Charles Maurras

Charles Maurras in his library
Born	(1868-04-20)20 April 1868 Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Died	16 November 1952(1952-11-16) (aged 84) Tours, France
Region	Western Philosophers
School	Positivism; Royalism; Integralism; Leader and principal thinker of the reactionary Action Française
Influenced by Auguste Comte, Ernest Renan, Hippolyte Taine, Fustel de Coulanges, Maurice Barrès

Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl moʁas]; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, poet, and critic. He was a leader and principal thinker of Action Française, a political movement that was monarchist, anti-parliamentarist, and counter-revolutionary. Maurras' ideas greatly influenced National Catholicism and "nationalisme integral". A major tenet of integral nationalism was put forth by Maurras as "A true nationalist places his country above everything". A political theorist, a major intellectual influence in early 20th-century Europe, his views anticipated some of the ideas of fascism.

Biography[link]

Before World War I[link]

Maurras was born in an old Provençal family, and brought up by his mother and grand-mother in a Catholic and monarchist environment. In his early teens he became deaf.^[1] Like many other French politicians, he was heavily affected by the defeat during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.^[2] After the 1871 Commune and the 1879 defeat of Marshall Mac-Mahon's Moral Order government, French society slowly found a consensus for the Republic, symbolized by the rallying of the Orleanists to the Republic. In his youth, Maurras was a disciple of the poet Frédéric Mistral and shared the federalist thesis of the Provençal Félibrige movement.^[2] He published his first article, at 17 years-old, in the Annales de philosophie chrétienne review.^[1] He then collaborated to various reviews, including L’Événement, La Revue bleue, La Gazette de France or La Revue encyclopédique, where he praised Classicism and attacked Romanticism.^[1]

However, some time in his youth, Maurras lost his faith and became an agnostic over time. At the age of seventeen he came to Paris and started literary criticism in 1887 in the Catholic and Orleanist Observateur.^[2] At this time, Maurras was influenced by Orleanism, as well as German philosophy reviewed by Léon Ollé-Laprune, an influence of Bergson, or by the philosopher Maurice Blondel, one of the inspirations of Christian "modernists" who would later become his most bitter opponents.^[2] He came to know the Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral in 1888 and shared the federalist thesis of Mistral's Félibrige movement.^[2] The same year he met the nationalist writer Maurice Barrès.^[3]

In 1890, Maurras approved Cardinal Lavigerie's call for the Rallying of Catholics to the Republic, marking his opposition not to the Republic in itself but to "sectarian Republicanism."^[2]

Beside this Orleanist affiliation, Maurras shared some traits with Bonapartism. In December 1887, he demonstrated to the cry of "Down with the robbers!" during the decorations scandal which had involved Daniel Wilson, the son-in-law of the President Jules Grévy.^[2] Despite this, he opposed at first the Boulangist movement.^[2] But in 1889, after a visit to Maurice Barrès, Barrès voted for the Boulangist candidate; despite his "anti-semitism of the heart" ("anti-sémitisme de coeur"), he decided to vote for a Jew.^[2]

In 1894–95 he briefly worked in Barrès' La Cocarde (The Cockade)'s newspaper, although he sometimes opposed Barrès on his views on the French Revolution.^[2] La Cocarde supported General Boulanger who almost toppled the Republic in the late 1880s.

During a trip to Athens for the First Olympic Games in 1896, he came to criticize the Greek democratic system of the polis, which he considered doomed because of its internal divisions and its openness towards métèques (foreigners).^[2]

He became involved in politics at the time of the Dreyfus affair, appearing at the forefront of the Anti-Dreyfusard side. He supported Colonel Henry's forgery blaming Dreyfus, as he considered that defending Dreyfus weakened the Army and the Justice system. According to Maurras, Dreyfus was to be sacrificed on the altar of national interest.^[2] But when the Republican nationalist thinker Barrès accused Dreyfus of being guilty because of his Jewishness, Maurras went a step further, vilifying the "Jewish Republic".^[2] While Barrès' anti-Semitism found its roots both in the pseudo-scientific racist contemporary theories and on Biblical exegesis, Maurras decried "scientific racism" in favor of a more radical "state anti-Semitism."^[2]

