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Snoop Dogg

Signed to Dr. Dre's Death Row label, former teenage drug dealer Snoop Dogg - a nickname coined by his mother - caused a stir in the US with his debut album Doggystyle in 1993 that topped the Billboard 200 Chart. With his unique brand of gangster rap embodying G-Funk, Snoop also managed to break into the top ten with his single What's My Name. Arrested just before his debut album's release, the controversy and continuing drugs charges brought against him seemed to boost his popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. His second album Tha Doggfather arrived in 1996 again hitting the top of the US Album Chart and spawning the hit single Snoop's Upside Your Head, a cover of the Gap Band's hit. His ongoing troubles with the law clearly helped him be prolific as he released three albums in quick succession with Da Game Is To Be Told, Not To Be Sold in 1998, Topp Dogg in 1999 and Tha Last Meal in 2000, that started to highlight the tiredness of his lyrics. After a brief dalliance with softcore pornography, he returned in 2002 with Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Bo$$, collaborating with the likes of Pharrell on singles From Tha Church To Da Palace and Beautiful. For 2004's The Masterpiece, he secured a top ten hit with Drop It Like It's Hot. In 2013 he changed his name to Snoop Lion after apparently converting to Rastafarianism.