When he began recording, the young rapper took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. He was introduced to Dr. Dre by Warren G, who gave him Snoop Dogg’s cassette tape. Snoop Dogg then signed with Dre’s label, Future Shock Records (which later became known as Death Row Records).^[28] 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.^[25]

Fueling the ascendance of West Coast G-funk hip hop, the singles “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” and “Gin and Juice” reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months.^[25] Gangsta rap became the center of arguments about censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians.^[29] Unlike many of the harder-edged gangsta rap artists, Snoop Dogg seemed to show his softer side, according to music journalist Chuck Philips. Rolling Stone music critic Touré asserted that Snoop Dogg had a relatively soft vocal delivery compared to other rappers: “Snoop’s vocal style is part of what distinguishes him: where many rappers scream, figuratively and literally, he speaks softly”.^[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.

In 1993, Snoop Dogg was charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of a member of a rival gang, who was actually killed by Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard.^[30] Snoop Dogg was acquitted on February 20, 1996, and the case was finally closed in 2024.^[31] According to Snoop Dogg, after he was acquitted he did not want to continue living the “gangsta” lifestyle, because he felt that continuing his behavior would result in his assassination or a prison term.^[32] A short film about Snoop Dogg’s murder trial, Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack. On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc., a record label founded by Snoop Dogg, was registered with the California Secretary of State as business entity number C1923139.^[33]

After his acquittal, Snoop Dogg and the mother of his son, along with their kennel of 20 pit bulls, moved into a 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) home in the hills of Claremont, California and by August 1996 Doggy Style Records, a subsidiary of Death Row Records, signed the Gap Band‘s Charlie Wilson as one of its first artists.^[34] He collaborated with fellow rap artist Tupac Shakur on the 1996 single “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted“. This was one of Shakur’s last songs released while alive; he was shot on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas, dying six days later.

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. Among the many notable hip hop industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg’s friend and labelmate Tupac Shakur and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight.^[25] 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.

This album featured a distinct change of style from Doggystyle, and the leadoff single, “Snoop’s Upside Ya Head“, featured a collaboration with Charlie Wilson. The album sold reasonably well but was not as successful as its predecessor. Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style. Snoop Dogg was scheduled to release an EP titled Doggumentary on July 8, 1997, but the album had been canceled.^[35] Despite this, a music video was released for its projected first single, Midnight Love.^[35] Snoop Dogg realized that he was subject to an ironclad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), and refused to produce anymore tracks for Suge Knight other than the insulting “Fuck Death Row” until his contract expired.^[24] In an interview with Neil Strauss in 1998, Snoop Dogg said that though he had been given lavish gifts by his former label, they had withheld his royalty payments.^[36]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that after Tha Doggfather, Snoop Dogg began “moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic”:^[25] for instance, Snoop Dogg participated in the 1997 Lollapalooza concert tour, which featured mainly alternative rock music. Troy J. Augusto of Variety noted that Snoop’s set at Lollapalooza attracted “much dancing, and, strangely, even a small mosh pit” in the audience.^[37]

Snoop Dogg signed with Master P‘s No Limit Records (distributed by Priority/EMI Records) in March 1998 and debuted on the label with Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told later that year. He said at the time that “Snoop Dogg is universal so he can fit into any camp-especially a camp that knows how to handmake shit[;] [a]nd, No Limit hand makes material. They make material fittin’ to the artist and they know what type of shit Snoop Dogg is supposed to be on. That’s why it’s so tight”. [sic]^[38] His other albums on No Limit were No Limit Top Dogg in 1999 (selling over 1,510,000 copies) and Tha Last Meal in 2000 (selling over 2,100,000).^[25] In 1999, his autobiography, Tha Doggfather, was published.

In 2002, he released the album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, on Priority/Capitol/EMI, selling over 1,310,000 copies. The album featured the hit singles “From tha Chuuuch to da Palace” and “Beautiful“, featuring guest vocals by Pharrell. In the same year, he featured in the remix of “Welcome to Atlanta” by Jermaine Dupri. By this stage in his career, Snoop Dogg had left behind his “gangster” image and embraced a “pimp” image.

In June 2004, Snoop Dogg signed to Geffen Records/Star Trak Entertainment, both distributed by Interscope Records; Star Trak is headed by producer duo the Neptunes,^[39] which produced several tracks for Snoop’s 2004 release R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (featuring Pharrell), the first single released from the album, was a hit and became Snoop Dogg’s first single to reach number one. His third release was “Signs“, featuring Justin Timberlake and Charlie Wilson, which entered the UK chart at No. 2. This was his highest entry ever in the UK chart. The album sold 1,730,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and most of its singles were heavily played on radio and television. Snoop Dogg joined Warren G and Nate Dogg to form the group 213 and released The Hard Way in 2004. Debuting at No.4 on the Billboard 200 and No.1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, it included the single “Groupie Luv”. Snoop Dogg appeared in the music video for Korn‘s “Twisted Transistor” along with fellow rappers Lil Jon, Xzibit, and David Banner.

