Trees on a mountain in northern Utah during early autumn

Trunk base of a Coast Redwood tree in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park: Simpson Reed Discovery Trail, near Crescent City, California

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It most often has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance.^[1] A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m^[2] to 6 m;^[3] some authors set a minimum of 10 cm trunk diameter (30 cm girth).^[4] Woody plants that do not meet these definitions by having multiple stems and/or small size are usually called shrubs, although many trees such as Mallee do not meet such definitions. Compared with most other plants, trees are long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old and growing to up to 115 m (379 ft) high.^[5]

Trees are an important component of the natural landscape because of their prevention of erosion and the provision of a weather-sheltered ecosystem in and under their foliage. They also play an important role in producing oxygen and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as well as moderating ground temperatures. They are also elements in landscaping and agriculture, both for their aesthetic appeal and their orchard crops (such as apples). Wood from trees is a building material, as well as a primary energy source in many developing countries. Trees also play a role in many of the world's mythologies (see trees in mythology).^[6]

Classification[link]

A tree is a plant form that occurs in many different orders and families of plants. Most species of trees today are flowering plants (angiosperms) and conifers. Trees show a variety of growth forms, leaf type and shape, bark characteristics and reproductive organs. For the listing of examples of well-known trees and how they are classified, see List of tree genera.

The tree form has evolved separately in unrelated classes of plants, in response to similar environmental challenges, making it a classic example of parallel evolution. With an estimate of 100,000 tree species, the number of tree species worldwide might total 25 percent of all living plant species.^[7] The majority of tree species grow in tropical regions of the world and many of these areas have not been surveyed yet by botanists, making species diversity and ranges poorly understood.^[8] The earliest tree-like organisms were tree ferns, horsetails and lycophytes, which grew in forests in the Carboniferous period, however these plants were not trees^{[citation needed]}, since they lacked woody tissue. Trees evolved in the Triassic period, with conifers, ginkgos, cycads and other gymnosperms appeared producing woody tissue, and were subsequently followed by tree-form flowering plants in the Cretaceous period.

A small group of trees growing together is called a grove or copse, and a landscape covered by a dense growth of trees is called a forest. Several biotopes are defined largely by the trees that inhabit them; examples are rainforest and taiga (see ecozones). A landscape of trees scattered or spaced across grassland (usually grazed or burned over periodically) is called a savanna. A forest of great age is called old growth forest or ancient woodland (in the UK). A young tree is called a sapling.

Morphology[link]

Tree roots anchor the structure and provide water and nutrients. The ground has eroded away around the roots of this young red pine tree.

Many trees show strong apical dominance.

The parts of a tree are the roots, trunk(s), branches, twigs and leaves. Tree stems consist mainly of support and transport tissues (xylem and phloem). Wood consists of xylem cells, and bark is made of phloem and other tissues external to the vascular cambium. Trees may be grouped into exogenous and endogenous trees according to the way in which their stem diameter increases. Exogenous trees, which comprise the great majority of trees (all conifers, and almost all broadleaf trees), grow by the addition of new wood outwards, immediately under the bark. Endogenous trees, mainly in the monocotyledons (e.g., aloes and dragon trees), grow by addition of new material as discrete bundles within the existing trunk tissue.

Trees can be identified to genus or species by a combination of the tree's shape, and the characteristics of its bark, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The leaves may be either deciduous or evergreen.^[2][3]

As an exogenous tree grows, it creates growth rings as new wood is laid down concentrically over the old wood. In species growing in areas with seasonal climate changes, wood growth produced at different times of the year may be visible as alternating light and dark, or soft and hard, rings of wood.^[3] In temperate climates, and tropical climates with a single wet-dry season alternation, the growth rings are annual, each pair of light and dark rings being one year of growth; these are known as annual rings. In areas with two wet and dry seasons each year, there may be two pairs of light and dark rings each year; and in some (mainly semi-desert regions with irregular rainfall), there may be a new growth ring with each rainfall.^[9] In tropical rainforest regions, with constant year-round climate, growth is continuous and the growth rings are not visible nor is there a change in the wood texture. In species with annual rings, these rings can be counted to determine the age of the tree, and used to date cores or even wood taken from trees in the past, a practice known as the science of dendrochronology. Very few tropical trees can be accurately dated in this manner. Age determination in this manner is also impossible in endogenous trees.

