Snoop Dogg is one of the biggest celebrities to come out of Hip Hop, with a seeming endless stream of features and hits. His personal brand is particularly strong too, with his distinctive style of speaking and stoner antics making him a favourite on talk shows and the like. Everyone knows who Snoop Doggy Dogg is!
Snoop Dogg’s debut album was Doggystyle, released in 1993. It has become one of the keystone albums of 90s West Coast Hip Hop, and builds on the G-Funk style from Dr Dre’s The Chronic.
The G-Funk influence is very marked here, featuring synth voices, the classic P-Funk keyboards, and the growling yet laidback bassline. That isn’t all though; the track directly samples the bassline from Funkadelic’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep” from 1979, and vocals from two Parliament songs.
Snoop Dogg’s flow is similarly chilled out, and especially mesmerising because of his habit of leaving words hanging for a split second and then driving them home with more emphasis. His voice has swing!
The song has a bit of a party vibe, which isn’t at all unusual for Snoop Dogg tracks.
“Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” was Snoop’s debut solo single and reached number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 100.