In 1899 he founded the Action Française (AF) review, an offshoot of the newspaper created by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois the preceding year.^[1] Maurras quickly became influential in the movement, and converted Pujo and Vaugeois to monarchism, which became the movement's principal cause. With Léon Daudet he edited the movement's review La Revue de l'Action Française, which in 1908 became a daily newspaper under the shorter title L'Action Française. The AF mixed integral nationalism with reactionary themes, shifting the nationalist ideology, beforehand supported by left-wing Republicans, to the right-side of the political field.^[4] It found a wide readership during the implementation of the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. In 1899 he wrote a short notice in favour of monarchy, "Dictateur et roi" ("Dictator and King"), and then in 1900 his "Enquête sur la monarchie" (Investigations on Monarchy), published in the Legitimist mouthpiece La Gazette de France, which made him famous. Maurras also published thirteen articles in Le Figaro in 1901 and 1902, as well as six articles between November 1902 and January 1903 in Edouard Drumont's anti-Semitic newspaper, La Libre Parole.^[3]

Between 1905 and 1908, when the Camelots du Roy monarchist league was founded, Maurras introduced the concept of political activism through extra-parliamentary leagues, theorizing the possibility of a coup d'état.^[2] Maurras also founded the Ligue d'Action Française in 1905, whose mission was to recruit members for the Action Française, with the aim of establishing the Duc de Guise on the throne.

From World War I to the end of the 1930s[link]

Maurras then supported France's entry into World War I (even to the extent of supporting the thoroughly republican Georges Clemenceau) against the German Empire. During the war, the Jewish businessman Emile Ullman was forced to resign from the board of directors of the Comptoir d'Escompte after Maurras accused him of being a German agent. He then criticized the Treaty of Versailles for not being harsh enough on the Germans and condemned Aristide Briand's policy of cooperation with Germany.^[1]

In 1925 he called for the murder of Abraham Schrameck, the Interior Minister of Paul Painlevé's Cartel des Gauches's (Left-Wing Cartel) government, who had ordered the disarming of the Far right leagues.^[3] For this death threat, he was sentenced to a year on parole.^[3] He also threatened to death the President of the Council Léon Blum, leader of the Popular Front, in the Action Française of 15 May 1936, underscoring his Jewish origins (he once called him an "old semitic camel".^[3]) This other death threat earned him eight months of prison, from 29 October 1936 to 6 July 1937.^[3] Fearing Communism, he joined the pacifists' camp and praised the Munich Agreement in 1938, which the President of the Council Édouard Daladier had signed without any illusions. He also wrote in Action Française:

"There are certain conservatives in France who fill us with disgust. Why? Because of their stupidity. What kind of stupidity? Hitlerism. These French "conservatives" crawl on their bellies before Hitler. These former nationalists cringe before him. A few zealots wallow in dirt, in their own dirt, with endless Heils. The wealthier they are, the more they own, the more important it is to make them understand that if Hitler invaded us he would skin them much more thoroughly than Blum, Thorez and Stalin combined. This "conservative" error is suicidal. We must appeal to our friends not to let themselves be befogged. We must tell them: Be on your guard! What is now at stake is not anti-democracy or anti-Semitism. France above all!"^[5]

During 1930s – especially after the 6 February 1934 crisis^[6]—many of Action Française members turned to fascism, such as Robert Brasillach, Lucien Rebatet, Abel Bonnard, Paul Chack, Claude Jeantet, etc. Most of them belonged to the staff of the fascist newspaper Je suis partout.

Influencing António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo regime in Portugal, Maurras also supported Francisco Franco and, until spring 1939, Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime. Opposing Adolf Hitler because of his germanophobia, Maurras himself criticized the racist policies of Nazism in 1936, and requested an integral translation of Mein Kampf – some of its passages had been censored in the French edition.

After his failure against Charles Jonnart in 1924 to be elected to the French Academy, he succeeded in entering the ranks of the "Immortals" on 9 June 1938, replacing Henri-Robert, winning by 20 votes against 12 to Fernand Gregh. He was received in the Academy on 8 June 1939 by Henry Bordeaux.

