
"Deep Cover" started a buzz about Snoop that escalated into full-fledged mania when Dre released his own debut album, The Chronic, on Death Row Records late in 1992. When Dre decided to make his tentative first stab at a solo career in 1992 with the theme song for the film Deep Cover, he had Snoop rap with him. Warren G gave a tape to Dre, who was considerably impressed with Snoop's style, and began collaborating with the rapper. Snoop began recording homemade tapes with his friend Warren G, who happened to be the stepbrother of N.W.A's Dr. He found escape from a life of crime through music.

Not long after his high school graduation, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, beginning a period of three years when he was often imprisoned. Nicknamed Snoop by his mother because of his appearance, Calvin Broadus was raised in Long Beach, California, where he frequently had trouble with the law. The 2010s saw the rapper branching out into reggae (2013's Reincarnated as Snoop Lion), house (mix sets as DJ Snoopadelic), and gospel (2018's Bible of Love), but he remained hip-hop at his core, releasing projects such as 2021's guest-heavy The Algorithm, his first album as executive creative consultant for Def Jam. His biggest hits as a lead artist have included a pair of Pharrell Williams collaborations, "Beautiful" (2003) and the chart-topping "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004), as well as the 2007 electro-funk flashback "Sensual Seduction." Snoop additionally featured on major hits by Akon, the Pussycat Dolls, Katy Perry, 50 Cent, and others.

After the popularity of gangsta rap waned in the late '90s, he proved himself to be a masterful chameleon in the hip-hop world, riding his pot-loving image in various directions that helped buoy his career into the 21st century.

His 1993 effort Doggystyle become the first debut album to enter the charts at number one. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop quickly became one of the most famous stars in rap, partially due to his drawled, laconic rhyming, as well as the realistic violence implied in his lyrics. One of the most iconic figures to emerge from the early-'90s G-funk era, Snoop Dogg evolved beyond his hardcore gangsta rap beginnings, becoming a lovable pop culture fixture with forays into television, movies, football coaching, wrestling, and reggae and gospel music.
