
Peak
8
Weeks
17
Score
2,506
Chart Year
1994
American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy directs a CGI-driven music video for the song.[10] Snoop and others (Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, and Warren G) are able to transform into dogs (such as Dobermann Pinschers, Rottweilers, Pit bulls, and Cocker Spaniels and several other breeds) to evade upsetting fathers and run wild, while also evading a pair of clumsy dog catchers while in these forms. One scene shows the dogs wearing sunglasses, smoking cigars and gambling on dice games (an homage to the late 19th century/early 20th century series of paintings by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge titled Dogs Playing Poker[citation needed]). Throughout the video Snoop can be seen standing on the roof of V.I.P. Records, a record store and studio where Snoop Dogg recorded some of his first material. One of the video vixens in the barbeque cookout scene in the video was played by now-clinical nurse Athena Germany, who later appeared in Family Feud with rest of her family in 2021.[
Snoop Doggy Dogg, who later truncated his name to Snoop Dogg, introduces himself in "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)," his first single as a lead artist. We learn where he's from (Long Beach), who he hangs with (Dr. Dre), and what he's into (smoking weed, making money). Most of us already knew about Snoop, though, because he shows up all over The Chronic, Dr. Dre's G-funk masterstroke, released the previous year. Snoop raps on all three Chronic singles - "Nuthin' But A G Thang," "Dre Day," and "Let Me Ride" - and also appears in the videos. When this song was released in October 1993, Snoop was up on murder charges from the shooting of a rival gang member in a Los Angeles park just two months earlier. His bodyguard pulled the trigger, but Snoop was driving the Jeep he was standing in to fire the shot. The incident bumped Snoop up in the headlines and drove even more demand for the song and his debut album, Doggystyle, which went straight to #1 when it was released in November. In the song, Snoop makes it clear he's armed and dangerous, which certainly didn't help his court case, but he had a not-so-secret weapon: lawyer Johnnie Cochran, who was working the O.J. Simpson case at the same time. As with his O.J. defense, Cochran showed that the LAPD mishandled evidence, and was able to convince the jury that Snoop and his bodyguard acted in self-defense. When the case finally came to an end in February 1996, both were found innocent. The song borrows elements from George Clinton's seminal funk track "Atomic Dog," with Snoop turning the "A-tom-ic Dog" chorus into "Snoop Dog-gy Dog." Snoop also lifts the "Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo, yippy-yay" bit from "Atomic Dog," something he did on Dr. Dre's track "Dre Day" from The Chronic. In a Pandora Stories feature, Snoop talked about how this song came together. "Me and Dr. Dre used to hang out together every day," he said. "I would ride with him every day in his Benz. Wherever I was staying, he would pick me up and we would go on a rendezvous, and then from the rendezvous we would end up in the studio. That ride from the rendezvous to the studio was usually me in the passenger's seat with a cassette tape controlling the music. One day George Clinton is on, 'Atomic Dog,' and when they get to the 'A-tomic Dawwwwg,' I started singing, 'Snoop Doggy Dogg.' I said, 'We're recording that as soon as we get to the studio.'" "My lyrics were like an MC," he added. "I was trying to be a rapper on that song, not a gangsta, because I was trying to show style and cadence." Hip-hop tastemaker Fab 5 Freddy directed the music video, which finds Snoop morphing into a doberman to escape the angry father of the girl he's with. Listening to this song, it's shocking that Snoop became so widely popular, cultivating a wholesome, family friendly image. The guy hosted a cooking show with Martha Stewart, for doggsakes. But his is a tale of change and redemption. He married his high school girlfriend in 1997 and became a devoted dad. His music also changed to be more positive and less threatening - also, he stopped degrading women in his lyrics. "I was stuck in a box with keeping it gangster and trying to appease the hood," he explained to People magazine in 2024, who featured him on the cover as "America's Top Dogg."