Vichy regime, arrest and death[link]

Although in June 1940 articles in Action Française signed by Maurras, Léon Daudet and Maurice Pujo praised General Charles de Gaulle,^[7] Maurras quickly came to acclaim the fall of the Third Republic, replaced by Marshal Philippe Pétain's Vichy France, as a "divine surprise".^[8] Vichy's reactionary program of a Révolution Nationale (National Revolution) was fully approved of by the leader of the Action Française, who inspired large parts of it.^[1] The monarchist newspaper was forbidden in the Occupied Zone and under Vichy censorship in the Southern Zone from November 1942.^[9] In La Seule France (1941) Maurras argued for a policy of France d'abord ("France First"), whereby France would restore itself politically and morally under Pétain, resolving the root causes in his eyes of France's defeat in 1940, before dealing with the issue of the foreign occupation. This position was contrasted to the attitude of the Gaullists, who fled France and continued only a military struggle. Maurras savaged the pre-war French governments for taking an increasingly bellicose position vis a vis Germany at precisely the same time that these governments were weakening France, militarily, socially and politically, thereby making France's downfall in 1940 all but inevitable. Maurras also criticized the 1940 Statute on Jews for being too moderate.^[2] At the same time he continued to express elements of his longstanding germanophobia by arguing in La Seule France that Frenchmen must not be drawn to the German model and by hosting anti-German conferences^[10] and he opposed both the "dissidents" in London and the collaborators in Paris and Vichy (such as Lucien Rebatet,^[11] Robert Brasillach, Pierre Laval, or Marcel Déat^[12]). In 1943, the Germans planned to arrest Charles Maurras.^[13]

An admirer (before the war) of Charles de Gaulle, who himself had been influenced by Maurras' integralism, he then harshly criticized the General in exile. He later claimed he believed that Pétain was playing a "double game", working for an Allied victory in secret.

Maurras was arrested in September 1944 with Maurice Pujo, and indicted by High Court of Lyon for "complicity with the enemy" on the basis of articles published by Maurras since the war. At the issue of the trial, during which there were many irregularities in the proceedings (such as false dating or truncated quotations),^[14] Maurras was sentenced to life imprisonment and deprivation of civil liberties. He was automatically expelled from the Académie Française (a measure included in the 26 December 1944 ordinance^[1]). His response to his conviction was to exclaim "C'est la revanche de Dreyfus!" (It's Dreyfus's revenge!)^[2] Meanwhile the Académie Française declared his seat vacant instead of expelling him, as it had done for Pétain, sparing him the fate of Abel Hermant and Abel Bonnard.^[1] They waited until his death to elect his successor, Antoine de Lévis-Mirepoix, who was himself close to the Action Française and collaborated with Pierre Boutang's La Nation Française monarchist review.

Imprisoned in Riom and then Clairvaux, Maurras was released in March 1952 to enter a hospital, assisted by the writer Henry Bordeaux, who repeatedly asked President of the Council Vincent Auriol to pardon Maurras. He was transferred to a clinic in Tours, where he soon died. Although weakened he collaborated with Aspects de la France, which had replaced the outlawed Action Française review in 1947. In his last days, he returned to the Catholic faith of his childhood.^{[citation needed]}

Maurras' work[link]

Maurras and Félibrige[link]

This section requires expansion.

See the main article : Félibrige.

Maurras' political thought[link]

Central to Maurras' political ideas were an intense nationalism (what he described as "integral nationalism") and a belief in an ordered society based on a strong leadership. These were the bases of his support for both a French monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church. Yet he had no personal loyalty to the house of Bourbon-Orléans, and was a convinced agnostic for nearly all of his adult life. His work particularly marked the French right, including its far-right component, as he succeeded in theorizing for all of the various right-wing families an aggressive political strategy, which contrasted with the Legitimists' apathy for political action.^[2] He managed to bring together the paradox of a reactionary thought which would actively change history, a form of Counter-revolution opposed to simple conservatism.^[2] According to the historian Alain-Gérard Slama, Maurras' efficiency was to bring together the various right-wing families of France (Legitimism, Orleanism and Bonapartism) and to give them a theory of political action as well as a positive ideology, Integralism, whereas the right-wings were usually characterized by their sole opposition to the left-wings.^[2] His "integral nationalism" rejected all democratic principles which he judged contrary to "natural inequality", criticizing all evolution since the 1789 French Revolution and advocated the return to a hereditary monarchy.^[1]

Like many people in Europe at the time, he was haunted by the idea of "decadence", partly inspired by his reading of Taine and Renan, and admired classicism. He felt that France had lost its grandeur during the Revolution of 1789, a grandeur inherited from its origins as a province of the Roman Empire and forged by, as he put it, "forty kings who in a thousand years made France." The French Revolution, he wrote in the Observateur Français, was negative and destructive.