Snoop Dogg appeared on two tracks from Ice Cube’s 2006 album Laugh Now, Cry Later, including “Go to Church“, and on several tracks on Tha Dogg Pound‘s Cali Iz Active the same year. His song “Real Talk” was leaked on the Internet in the summer of 2006 and a video was later released on the Internet. “Real Talk” was dedicated to former Crips leader Stanley “Tookie” Williams and a diss to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California. Two other singles on which Snoop Dogg made a guest performance were “Keep Bouncing” by Too $hort (also with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas) and “Gangsta Walk” by Coolio.

Snoop’s 2006 album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment debuted on the Billboard 200 at No.5 and sold over 850,000 copies. The album and the second single “That’s That Shit” featuring R. Kelly were well received by critics. In the album, he collaborated in a video with E-40 and other West Coast rappers on the single “Candy (Drippin’ Like Water)“.

In July 2007, Snoop Dogg made history by becoming the first artist to release a track as a ringtone before its release as a single, “It’s the D.O.G”. On July 7, 2007, Snoop Dogg performed at the Live Earth concert, Hamburg.^[40] Snoop Dogg ventured into singing for Bollywood with his first ever rap for an Indian movie, Singh Is Kinng; the song title is also “Singh is Kinng”. He appears in the movie as himself.^[41] The album featuring the song was released on June 8, 2008, on Junglee Music Records.^[42] He released his ninth studio album, Ego Trippin’ (selling 400,000 copies in the U.S.), along with the first single, “Sexual Eruption“. The single peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 100, featuring Snoop Dogg using autotune. The album featured production from QDT (Quik-Dogg-Teddy).

Snoop Dogg was appointed an executive position at Priority Records. His tenth studio album, Malice n Wonderland, was released on December 8, 2009. The first single from the album, “Gangsta Luv“, featuring The-Dream, peaked at No.35 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at No.23 on the Billboard 200, selling 61,000 copies its first week, making it his lowest charting album. His third single, “I Wanna Rock“, peaked at No.41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single from Malice n Wonderland, titled “Pronto”, featuring Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em, was released on iTunes on December 1, 2009. Snoop Dogg re-released the album under the name More Malice.

Snoop Dogg collaborated with Katy Perry on “California Gurls“, the first single from her album Teenage Dream, which was released on May 7, 2010.^[43] Snoop Dogg can also be heard on the track “Flashing” by Dr. Dre and on Curren$y‘s song “Seat Change“. He was also featured on a new single from Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, titled “Get ’em Girls” (released September 2010). 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”). Snoop Dogg also collaborated with American comedy troupe the Lonely Island in their song “Turtleneck & Chain”, in their 2011 album Turtleneck & Chain.

Snoop Dogg’s eleventh studio album was Doggumentary. The album went through several tentative titles including Doggystyle 2: Tha Doggumentary and Doggumentary Music: 0020 before being released under the final title Doggumentary on March 29, 2011.^[44] Snoop Dogg was featured on Gorillaz‘ album Plastic Beach on the track “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach” with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. He also completed another track with them entitled “Sumthing Like This Night” which was later released on Doggumentary. He also appears on the 2011 Tech N9ne album All 6’s and 7’s on the track “Pornographic”, which also features E-40 and Krizz Kaliko.

On February 4, 2012, Snoop Dogg announced a documentary, Reincarnated, alongside his new upcoming studio album entitled Reincarnated. The film was released March 21, 2013, with the album slated for release April 23, 2013. On July 20, 2012, Snoop Dogg released a new reggae single, “La La La” under the pseudonym Snoop Lion.^[45] Three other songs were also announced to be on the album: “No Guns Allowed”, “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks”, and “Harder Times”.^[46]

On July 31, 2012, Snoop Dogg introduced a new stage name, Snoop Lion. He told reporters that he was rechristened Snoop Lion by a Rastafari priest in Jamaica.^[47] In response to Frank Ocean coming out, Snoop Dogg said hip hop was ready to accept a gay rapper.^[48] Snoop Dogg recorded an original song for the 2012 fighting game Tekken Tag Tournament 2, titled “Knocc ‘Em Down”; and makes a special appearance as a non-playable character in “The Snoop Dogg Stage” arena.^[49][50]

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.^[51] In an interview with The Fader magazine, he stated “Snoop Lion, Snoop Dogg, DJ Snoopadelic—they only know one thing: make music that’s timeless and bangs”.^[51] In December 2012, Snoop Dogg released his second single from Reincarnated, “Here Comes the King”. It was also announced that Snoop Dogg worked a deal with RCA Records to release Reincarnated in early 2013.^[52] Also in December 2012, Snoop Dogg released a That’s My Work a collaboration rap mixtape with Tha Dogg Pound.^[53]