Ey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Tha Dogg Pound's in the house (the bomb) Ey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (Tha Dogg Pound's in the house) Snoop Doggy Dogg (the bomb) Snoop Doggy Dogg (Dogg) From the depths of the sea, back to the block Snoop Doggy Dogg, funky as the, the, The D.O.C. Went solo on that ass, but it's still the same Long Beach is the spot where I served my 'caine Follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me, but don't lose your grip Nine-trizzay's the yizzear for me to fuck up shit So I ain't holdin' nothin' back And motherfucker I got five on the twenty sack It's like that and as a matter of fact (rat-tat-tat-tat) 'Cause I never hesitate to put a nigga on his back Yeah, so peep out the manuscript You see that it's a must we drop gangsta shit What's my motherfuckin' name? Snoop Doggy Dogg (yeah, yeah, yeah) Snoop Doggy Dogg (the bomb) Da-da-da-da-da, do-do-do-do-do-do Da-da (Dogg) It's the bow to the wow, creepin' and crawlin' Yiggy yes y'allin', Snoop Doggy Dogg in The motherfuckin' house like every day Droppin' shit with my nigga mister Dr. Dre Like I said, niggas can't fuck with this And niggas can't fuck with that Shit that I drop 'cause you know it don't stop Mister One Eight Seven on a motherfuckin' cop Tic-toc, never the Glock, just some nuts and a cock Robbin' motherfuckers, then I kill them bloodclaats And I step through the fog and I creep through the smog 'Cause I'm Snoop Doggy (who?) Doggy (what?) Doggy (Dogg) Snoop Doggy Dogg Snoop Doggy Dogg (the bomb) (Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo, yippy-yay) (Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo) (the bomb) (Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo, yippy-yay) (Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo-yo-yo-yo-yo) (Dogg) Now just throw your hands in the motherfuckin' air And wave the motherfuckers like ya just don't care (Dogg) Yeah, roll up the dank and pour the drank And watch your step (why?) 'Cause Doggy's on the gank My bankroll's on swole My shit's on hit, legit, now I'm on parole, stroll With Tha Dogg Pound right behind me And up in your bitch, is where ya might find me Layin' that, playin' that G Thang She want the nigga with the biggest nuts, and guess what? He is I, and I am him, slim with the tilted brim What's my motherfuckin' name? Snoop Doggy Dogg (the bomb) Snoop Doggy Dogg Snoop Doggy Dogg (the bomb) Snoop Doggy Dogg (Dogg) Da-da-da-da-da, do-do-do-do-do-do Da-da (the bomb) Da-da-da-da-da, do-do-do-do-do-do Da-da (the bomb) Doggy Dogg, Doggy Dogg, Doggy Dogg (the bomb) (Bow, wow, wow, yippy-yo) (the bomb) What is his name? (Dogg) Snoop Dogg and the Dogg Pound (Dogg) (the bomb) Oh, yeah, Snoopy Dogg, Snoopy Dogg Snoopy Dogg (the bomb) Yeah, yeah (Dogg), I know his name Come on Snoopy, come on Snoopy (the bomb) And Tha Dogg Pound Snoopy Dogg (the bomb), Snoopy Dogg Snoopy Dogg (Dogg, Dogg) (Nasty Dogg, Doggy Dogg)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 4, 1993 | 40 | 86 |
| 2 | Dec 11, 1993 | 37 | 89 |
| 3 | Dec 18, 1993 | 15 | 111 |
| 4 | Dec 25, 1993 | 9 | 117 |
| 5 | Jan 1, 1994 | 9 | 117 |
| 6 | Jan 8, 1994 | 8 | 118 |
| 7 | Jan 15, 1994 | 10 | 116 |
| 8 | Jan 22, 1994 | 15 | 111 |
| 9 | Jan 29, 1994 | 25 | 101 |
| 10 | Feb 5, 1994 | 38 | 88 |
| 11 | Feb 12, 1994 | 47 | 79 |
| 12 | Feb 19, 1994 | 56 | 70 |
| 13 | Feb 26, 1994 | 58 | 68 |
| 14 | Mar 5, 1994 | 61 | 65 |
| 15 | Mar 12, 1994 | 75 | 51 |
| 16 | Mar 19, 1994 | 87 | 39 |
| 17 | Mar 26, 1994 | 99 | 27 |