The roots of a tree are generally embedded in earth, providing anchorage for the above-ground biomass and absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. However, while ground nutrients are essential to a tree's growth the majority of its biomass – over 90 percent – comes from carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere (see photosynthesis).^[10] Above ground, the trunk gives height to the leaf-bearing branches, aiding in competition with other plant species for sunlight. In many trees, the arrangement of the branches optimizes exposure of the leaves to sunlight.

Not all trees have all the plant organs or parts mentioned above. For example, the saguaro cactus of North America has no functional leaves. A plant form that is similar to a tree, but generally having smaller, multiple trunks and/or branches that arise near the ground, is called a shrub. However, no precise differentiation between shrubs and trees is possible. Given their small size, bonsai plants would not technically be "trees", but one should not confuse reference to the form of a species with the size or shape of individual specimens. A spruce seedling does not fit the definition of a tree, but all spruces are trees.

Record breaking trees[link]

The world's champion trees can be rated on height, trunk diameter or girth, total size, and age.

Tallest trees[link]

The coniferous Coast Redwood is the tallest tree species on earth.

The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been the subject of considerable dispute and much exaggeration. Modern verified measurements with laser rangefinders, or with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers (such as those carried out by canopy researchers or members of groups like the Native Tree Society), have shown that some older measuring methods and measurements are often unreliable, sometimes producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% or more above the real height. Historical claims of trees growing to 130 m (430 ft), and even 150 m (490 ft), are now largely disregarded as unreliable, and attributed to human error. Historical records of fallen trees measured prostrate on the ground are considered to be somewhat more reliable. The following are now accepted as the top nine tallest reliably measured species (taken only currently standing specimens):

1. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens): 115.66 m (379.46 ft), Hyperion, Redwood National Park, California, United States^[11]
2. Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii): 99.76 m (327.3 ft), Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon, United States^[12]
3. Australian Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans): 99.6 m (327 ft), south of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia^[13]
4. Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis): 96.7 m (317 ft), Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States^[14]
5. Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum): 95.8 m (314 ft), Sequoia National Forest, California, United States^[15]
6. Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus): 90.7 m (298 ft), Tasmania, Australia^[16]
7. Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis): 89 m (292 ft), Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania, Australia^[16]
8. Shorea faguetiana: 88.3 m (290 ft) Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo^[17]
9. Alpine Ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis): 87.9 m (288 ft), Tasmania, Australia^[16]

A view of a tree from below; this may exaggerate apparent height

Stoutest trees[link]

The girth of a tree is usually much easier to measure than the height, as it is a simple matter of stretching a tape round the trunk, and pulling it taut to find the circumference. Despite this, UK tree author Alan Mitchell made the following comment about measurements of yew trees:

The aberrations of past measurements of yews are beyond belief. For example, the tree at Tisbury has a well-defined, clean, if irregular bole at least 1.5 m long. It has been found to have a girth that dilated and shrunk in the following way: 11.28 m (1834 Loudon), 9.3 m (1892 Lowe), 10.67 m (1903 Elwes and Henry), 9.0 m (1924 E. Swanton), 9.45 m (1959 Mitchell) ... Earlier measurements have therefore been omitted.

As a general standard, tree girth is taken at "breast height". This is cited as dbh (diameter at breast height) in tree and forestry literature.^[3][18] Breast height is defined differently in different situations, with most forestry measurements taking girth at 1.3 m above ground,^[18] while those who measure ornamental trees usually measure at 1.5 m above ground;^[3] in most cases this makes little difference to the measured girth. On sloping ground, the "above ground" reference point is usually taken as the highest point on the ground touching the trunk^[3][18], but in North America a point, that is the average of the highest point and the lowest point the tree trunk appears to contact the soil, is usually used.^[19] Some of the inflated old measurements may have been taken at ground level. Some past exaggerated measurements also result from measuring the complete next-to-bark measurement, pushing the tape in and out over every crevice and buttress.^[20]

Modern trends are to cite the tree's diameter rather than the circumference. Diameter of the tree is calculated by finding the medium diameter of the trunk, in most cases obtained by dividing the measured circumference by π; this assumes the trunk is mostly circular in cross-section (an oval or irregular cross-section would result in a mean diameter slightly greater than the assumed circle). Accurately measuring circumference or diameter is difficult in species with the large buttresses that are especially characteristic in many species of rainforest trees. Simple measurement of circumference of such trees can be misleading when the circumference includes much empty space between buttresses.

