Snoop Dogg, stage name Calvin Cordozar Broadus (born October 20, 1971), is an American rapper and actor. The second of Beverly Broadus' three children with Vernall Varnado, a Vietnam veteran, singer, and mailman, mentioned by Doggy as frequently absent from her life. Named after his stepfather, he gained the nickname "Snoop" from his mother and adopted the stage name "Snoop Doggy Dogg" when he began recording. In mid-2012, after a trip to Jamaica, he announced that he would change his stage name to Snoop Lion and sing songs that "children and grandparents can listen to". Snoop's career is quite long before this reggae turn in his life.
Born in Long Beach, California, Snoop Doggy Dogg (who would go on to be called Snoop Dogg and later Snoop Lion) entered the world of rap as a proud representative of the West Coast of the United States. In 1992, when he emerged, the West Coast was known for rappers like Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Ice T, artists considered intelligent and in the gangsta rap line, who painted a realistic and disturbing portrait of life.
Snoop Dogg began his career as a member of the group 213, which also included Warren G (Dr. Dre's half-brother) and Nate Dogg, known more for their solo careers than for the group. Hip-hop fans first heard Snoop Dogg's roguish style with Dr. Dre's film "Deep Cover." He later appeared on Dre's classic album The Chronic, where he performs the hit "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", one of the many collaborations that brought the two rappers together over the years.
Snoop Dogg was a good friend of 2Pac, and even wrote songs with him when he was still recording for Death Row Records. His friendship with the great rapper-producer Dr. Dre is also well-known, which launched him into the rap mainstream with his first appearance in the music video for "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", from Dre's album The Chronic, in 1992. His first release was the album Doggystyle, a Gangsta rap/G-funk classic, released by the famous hip hop label, Death Row Records, owned by mogul Suge Knight. Released in 1991, it became the first artist's debut album to reach No. 1 on Billboard's overall chart and received advance pre-orders of 1.5 million units. Doggystyle has sold more than six million copies and is considered one of the best hip hop albums in history.
GETTING HEAD INTO REGGAE
After a trip to Jamaica, a major change of ideology occurred in Snoop's head, a change that was highly contested by more orthodox reggae fans. The star went to Rastafari churches, met several personalities in the field such as Bunny Wailer, among others, and practically "killed" his "rap gangster" personality to become Snoop Lion. At first it seemed like it would just be another creative work by Snoop or even a marketing ploy, until he announced the album "Reincarnated" - or - "reincarnated" in Portuguese. On July 31, 2012, Snoop Dogg officially changed his pseudonym to Snoop Lion, which shook many rap fans around the world and left many listeners suspicious. Always very controversial, even the press seemed to be expecting it to be some kind of joke, but - emphatically - Snoop told reporters that the complement "LION" had been given to him in Jamaica by a Rastafarian priest, and that other details of his new conviction would be clarified in a documentary (also called "Reincarnated") released in early 2013. He also said that the name of the album meant that he had "reincarnated" the musician and star of reggae, Bob Marley.