He traced this decline further back, to the Enlightenment and the Reformation; he described the source of the evil as "Swiss ideas", a reference to the adopted nation of Calvin and the birth nation of Rousseau. Maurras further blamed France's decline on "Anti-France", which he defined as the "four confederate states of Protestants, Jews, Freemasons and foreigners" (his actual word for the latter being the xenophobic term of métèques). Indeed, to him the first three were all "internal foreigners."^[15]

Antisemitism and anti-Protestantism were common themes in his writings. He believed that the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the eventual outcome of the French Revolution had all contributed to individuals putting themselves before the nation, with consequent negative effects on the latter, and that democracy and liberalism were only making matters worse.

Although Maurras advocated the return of monarchy, in many ways Maurras did not fit into the French monarchist tradition at all. His support for the monarchy and for Catholicism was explicitly pragmatic, as he felt that a state religion was the only way of maintaining public order. By contrast with Maurice Barrès, a theorist of a kind of Romantic nationalism based on the Ego, Maurras claimed to base his views on reason rather than on sentiment, loyalty and faith.

Paradoxically, he admired the positivist philosopher Auguste Comte, like many of the Third Republic leaders he detested, in which he found a counter-balance to German idealism. Whereas the Legitimist monarchists declined to engage in political action, retreating into an intransigently conservative Catholicism and an indifference to a modern world they saw as irredeemably wicked and apostate, Maurras was prepared to engage in political action, both orthodox and unorthodox (the Action Française's Camelots du Roi league frequently engaged in street violence with left-wing opponents, as well as Marc Sangnier's Le Sillon). His slogan was the phrase "La politique d'abord!" ("Politics first!"). Other influences included Frédéric Le Play, English empiricists, who allowed him to reconcile Cartesian rationalism with empiricism,^[2] and La Tour du Pin.

Maurras' religious views were likewise less than orthodox. He supported the political Catholic Church both because it was intimately bound up with French history and because its hierarchical structure and clerical elite mirrored his image of an ideal society. He considered the Church to be the mortar which held France together, and the chain linking all Frenchmen together. However, he distrusted the Gospels, written, as he put it, "by four obscure Jews",^[16] but admired the Catholic Church for having allegedly concealed much of the Bible's "dangerous teachings". Maurras' interpretation of the Gospels and his integralist teachings were fiercely criticised by many Catholic clergy. However, towards the end of his life Maurras eventually converted from agnosticism to Catholicism.

Notwithstanding his religious unorthodoxy, Maurras gained a large following among French monarchists and Catholics, including the Assumptionists and the Orleanist pretender to the French throne, the count of Paris. Nonetheless, his agnosticism worried parts of the Catholic hierarchy and in 1926, Pope Pius XI placed some of Maurras's writings on the Index of Forbidden Books and condemned the Action Française movement as a whole. Seven of Maurras' books has already been placed on this list in 1914 and a dossier on Maurras had been submitted to Pius X. However, unlike Pius XI, he took no action on this dossier. It should be noted that it was not just his agnosticicm which worried the Catholic hierarchy but that by insisting upon politiques d'abord he questioned the primacy of the spiritual and thus the teaching authority of the Church and the authority of the Pope himself. That this was the heart of the matter is shown by Jacques Maritain's book Primauté du Spirituel. Maritain was associated with L’Action Française and knew Maurras. While his unease with the movement pre-dates the 1926 crisis, it was this which occasioned his split from Maurras and L’Action Française. This papal condemnation was a great shock to many of his followers, who included a not inconsiderable number of French clergy, and caused great damage to the Action Française. It was lifted however in 1939, a year after Maurras was elected to the Académie française.

Maurras was evidently a leading exponent of what Allan Bloom called (in his The Closing of the American Mind) the "conservatism of Throne and Altar", and an intellectual descendant of Joseph de Maistre, one of the prime thinkers of the Counter-Revolution.