One further problem with measuring baobabs Adansonia is that these trees store large amounts of water in the very soft wood in their trunks. This leads to marked variation in their girth over the year (though not more than about 2.5%^[21]), swelling to a maximum at the end of the rainy season, minimum at the end of the dry season.

The stoutest living single-trunk species in diameter are:

1. Montezuma Cypress Taxodium mucronatum: 11.62 m (38.1 ft), Árbol del Tule, Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico.^[22] Note though that this diameter includes buttressing; the actual idealised diameter of the area of its wood is 9.38 m (30.8 ft).^[22]
2. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 8.85 m (29.0 ft), General Grant tree, General Grant Grove, California, United States^[23]
3. Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 7.9 m (26 ft), Lost Monarch Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California, United States.
4. Australian Oak Eucalyptus obliqua: 6.72 m (22.0 ft)
5. Australian Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans: 6.52 m (21.4 ft), Big Foot
6. Western Redcedar Thuja plicata: 5.99 m (19.7 ft), Kalaloch Cedar, Olympic National Park
7. Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis: 5.39 m (17.7 ft), Quinalt Lake Spruce, Olympic National Park
8. Kauri Agathis australis (Te Matua Ngahere): 5.33 m (17.5 ft).^[24]
9. Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides: 5.0 m (16.4 ft)

An additional problem lies in instances where multiple trunks (whether from an individual tree or multiple trees) grow together. The Sacred Fig is a notable example of this, forming additional "trunks" by growing adventitious roots down from the branches, which then thicken up when the root reaches the ground to form new trunks; a single Sacred Fig tree can have hundreds of such trunks.^[1] The multi-stemmed Hundred Horse Chestnut was known to have a circumference of 57.9 m (190 ft) when it was measured in 1780.

Largest trees[link]

General Sherman is the largest tree on Earth

The largest trees in total volume are both tall and large in diameter and, in particular, hold a large diameter high up the trunk. Measurement is very complex, particularly if branch volume is to be included as well as the trunk volume, so measurements have only been made for a small number of trees, and generally only for the trunk. No attempt has ever been made to include root volume. Measuring standards vary.

The top ten species measured so far are*:

1. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 1,487 m³ (52,508 cu ft), General Sherman^[25]
2. Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 1,203 m³ (42,500 cu ft), Lost Monarch^[26]
3. Montezuma Cypress Taxodium mucronatum: 750 m³ (25,000 cu ft), Árbol del Tule^[27]
4. Kauri Agathis australis (Tāne Mahuta): 516 m³ ^[28]
5. Western Redcedar Thuja plicata: 500 m³ (17,650 cu ft ), Quinault Lake Redcedar^[25]
6. Tasmanian Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus: 368 m³ (13,000 cu ft), Rullah Longatyle (Strong Girl, also Grieving Giant) ^[16]
7. Australian Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans: 360 m³ (12,714 cu ft), Arve Big Tree^[16]
8. Coast Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii 349 m³ (12,320 cu ft) Red Creek Tree
9. Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis 337 m³ (11,920 cu ft) Queets Spruce^[29]
10. Australian Oak Eucalyptus obliqua: 337 m³ (11,920 cu ft) Gothmog^[16]
11. Alpine Ash Eucalyptus delegatensis: 286 m³ (10,100 cu ft), located in Styx River Valley^[16]

(*)This list does not take into account now dead specimens.

