and is currently available on DVD.

Earlier this year, fans caught Snoop on the big screen playing the powerful, but extremely lovable gangster ‘Huggy Bear’ in the hit comedy STARSKY & HUTCH. The film starred Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, but with Snoop’s undeniable charisma and screen presence, his scene-stealing performance gained him respect from critics and audiences alike. Previously, he was seen on the big screen playing himself in another successful comedy, Todd Phillip’s OLD SCHOOL.

Snoop was recently featured in his own comedy/variety show “Doggy Fizzle Televizzle,” on MTV. His visibility on the big screen, and comedic sketch comedy display on “Doggy Fizzle,” led to Snoop’s successful hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live” on May 8th, 2004. His appearance not only gained him audience respect, but was also critically reviewed and earned “SNL” some of its highest rating numbbers of the year.


Snoop Dogg was born Calvin Broadus in Long Beach, CA in October 1971. His rise to fame began in 1993 with the release of his debut album Doggystyle. Fueled by the rapper’s street credentials and criminal infamy, the anticipation for the album was unprecedented – selling 1.5 million albums in advance of the release. It was the first debut rap album to hit the charts at number one. His sixth and most recent studio album is entitled Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss. In addition, he has contributed songs to a number of movie soundtracks including BAD BOYS II, CHARLIES ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE, DR. DOLITTLE 2, and SAVE THE LAST DANCE.

Snoop Dogg expanded his resume to include acting in 1998 with a small role in the comedy Half Baked. He has gone on to appear in numerous feature films including John Singleton’s BABY BOY, the critically acclaimed TRAINING DAY opposite Denzel Washington and THE WASH with Dr. Dre. Snoop could also be heard as the voice of ‘Ronnie Rizzat’ in MALIBU’S MOST WANTED starring Jamie Kennedy. His first feature role in a major motion picture was as the title character in the urban horror film Bones, co-starring Pam Grier, in which he received very positive reviews.

LA Times Feature

12/3/2004 4:41:10 PM - by Greg Braxton

The group of young boys shifted uneasily, eye fixed on the gangly figure towering over them. They were an exclusive audience about to hear Snoop Dogg do his latest rap. But they didn’t feel so lucky – they knew it was going to be a bad rap on them.

"You better go gangsta – they can’t beat us, so they're trying to cheat us!" snarled Snoop Dogg, tearing into the Rowland Heights Raiders, a team of 8- to 10-year olds-including one of his two sons-in the Orange County Junior All-American Football League. The Raiders were taking on the Norwalk-Santa Fe Springs Saints, and though the unbeaten Raiders were ahead by a touchdown at halftime, the Saints were breaking their spirit with rough-and-tumble play and crunching tackles.
The eyes of a few Raiders were wet with frustration and pain. The eyes of Snoop were narrow with rage.
"You better get your minds right, or you're gonna get beat," the Raider coach growled, "I don’t care about nothin' else, 'cause if you lose, I’m out! You’re better than this team! You better get your focus back now, knowhwatImsayin'? Quit cryin’ and do your job and get focused!" He gestured dismissively toward a cooler on the sidelines: "Now go get some oranges or something!"
As he berated the youngsters, Snoop ignored the nearby crowd of parents and fans shouting out to him. This was not show time, not the time or place for rhymes about the chronic, partyin', pimps and hos. This was serious.
For now, nothing else mattered: Not his chart-topping "Drop It Like It’s Hot" single with sizzling Producer Pharrell Williams that has again made him the champagne toast of the rap/pop world. Not his just-dropped album "R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece," already a bestseller. Not his star turns this year in films such as "Starsky & Hutch" and "Soul Plane" that endeared him to a cross-section of moviegoers. Not his growing status as a pitchman for Corporate America.
At this moment, he was merely Coach Snoop, desperate for another notch in the win column. He says the quest for a championship trophy with his boys is more fulfilling than acting or music, his two "girlfriends." And the tirade worked – the Raiders trounced the Saints in the second half. Overjoyed, Snoop jumped and clowned around with the team in a victory celebration, then ran to a truck in the parking lot to award each player with a brand new WRFF bike.
The scene united the conflicting sides of Snoop that have made him practically ubiquitous in today’s pop culture – the streetwise former thug from Long Beach who can "throw down" when pushed against the wall; the showman who shines in the spotlight; and the playful, generous artist who can turn into a 6-foot, 3 and a half inch kid at a moment’s notice. As the rapper, who resides in Diamond Bar, juggles his various prospects, youth sports has provided him much needed balance amid the showbiz whirlwind enveloping him.
More than 10 years after his lazy, distinctive drawls made him one of the top original gangsta rappers on the West Coast scene, and more than eight years after being acquitted of first- and second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of a Los Angeles gang member, Snoop Dogg (who was born Calvin Broadus) wants to turn Hollywood into- to quote one of his hits- "a Doggy Dogg world."

[Excerpt from the original L.A. Times article]