After Dinner Speakers: Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tony Robinson, Herbert Giradet

Snoop Dogg’s smooth raps have glamorized and romanticized violence; causing him to be not only a leader but the embodiment of Gangsta Rap. Calvin Broadus was born on October 20, 1972 in Long Beach, California. He got the name Snoop Dogg from his mom who felt he resembled Charlie Brown’s beagle, Snoopy. Ever since his childhood, trouble was not far from the rapper. Shortly after his high school graduation, Snoop Dogg was arrested for possession of cocaine. He spent three years in and out of jail. As a means of staying out of trouble, Snoop turned to rap. He began making homemade demo tapes with friend; Warren G. Warren G gave the tapes to his step-brother, Dr. Dre. In 1991, Snoop was featured on the soundtrack for Dr. Dre’s film, “Deep Cover.” In September 1993, Snoop Dogg appeared on the MTV Video Awards. After presenting an award to the girl-group, En Vogue, he surrendered himself to the police. He was arrested for suspicion in a drive by shooting. Rather than hurt the rapper, the charges only romanticized the myth that Snoop Dogg was a hard-core gangster with a glamorized lifestyle. This caused a big commotion about his debut album, Doggystyle, which was soon to be released. The album was predicted by critics to be a milestone in Gangsta Rap. Thus, long before its release date, there were 1.5 million advance orders of the album. Doggystyle was the first album in history to debut at number one. It was by far the most eagerly anticipated Rap album at that time. The reaction to the album upon release was unexpected. Critics were appalled by the degrading portrayal of women as sex objects, and the belief that men should abuse them in the single, “Ain’t No Fun.” The single, “Gin and Juice,” also caused much controversy. The little criticism Snoop received in the U.S. in no way compared to what he got in Britain. When he went to England to tour, the front of London’s Daily Star said: “Kick this Evil Bastard Out.” In November of 1995, Snoop was once again involved with the law. He was placed on trial as an accomplice to the murder of Philip Woldermanan, who was shot by Snoop’s bodyguard, Mckinley Lee. This trial got lots of media attention due to the fact Snoop’s lawyer was Johnny Cochran (O.J. Simpson’s lawyer). Snoop’s bail was set at one million dollars. Luckily, Snoop and his bodyguard, were both acquitted on February 20, 1996. Snoop’s trouble with the law caused him to step away from music to focus on his trial. In November of 1996, he released his long awaited sophomore album, The Doggfather. The Doggfather sold only half as well as Doggystyle. Although Snoop was still considered a star, his impact on the rap community had diminished. After an argument with his label, Death Row Records, Snoop signed to fellow rapper, Master P’s gangsta label, No Limit Records. In August of 1998, Snoop released his fourth album entitled The Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told. The album debuted at number one in the United States. The single, “Still a G Thang,” hit number 19 in September. It was at this time that Snoop became interested in movies. He did a cameo, in the comedy, Half Baked as an urban kid caught up in crime who called himself Kool Kitty Kat. In May 1999, Snoop released No Limit Top Dogg. Unfortunately, his album did not reach number one due to Latin star, Ricky Martin’s album. That year, Snoop appeared in Master P’s film, Hot Boyz and he co-starred with rapper Ice T in The Wrecking Crew. In 2000, Snoop became a businessman when he produced the debut album for rap group, Tha Eastsidaz. In December of that year, he released his final album for No Limit Records entitled The Last Meal. In 2001, Snoop focused mainly on movies. He performed with friend Dr. Dre in the film, The Wash, as a car wash employee. He also had a small part as a neighborhood drug dealer in Denzel Washington’s award winning film, Training Day. Snoop got much acclaim in the horror film, Bones. In October 2001, Snoop was arrested for marijuana possession on his Puff Puff Pass Tour. In 2003, he toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and had his own television series on MTV; Doggy Fizzle.