You don’t make it in the music industry as long as Snoop Dogg without an extensive resume to back up the unending consistent relevance he has maintained decade after decade. Since the early 90s, Long Beach California’s most famous face has been freezing mics into ice with cold tales of survival, heating up eardrums with warm witty remarks, and making it all the way mellow with a smooth radio voice that you will never forget.
When you consider the fact that many people first heard the sound of the ‘Snoop D-O Double G’ on his mentor Dr. Dre’s 1992 album The Chronic, it makes you wonder, how old is Snoop Dogg? Let’s take a look at not just this legends age, but what he has invested into his ever-evolving career along the way.
Snoop’s Musical Success
Where do you begin what explaining what Snoop Dogg does? Multi-platinum rapper? Check! Movie and television actor? Check! Generous philanthropist? Check! Overall cultural icon? Check!
Under the name Snoop Doggy Dogg, he began releasing his 17 studio albums and 25 mixtapes, selling over 35 million albums on a worldwide level, hitting the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts, and get nominated for Grammy Awards 20 times.
Snoop’s debut album Doggystyle alone debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and moved over 800,000 copies in its first week of release, more than enough to already grab a Gold-selling certification in its first 7-day run.
The hits kept coming rapidly with “Gin & Juice,” “Who Am I? (What’s My Name?),” “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang,” “Beautiful,” “Next Episode,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Signs,” and “Sensual Seduction.”
Just think about how many musical artists Snoop Dogg has recorded with, including the likes of: 2Pac, Jermaine Dupri, Tyrese, Pharrell Williams, Kid Cudi, Q-Tip, Drake, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Popcaan, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, Method Man, Redman, Nas, Ice Cube, Outkast, and Pusha T.
Snoop Dogg has had his fair share of performance highlights tool. During the 2012 Coachella Festival, he brought out a Tupac hologram. He performed at the White House Kennedy Center in 2014 to celebrate jazz legend, Herbie Hancock with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in attendance.
Beyond Rocking the Mic
Snoop has performed all across the world as a DJ under the alias DJ Snoopadelic, rocking festivals and clubs and becoming the very first hip hop performer to secure a Las Vegas residency.
He has also accomplished quite a bit of acting roles in movies like Beach Bum, Soul Plane, Starsky & Hutch, Half Baked, and Training Day. Snoops totally original voice has been utilized in animated movies such Turbo and Hotel Transylvania and television programs like King of the Hill, Futurama, and The Cleveland Show.
Snoop Dogg even has gotten his author on with his first cookbook called From Crook to Cook, in partnership with Chronicle Books, featuring 50 of Snoop Dogg’s favorite recipes. His love of cooking was previously shown via his guest-starring appearance on Martha Stewart’s show, Martha, in 2008 and their Emmy-nominated Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party on VH1.
God and Religion
It was reported in 2009 that Snoop was a member of the Nation of Islam, making an appearance at the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day holiday, praising minister Louis Farrakhan and his work to build up the self-esteem of African Americans.
In 2012, Snoop made a religious shift and converted to the Rastafari movement that has been popularized by reggae legend Bob Marley. He also made a musical switch, fusing hip hop with reggae and changing his name to Snoop Lion following a trip to Jamaica. His reggae album carried the title Reincarnate.
Confusion arose between members of the Rastafarian community in Jamaica, including reggae artist Bunny Wailer, and Snoop Dogg in January 2013. They claim Snoop Lion failure to meet his commitments to the Rastafarian culture. Snoop dismissed the claims, stating his beliefs were personal and not something that he felt were up for judgement from others.
In 2018, it appeared that Snoop Dogg was continuing his spiritual journey in another direction. After releasing his gospel-influenced album Bible of Love in 2018 and performing in the 33rd Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, he considered his religious status to be that of a born-again Christian.
In the Snoop Business
In the huge list of Snoop Dogg’s achievements, don’t forget about how active Snoop has been as an entrepreneur and investor. In May 2013, Snoop Dogg and his brand manager Nick Adler released an app entitled, Snoopify, allowing users to put Snoop’s face, joints or a walrus hat on photos. As of 2015, the app was bringing in $30,000 a week in sales.
Snoop was part of the $50 million investment pool for Reddit in 2014 that included investors Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Ron Conway, and Jared Leto.
He also dropped some doe in 2015 on Eaze, a weed delivery startup company that delivers medical marijuana to persons’ doorsteps in less than 10 minutes. Snoop has remained in the weed lane with the launch of his digital media business, Merry Jane that provides news about marijuana and his brand of cannabis products, Leafs By Snoop.
Community Commitment
In 2005, Snoop launched the non-profit organization called Snoop Youth Football League (SYFL) to provide children between the ages of five and thirteen the chance to play youth football. SYFL teaches kids teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline, academics, and self-respect.
SYFL has coached thousands of kids and many of the SYFL players, with some even going on to play football in college and in the National Football League.
To totally solidify Snoop’s California love and his entertainment-savvy, Snoop Dogg got a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Snoop was recognized in the recording category and received the 2651st star on Hollywood Boulevard, right in front of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” studio in Los Angeles.
As the currently 48-year-old rapper continues to bring in each new year with brand new entertaining endeavors, Snoop Dogg proves that he can get better with time like fine wine.
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