Born Calvin Broadus on October 20, 1971, Broadus was given the nickname Snoopy by his mother because of his hangdog appearance. Broadus was raised and grew up in Long Beach, California. Although a good student and an athlete, Snoop fell in with the Crips gang and was in frequent trouble with the law in his youth. Shortly after graduating from High School, was arrested for possession of cocaine. Over the next three years Broadus was frequently imprisoned. During this period of time he also began to record homemade tapes, at times collaborating with Warren Griffin. Warren Griffin's stepbrother Dr. Dre (then still a member of N.W.A) noticed the tapes and was impressed with Snoop's laconic style.

When Dr. Dre decided to go solo in 1992, he asked Snoop to rap with him. The two collaborated on the Dr. Dre solo debut The Chronic. The singles, Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang and Dre Day both featured Snoop and became top 10 hits in the spring of 1993.

Shortly after, Snoop began recording his Dre produced debut album Doggystyle. In the summer of 1993, while recording Doggystyle, Snoop was arrested in connection of the death of Phillip Woldemarian. The controversy over his arrest and his lyrics which were often branded as violent and sexist helped catapult Doggystyle to the top of the charts in early 1994. The singles What's my name and Gin and Juice were both top ten.

Preparation for the charges of murder kept Snoop busy in 1995 and delayed production on his second album. In february 1996 he was cleared of all charges and went back to the recording studio. Tha Doggfather was greeted with mixed enthusiasm, although it initially sold well (it was released weeks after the murder of Tupac Shakur), the album never spawned any top ten singles.

In his later career, Snoop has made gestures towards the rock community and has spoken about separate collaborations with beck and Marilyn Manson. Snoop also varied his career with acting, appearing in the film Half-baked. Snoop released his third album Last Meal in December of 2000.

Biographical information gleaned from a variety of sources, including MTV News Gallery and Mr. Showbiz.

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