In an interview with Hip Hop Weekly on June 17, producer Symbolyc One (S1) announced that Snoop Dogg was working on his final album under his rap moniker Snoop Dogg; “I’ve been working with Snoop, he’s actually working on his last solo album as Snoop Dogg”.^[54] In September 2013, Snoop Dogg released a collaboration album with his sons as Tha Broadus Boyz titled Royal Fam.^[55] On October 28, 2013, Snoop Dogg released another mixtape entitled That’s My Work 2 hosted by DJ Drama.^[56] Snoop Dogg formed a funk duo with musician Dâm-Funk called 7 Days of Funk and released their debut album, 7 Days of Funk, on December 10, 2013.

In August 2014, a clip surfaced online featuring a sneak preview of a song Snoop Dogg had recorded for Pharrell.^[57] Snoop’s Pharrell Williams-produced album Bush was released on May 12, 2015,^[58] with the first single “Peaches N Cream” having been released on March 10, 2015.

On June 13, 2016, Snoop Dogg announced the release date for his album Coolaid, which was released on July 1, 2016.^[59] He headlined a “unity party” for donors at Philly’s Electric Factory on July 28, 2016, the last day of the Democratic National Convention.^[60] Released March 1, 2017, through his own Doggy Style Records, “Promise You This” precedes the release of his upcoming Coolaid film based on the album of the same name. Snoop Dogg released his fifteenth studio album Neva Left in May 2017.^[61]

He released a gospel album titled Bible of Love on March 16, 2018.^[62][63]

In April 2018, Snoop Dogg performed at Coachella with acid-jazz and funk band Jamiroquai. Snoop Dogg was featured on Gorillaz‘ album The Now Now, released in June 2018, on a track called: “Hollywood” with Jamie Principle.^[64] In November 2018, Snoop Dogg announced plans for his Puff Puff Pass tour, which features Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Warren G, Kurupt, and others. The tour ran from November 24 to January 5.^[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.^[65] On July 3, 2019, Snoop Dogg released the title track from his upcoming 17th studio album, I Wanna Thank Me.^[66][67] The album was released on August 16, 2019.^[68] 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.^[69] As of October 3, 2019, the music video has amassed over 158 million views on YouTube.

Early in 2020, it was announced that Snoop Dogg had rescheduled his tour in support of his I Wanna Thank You album and documentary of the same name. The tour has been rescheduled to commence in February 2021.^[70] 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.^[71]

On April 20, 2021, Snoop Dogg released his eighteenth studio album From tha Streets 2 tha Suites. It was announced on April 7, 2021, via Instagram.^[72] The album received generally positive reviews from critics.

During an interview on the September 27 airing of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg announced Algorithm. The album was released on November 19, 2021.^[73]

Snoop Dogg performed at the halftime show of Super Bowl LVI alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar.^[74]

In January 2022, Snoop Dogg announced that he would release his 19th studio album, BODR, on the same day as his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.^[75] However, the album’s release was pushed forward two days and was released on February 11, 2022.^[76]

On February 10, 2022, Snoop Dogg announced that he has acquired Death Row Records and intends to revive the label.^[77]

On June 24, 2022, Snoop Dogg collaborated with Eminem on the track “From the D 2 the LBC“, with a live-action/animated music video released the same day.^[78]

On August 11, 2024, Snoop Dogg appeared during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Paris, France,^[79] performing a rendition of “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and then, along with Dr Dre, “The Next Episode”.^[80][81] He had been working at the event as a correspondent for NBC and Peacock.^[82][83] His hosting of the event won him two Sports Emmy Awards.^[84]

In February 2024, Snoop Dogg launched a range of pre-mixed cocktails with Dr. Dre named after their hit single, “Gin and Juice“. Flavors include apricot, citrus, melon and passion fruit.^[85] A short prohibition themed trailer was created to support the release.^[86] A luxury gin called “Still G.I.N.”, a reference to the track Still D.R.E., was released later in 2024.^[87][88] The Venetian glass bottle was designed by Ini Archibong.^[88][89][90]

Also in 2024, Snoop Dogg announced a new album coming out called Missionary, entirely produced by Dr. Dre, serving as a spiritual sequel to Snoop Dogg’s first album Doggystyle, which was also produced by Dr. Dre.^[91][92] The album’s first single “Gorgeous” was released on November 1, 2024, followed by the album’s release on December 13, 2024, via Death Row/Aftermath and Interscope, while the latter label serving as its new signee.^[93] The album features guest appearances from Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Method Man, and Sting, and received generally favorable reviews with praise directed towards Snoop’s lyrics and Dr. Dre’s production.^[94] In April, he was listed as one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. On May 15, 2025, he released the surprise album Iz It a Crime?