Oldest trees[link]

The oldest trees are determined by growth rings, which can be seen if the tree is cut down, or in cores taken from the bark to the center of the tree. Accurate determination is only possible for trees that produce growth rings, generally those in seasonal climates. Trees in uniform non-seasonal tropical climates grow continuously and do not have distinct growth rings. It is also only possible for trees that are solid to the center. Many very old trees become hollow as the dead heartwood decays. For some of these species, age estimates have been made on the basis of extrapolating current growth rates, but the results are usually largely speculation. White (1998)^[30] proposes a method of estimating the age of large and veteran trees in the United Kingdom through the correlation between a tree's stem diameter, growth character and age.

The verified oldest measured ages are:

1. Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Methuselah) Pinus longaeva: 4,844 years^[31]
2. Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides: 3,622 years^[31]
3. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 3,266 years^[31]
4. Sugi Cryptomeria japonica: 3,000 years^[32]
5. Huon-pine Lagarostrobos franklinii: 2,500 years^[31]

Other species suspected of reaching exceptional age include European Yew Taxus baccata (probably over 2,000 years^[33][34]) and Western Redcedar Thuja plicata. The oldest known European Yew is the Llangernyw Yew in the Churchyard of Llangernyw village in North Wales, which is estimated to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old.

Damage[link]

El Grande, about 85 m (279 ft) high, the most massive (though not the tallest) Eucalyptus regnans was accidentally killed by loggers burning-off the remains of legally loggable trees (less than 85 m) that had been felled all around it.

Callus growth on beech branch following fire (heat) damage.

The two sources of tree damage are either biotic (from living sources) or abiotic (from non-living sources). Biotic sources include insects that bore into the tree, deer that rub bark off, and fungi.^[35]

Abiotic sources include lightning, vehicles impacts, and construction activities. Construction activities can involve a number of damage sources, including grade changes that prevent aeration to roots, spills involving toxic chemicals such as cement or petroleum products, or severing of branches or roots.

Both damage sources can result in trees becoming dangerous, and the term "hazard trees" is commonly used by arborists, and industry groups such as power line operators. Hazard trees are trees that, due to disease or other factors, are more susceptible to falling in windstorms, or having parts of the tree fall.

Evaluating the danger a tree presents is based on a process called the Quantified Tree Risk Assessment.^[36]

Assessment as to labeling a tree a hazard tree can be based on a field examination. Assessment as a result of construction activities that will damage a tree is based on three factors: severity, extent and duration. Severity relates usually to the degree of intrusion into the TPZ and resultant root loss. Extent is frequently a percentage of a factor such as canopy, roots or bark, and duration is normally based on time. Root severing is considered permanent in time.

Trees are similar to people. Both can withstand massive amounts of some types of damage and survive, but even small amounts of certain types of trauma can result in death. Arborists are very aware that established trees will not tolerate any appreciable disturbance of the root system.^[37] However, lay people and construction professionals seldom recognise how easily a tree can be killed.

One reason for confusion about tree damage from construction involves the dormancy of trees during winter. Another factor is that trees may not show symptoms of damage until two years or longer after damage has occurred. For that reason, persons uneducated in arboricultural science may not correlate the actual cause and resultant effect.

Various organisations, such as the International Society of Arboriculture, the British Standards Institute and the Tree Industry Association (formerly the National Arborist Association), have long recognised the importance of construction activities that impact tree health. The impacts are important because they can result in monetary losses due to tree damage and resultant remediation or replacement costs, as well as violation of government ordinances or community or subdivision restrictions.

As a result, protocols for tree management prior to, during and after construction activities are well established, tested and refined. These basic steps are involved:

• Review of the construction plans
• Development of the related tree inventory
• Application of standard construction tree management protocols
• Assessment of potential for expected tree damages
• Development of a tree protection plan (providing for pre-, concurrent, and post construction damage prevention and remediation steps)
• Development of a tree protection plan
• Development of a remediation plan
• Implementation of tree protection zones (TPZ)
• Assessment of construction tree damage, post-construction
• Implementation of the remediation plan

The shield of Currier House (Harvard College).

Trees in culture[link]

The tree has always been a cultural symbol. Common icons are the World tree, for instance Yggdrasil,^[38] and the tree of life. The tree is often used to represent nature or the environment itself.

The tree is also a symbol and mascot for Stanford University and Currier House (Harvard College).

