At this point, it’s impossible to pinpoint Snoop Dogg’s true identity. While he’s most commonly recognized as Snoop Dogg, he’s changed name, beliefs and sound too many times. Who is the real Snoop and how will we remember his mark on music?
For the majority of his career, which began in 1992 and was heavily rooted in the Los Angeles rap scene, he remained Snoop Dogg, and easily recognizable name that became a staple in the modern music industry. After a trip to Jamaica in 2012, Snoop returned with a new belief in the Rastafari movement and a new alias, Snoop Lion. The album that followed, “Reincarnated,” drew heavy influence from reggae. Then, just as he was breaking in his new persona, he went and changed his name again to Snoopzilla on his most recent funk collaboration with Dam Funk. From Doggy rap to Lion reggae to Zilla funk, Snoop has been all over the map, redefining his sound late in the game and leaving a deep trench across multiple genres.
So who is Snoop? How should we remember him? Will he go down as one of the most prolific rappers to come from the early 90s, arguably during the genre’s peak? Or will he be remembered as the rechristened Snoop Lion?
Sorry Snoop, but no matter how many times you reinvent yourself, you will always be Snoop Dogg. People never say, “Finally, Snoop Lion shook off his silly Doggy Dog skin and returned to his true self,” but rather, “Why did Snoop Dogg Change his name, again?” He made his mark as Snoop Dogg. His debut album, 1993’s “Doggystyle,” launched his career and instantly put him on par with rap’s elite. His smooth, soft spoken and relaxed lyrical style set him apart from other rappers and provided the Cali swag that he fans grew to adore.
Over the next 15 years, Snoop Dogg continued to release rap albums with tremendous success and gain a devoted following. Songs such as “Gin and Juice,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Beautiful” established Snoop as a fixture in the hip-hop scene. If you listened to rap, you knew who he was. He was a boss. He was untouchable.
It was on his ninth studio album, 2008’s “Ego Trippin,’” that his sound began to drift from hip-hop standards. The introduction of auto tune and a new synth R&B flavor hinted at a transformation. The album’s first single, “Sexual Eruption” (remember that one?), peaked at No. 7 and set the foundation for the new Snoop.
The albums that followed, “Malice n Wonderland” and “Doggumentary” experienced low success as he struggled to find his new sound. He was drifting from the L.A. street mentality that defined his early music. His was venturing far from his roots, and his fans began to lose interest. They never lost respect and still held his early music in high regard, it’s that his new music had little offer.
So he changed. He embraced the Snoop Lion name and released his reggae album, “Reincarnated,” but his new image was short-lived. In September 2012, just two months after he announced his new allegiance to the Snoop Lion, he released a compilation of electronic music titled “Loose Joints” under the stage name DJ Snoopadelic. If you’ve never heard of this obscure Snoop alias, don’t fret. The only influence Snoopadelic had on Snoop’s career was his trajectory into funk. On the album, he claimed influence from George Clinton’s Funkadelic.
And then came Snoopzilla. On his most recent venture with Dam Funk, Snoop further explores his funk influences while maintaining his smooth L.A. style. It’s not quite the Snoop Dogg we first fell in love with, however, he seems more comfortable with the sound he’s established. He’s more at home in his music than he has been in recent years. Sounds reminiscent of “Doggystyle” scour the tracklist while maintaining a funk flavor that blends seamlessly with his hip-hop style.
Snoop never lost it, but his grip loosened. His “7 Days of Funk” is not his strongest release, but the slivers of old Snoop Dogg bring with it a touch of nostalgia that reminds us why Snoop is and always will be one of the most prominent figures in music, no matter what his name happens to be this week.
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