The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021 - Issue 30

Samantha Morgan finds out what makes rap smoothie Snoop Dogg so slick and dives into his journey from a Dr Dre discovery to his hip-hop domain. bitemusicceleb Dogg Snoop W hen I first heard Dr Dre’s debut album The Chronic in Canada, it wasn’t just his genius beats or em- powering music producer skills that enthused my interest, it was Snoop Dogg’s drawled lyrics on the track ‘Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang’. The rap- per who Dr Dre discovered in the early 1990s had first featured on his solo track ‘Deep Cover’ in 1992. After this, Snoop Dogg became one of the best-known figures in gangsta rap and for many, the epitome of the West Coast hip-hop culture. Before he met Dre, Snoop Dogg had consist- ently been in and out of prison on drug pos- session charges for several years. From a young age, he had been an active member of the Roll- in’ 20s Crips gang that operated in the Eastside region of Long Beach, southern California and his arrest record dated back to his high school days. He turned to music as a way to commu- nicate his troubles, recording early demos with his 213 crew, cousin Nate Dogg and fellow rap- per Warren G. The artist released his first studio album Dog- gystyle produced by Dr Dre in 1993, which became the first debut record to enter the Bill- board 200 chart at number one. However, while he was recording the album, Snoop was arrest- ed in connection with a drive-by shooting but ultimately cleared of all charges. Despite this, the incident entangled him in court for years, causing the delay of his follow-up album, Tha Doggfather which was eventually released in 1996.