Tree value approximation (USA)[link]

Studies have shown that trees contribute as much as 27% of the appraised land value in certain markets and cite the following^[39] which can be extrapolated with care.

These most likely use diameter measured at breast height, 4.5 feet (140 cm) above ground, not the larger base diameter. A general model for any year and diameter is Value = 17.27939*(diameter^2)*1.022^(year-1985) assuming 2.2% inflation per year.^[41] The right side of this equation is written to paste into Excel or Google to perform the calculation. Extrapolations from any model can vary widely, so value estimates for diameters larger than 30 inches (760 mm) may have to be capped so trees do not exceed 27% of total appraised land value.

See also[link]

References[link]

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Pakenham, T. (2002). Remarkable Trees of the World. ISBN 0-297-84300-1
• Pakenham, T. (1996). Meetings with Remarkable Trees. ISBN 0-297-83255-7
• Tudge, C. (2005). The Secret Life of Trees. How They Live and Why They Matter. Allen Lane. London. ISBN 0-7139-9698-6

External links[link]

Trees portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trees

Look up tree in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Gymnosperm database
• Silvics of North America
• University of Florida's Landscape Plants website
• Global Trees Campaign (campaigning to save the world's most threatened trees)
• International Society of Arboriculture
• Eastern Native Tree Society
• Western Native Tree Society
• Trees The Arbor Day Foundation
• Tree Encyclopedia Extensive collection of diagnostic photos, Morton Arboretum Specimens
• Wondermondo - Trees Largest and most unusual trees of the world
• Venerable Trees Venerable trees of the planet

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Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg performing at the Snoop Dogg Supafest in April 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.
Born	(1971-10-20) October 20, 1971 (age 40)
Origin	Long Beach, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Death Row, No Limit, Priority, Star Trak, Geffen, Doggystyle
Associated acts	Tha Dogg Pound, Tha Eastsidaz, 213, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, 2Pac, Pharell, R. Kelly, Ice Cube, Akon, Game, Brandy Norwood, Eminem, Wiz Khalifa
Website	snoopdogg.com

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school. Shortly after graduation, he was arrested for cocaine possession and spent six months in Wayside County Jail. His music career began in 1992 after his release when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He collaborated on several tracks on Dre's solo debut, The Chronic and on the titular theme song to the film Deep Cover.

Snoop's debut album Doggystyle, was released in 1993 under Death Row Records making a debut at No.1 on both the Billboard 200 and R&B charts. Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle quickly became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including "What's My Name" and "Gin & Juice". In 1994, Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case, starring himself. In early 1996, Snoop Dogg was cleared of charges over his bodyguard's 1993 murder of Philip Woldemariam. His second album, late 1996's Tha Doggfather, also debuted at No.1 on both charts with "Snoop's Upside Ya Head" as the lead single. The album sold only half as well, being certified double platinum in 1997.

Tha Doggfather was his last release for Death Row before he signed with No Limit Records, where he recorded his next three albums. Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told in 1998, No Limit Top Dogg in 1999 (making it his last album of the 90s), and Tha Last Meal in 2000, which was his last No Limit Records album. Snoop then signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002, where he released his album Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss. Then he signed with Geffen Records in 2004 for his next three albums R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, and Ego Trippin'. Malice 'n Wonderland (2009) and Doggumentary (2011), his most recent release, were on Priority.

In addition to music, Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows: Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood and Dogg After Dark. He also coaches a youth football league and high school football team. He has run into many legal troubles, some of which caused him to be legally banned from the UK and Australia, although the UK ban was later reversed after a long legal battle.^[1] He is the cousin of Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, RBX and Lil' ½ Dead and the cousin of R&B singers Brandy and Ray J. Starting September 2009, Snoop was hired by EMI as the chairman of a reactivated Priority Records.^[2]

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

Named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Sr. (December 10, 1948 – November 9, 1985, Los Angeles), Calvin Broadus was born October 20, 1971 at the Los Altos Hospital in Long Beach, California, the second of three sons of Beverly Broadus (née Tate; born April 27, 1951, McComb, Mississippi).^[3][4][5] His father, Vernall Varnado (born December 13, 1949, Magnolia, Mississippi),^[3] was a Vietnam veteran, singer, and mail carrier who was said to be frequently absent from his life.^[6] Broadus' parents nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because of his appearance, but usually addressed him as Calvin at home.^[7][8] His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975. At an early age, Broadus began singing in Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church and playing piano; when he was in sixth grade, he began rapping.^[9][10] He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and was convicted for cocaine possession, serving six months at the Wayside County Jail.^[7]

