[5][6][7] Known for his signature drawled lyrics—which often use melodic rhyming, repetition, word play, laconic phrases, syncopation—and alliteration, his music often addresses the lifestyle and culture of the West Coast and social issues such as gun violence and stability for the youth.

Selling 806,000 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?"

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.

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

[16][17] Varnado, who was a Vietnam War veteran, singer, and mail carrier, left the family only three months after Snoop Dogg's birth, and thus he was named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Sr.

[20] Shortly after graduating from 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.

[18] With his two cousins, Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead, and friend Warren G, he recorded homemade tapes, with one titled Over the Counter attracting some label interest.

[20] Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and others.

By the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the price of appearing to be a gang member "living the gangsta life" had become very evident.

[18] Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 because of a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.

Snoop's latest effort was backing American recording artist, Emii, on her second single entitled "Mr. Romeo" (released October 26, 2010, as a follow-up to "Magic").

[47][48] In September of the same year, Snoop Dogg released a compilation of electronic music entitled Loose Joints under the moniker DJ Snoopadelic, stating the influence of George Clinton's Funkadelic.

[14] Snoop Dogg was featured on Lil Dicky's April 2019 single "Earth", where he played the role of a marijuana plant in both the song's lyrics and animated video.

[66] Snoop Dogg collaborated with Vietnamese singer Son Tung M-TP in "Hãy trao cho anh" ("Give it to Me"), which was officially released on July 1, 2019.

[68] In May 2020, Snoop Dogg released the song "Que Maldicion", a collaboration with Banda Sinaloense de Sergio Lizarraga, peaking at number one on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100.

[76] On August 11, 2024, Snoop Dogg appeared during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Paris, France,[77] performing a rendition of "Drop It Like It's Hot" and then, along with Dr Dre, "The Next Episode".

[121] On March 30, 2008, Snoop Dogg appeared at WrestleMania XXIV as a Master of Ceremonies for a tag team match between Maria and Ashley Massaro as they took on Beth Phoenix and Melina.

[134] In October 2014, Reddit raised $50 million in a funding round led by Sam Altman and including investors Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Ron Conway, Snoop Dogg, and Jared Leto.

[135][136] In April 2015, Snoop Dogg became a minority investor in his first investment venture Eaze, a California-based cannabis delivery startup that promises to deliver medical marijuana to persons' doorsteps in less than 10 minutes.

Dr. Dre, The Chronic ("It's da illest shit")[173] Snoop Dogg married his high school sweetheart, Shante Taylor (née Fuller), on June 14, 1997.

[192][193] He is an avid ice hockey fan,[194] sporting jerseys from the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Boston Bruins as well at the AHL's Springfield Indians in his 1994 music video "Gin and Juice".

[207] In June 2024, Snoop Dogg ran in an exhibition 200 meters race alongside former athletes Ato Boldon and Wallace Spearmon at the US track and field Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, finishing third in a time of 34.44 seconds.

[225] In January 2013, he was criticized by members of the Rastafari community in Jamaica, including reggae artist Bunny Wailer, for engaging in "fraudulent" cultural appropriation as a stunt.

[242] In his keynote address at the 2015 South by Southwest music festival, he blamed Los Angeles's explosion of gang violence in the 1980s on the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, and insinuated that his administration shipped guns and drugs into the area.

[246][247] The subsequent private meeting with the mayor Eric Garcetti and police chief Charlie Beck, and news conference was, according to Snoop Dogg, "[…] to get some dialogue and the communication going […]".

[266][267][268] Snoop Dogg regularly appears in real fur garments, especially large coats, for which he attracts criticism from animal welfare charities and younger audiences.

[273][274] At the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival on May 26, 2018, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Kendall Coleman, Kim Kaechele, and Michael Voltaggio set the Guinness World Record for the largest paradise cocktail.

[28] Snoop Dogg had been temporarily living in an apartment complex in the Palms neighborhood in the West Los Angeles region, in the intersection of Vinton Avenue and Woodbine Street—the location of the shooting.

[294] In April 2007, he was given a three-year suspended sentence, five years' probation and 800 hours of community service after pleading no contest to two felony charges of drug and gun possession by a convicted felon.

"[319][320][321][322] In April 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship banned Snoop Dogg from entering the country on character grounds, citing his prior criminal convictions.