Cordell Broadus

Varnado, who was a Vietnam War veteran, singer, and mail carrier, left the family only three months after his birth, and thus he was named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Sr. (1948–1984).

His father remained largely absent from his life.

As a boy, his mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" due to his love and likeness of the cartoon character from Peanuts.

He was the second of his mother's three sons.

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper and actor.

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. was born on October 20, 1971, in Long Beach, California, to Vernell Varnado and Beverly Tate.

His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975.

When Broadus was very young, he began singing and playing piano at the Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church.

In sixth grade, he began rapping.

As a child, Broadus sold candy, delivered newspapers, and bagged groceries to help his family make ends meet.

He was described as having been a dedicated student and enthusiastic churchgoer, active in choir and football.

Shortly after graduating from high school at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1989, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and for the next three years, was frequently incarcerated, including at Wayside Jail.

With his two cousins, Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead, and friend Warren G, he recorded homemade tapes; the four called their group 213 after the area code of their native Long Beach at that time.

One of Snoop's early solo freestyles over "Hold On" by En Vogue was on a mixtape that fortuitously wound up with Dr. Dre; the influential producer was so impressed by the sample that he called Snoop to audition in 1991 for his label Death Row Records (then known as Future Shock).

Former N.W.A affiliate, American rapper Tracy Lynn Curry better known as The D.O.C., taught him to structure his lyrics and separate the themes into verses, Hooks, and choruses.

When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg.

His initial fame dates back to 1992 following his guest appeareance on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, "Deep Cover", and later on Dre's debut album, The Chronic that same year.

Broadus has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States, and 35 million albums worldwide.

His accolades include an American Music Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and 17 Grammy Award nominations.

Dr. Dre began working with him, first on the theme song of the 1992 film Deep Cover and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic along with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound.

This intense exposure played a considerable part in making Snoop Dogg's debut album, Doggystyle, the critical and commercial success that it was.

Broadus' debut studio album, Doggystyle (1993), produced by Dr. Dre, was released by Death Row Records and debuted atop the Billboard 200.

Selling 800,000 copies in its first week, the album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the following year and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin and Juice".

Broadus said in 1993 that he began engaging in unlawful activities and joining gangs in his teenage years, despite his mother's preventative efforts.

Broadus would frequently rap in school.

As he recalled: "When I rapped in the hallways at school I would draw such a big crowd that the principal would think there was a fight going on. It made me begin to realize that I had a gift. I could tell that my raps interested people and that made me interested in myself."

As a teenager, Broadus frequently ran into trouble with the law.

He was a member of the Rollin' 20s Crips gang in the Eastside neighborhood of Long Beach; in 1993, however, he denied the frequent police and media reports by saying that he never joined a gang.

In 1994, Death Row Records released a soundtrack, by Broadus, for the short film Murder Was the Case, in which he starred.

His second album, Tha Doggfather (1996) likewise debuted atop the chart and received double platinum certification.

In 1998, he parted ways with Death Row in favor of Master P's No Limit Records, through which he saw largely continued success with his albums Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998), No Limit Top Dogg (1999), and Tha Last Meal (2000).

He then signed with Priority, Capitol, and EMI Records to release his sixth album Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss (2002), which was further commercially-oriented.

This effectively continued upon him signing with Geffen Records to release his next three albums: R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004), Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006), and Ego Trippin' (2008); the former of which spawned his first song to peak atop the Billboard Hot 100 with "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell).

He then returned to Priority and Capitol—upon his hiring as chairman of the former label—through which he released his tenth and eleventh albums, Malice 'n Wonderland (2009) and Doggumentary (2011) to mild critical and commercial reception.

During this time, Broadus starred in films and hosted several television shows, including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, and Dogg After Dark.

In 2012, following a trip to Jamaica, Broadus converted to Rastafari and adopted the alias Snoop Lion, under which he released a reggae album, Reincarnated (2013) and a namesake documentary film about his Jamaican experience.

His thirteenth studio album, Bush (2015) was produced entirely by frequent collaborator Pharrell, while his fourteenth studio album, Coolaid (2016) was released the same year as his induction into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.

In 2018, Broadus became "a born-again Christian" and released his first gospel album, Bible of Love in March of that year.

In November of that year, Broadus was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2022, Broadus acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group (formerly known as eOne Music), and released his nineteenth studio album, BODR (2022)—preceded by the independently-released I Wanna Thank Me (2019) and From tha Streets 2 tha Suites (2021).