As a teenager, Snoop Dogg frequently ran into trouble with the law. Snoop Dogg was a member of the Rollin' 20 Crips gang in the Eastside of Long Beach,^[11][12] although he stated in 1993 that he never joined a gang.^[9] Shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.^[7] Snoop Dogg's conviction caused him to be frequently in and out of prison for the first three years after he graduated from high school. Snoop, along with his cousins Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead and friend Warren G, recorded home made tapes as a group called 213, named after the Long Beach area code at the time. One of his early solo freestyles over En Vogue's "Hold On" had made it to a mixtape which was heard by influential producer Dr. Dre, who phoned to invite him to an audition. Former N.W.A member The D.O.C. taught him how to structure his lyrics and separate the thematics into verses, hooks and chorus.^[13]

[edit] 1992–93: Doggystyle

When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dr. Dre began working with Snoop Dogg, first on the theme song of the 1992 film Deep Cover, and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. The huge success of Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle was partially because of this intense exposure.^[7]

To fuel the ascendance of West Coast G-funk hip hop, the singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months.^[7] Gangsta rap became the center of arguments for censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians.^[14] Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others. Rolling Stone music critic Touré asserted that Snoop had a relatively soft vocal delivery compared to other rappers: "Snoop's vocal style is part of what distinguishes him: where many rappers scream, figuratively and literally, he speaks softly."^[9]

A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial called Murder Was The Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack. On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc., a record label founded by Snoop Dogg, was registered with the California Secretary of State as business entity number C1923139.^[15]

[edit] 1996–97: Tha Doggfather

After Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder charges on February 20, 1996, he and the mother of his son and their kennel of 20 pit bulls moved into a 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) home in the hills of Claremont, California and by August 1996 Doggy Style Records, a subsidiary of Death Row Records, signed The Gap Band's Charlie Wilson as one of the record label's first artists.^[16]

However, by the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the price of living (or sometimes just imitating) the gangsta life had become very evident. Among the many notable hip hop industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg's friend and labelmate 2Pac and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight.^[7] Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 because of a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.

This album featured a distinct change of style as compared to Doggystyle, and the leadoff single, "Snoop's Upside Ya Head", featured a collaboration with Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson. While the album sold reasonably well, it was not as successful as its predecessor. However, Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style. The immediate aftermath of Dr. Dre's withdrawal from Death Row Records, realizing that he was subject to an iron-clad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), Snoop Dogg refused to produce any more tracks for Suge Knight, other than the insulting "Fuck Death Row", until his contract expired.^[11] In an interview with Neil Strauss in 1998, Snoop Dogg stated that though he had been given lavish gifts by his former label they had withheld royalty payments to the artist.^[17]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that after Tha Doggfather, Snoop Dogg began "moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic":^[7] for instance, Snoop participated in the 1997 Lollapalooza concert tour, which featured mainly alternative rock music. Troy J. Augusto of Variety noticed that Snoop's set at Lollapalooza attracted "much dancing, and, strangely, even a small mosh pit" in the audience.^[18]

[edit] 1998–2000: No Limit, Top Dogg and Tha Last Meal

Snoop signed with Master P's No Limit Records (distributed by Priority/EMI Records) in 1998 and debuted on the label with Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told that year. His other albums from No Limit were No Limit Top Dogg in 1999 (selling over 1,503,865 copies) and Tha Last Meal in 2000 (selling over 1,000,000).^[7] In 2001, his autobiography, Tha Doggfather, was published.

[edit] 2002: Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$

In 2002 he released the album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, on Priority/Capitol/EMI Records, selling over 1,300,000 copies. The album featured the hit singles "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" and "Beautiful", featuring guest vocals by Pharrell. By this stage in his career, Snoop Dogg had left behind his "gangster" image and embraced a "pimp" image.