The legacy of Maurras[link]

Maurras is the main intellectual influence of National Catholicism, Far Right movements, Latin Conservatism, and integral nationalism.^[17] He and the Action Française have influenced many people and movements including General Francisco Franco, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, António Sardinha, Leon Degrelle, and autonomist movements in Europe. The Christian Democrat Jacques Maritain was also close to Maurras before the papal condemnation of the AF in 1927,^[17] and criticized democracy in one of his early writing, Une opinion sur Charles Maurras ou le devoir des catholiques.^[17] Furthermore, Maurrassism also influenced many writings from members of the Organisation de l'armée secrète who theorized "counter-revolutionary warfare".^[17] In Spain, the Acción Española took not only its far right monarchism but also its name from Maurras's movement.^[18]

The influence extended to Latin America, such as in Mexico where Jesús Guiza y Acevedo,^[17] was nicknamed "the little Maurras", as well as the historian Carlos Pereyra or the Venezuelan author Vanenilla Lanz, who wrote a book titled Cesarismo democratico (Democratic Caesarism).^[17] Others figures influenced include the Brazilian Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Maurras' thought also influenced Catholic fundamentalist supporters of the Brazilian dictatorship^[17] (1964–85) as well as the Cursillos de la Cristiandad (Christian Courses), similar to the Cité Catholique group, which were founded in 1950 by the bishop of Ciudad Real, Mgr. Hervé.^[17] The Argentine militarist Juan Carlos Onganía, who overthrew Arturo Illia in a military putsch in 1969, as well as Alejandro Agustín Lanusse, who succeeded Onganía after another coup, had participated in the Cursillos de la Cristiandad,^[17] as did also the Dominican militarists Antonio Imbert Barrera and Elías Wessin y Wessin, chief of staff of the military and an opponent of the restoration of the 1963 Constitution after Rafael Trujillo's overthrow.^[17] In Argentina his influence was also felt amongst the nationalist writers of the 1920s and 1930s such as Rodolfo Irazusta and Juan Carulla.^[19]

References[link]

Works[link]

External links[link]

• Maurras.net online library : works of Charles Maurras (in French).
• Charles Maurras, Shaper of an Age by Thomas Molnar.
• Dreyfus Rehabilitated

Jacques Bainville (February 9, 1879 in Vincennes, Val-de-Marne - February 9, 1936 in Paris) was a French historian and journalist. A staunch monarchist, he was a leading figure in Action Française.

Political career[link]

Bainville first came to prominence as an activist against Alfred Dreyfus.^[1]

A follower of Charles Maurras, Bainville was a founder of Action Française and soon became an important figure in the Institut d'Action Française, a college of sorts ran by the organisation (it had no permanent buildings but ran lectures and study groups where possible)^[2].

Bainville became notorious in French political circles for his Germanophobia and this was one of the defining strands of his writing.^[3] His early works suggested that the history of Europe was defined by the struggle between the superior French civilisation and the barbaric German kultur.^[4] His Histoire de deux peuples (1915) underlined the importance for France of German weakness and sought a return to the pre-Franco-Prussian War status of Germany^[5]. His Les Conséquences politiques de la paix (Political Consequences of Peace, 1920), whilst intended as an answer to John Maynard Keynes' views on Treaty of Versailles, was actually translated into German in Nazi Germany and presented as evidence that France had a mission for German destruction^[6]. His other written works included Histoire de France, as well as political columns for a number of newspapers and editing La Revue Universelle for Maurras.^[7] He was however an admirer of Italian fascism and when early reports came through about violent acts by Benito Mussolini's fascio in 1921 he praised it as proof that Italy was regaining her strength.^[8]

Bainville was appointed to a chair at Académie française in 1935, although he did not hold the position long as he died soon afterwards.^[9] A strong Catholic, he was denied the last rites by Cardinal Jean Verdier as the Pope had condemned Action Française in 1926. Nonetheless the sacrament, as well as his funeral, were performed by a canon who was sympathetic to the movement.^[7] Bainville's funeral proved a further source of controversy when Léon Blum was set upon by a crowd of mourners during the funeral procession.^[10]

References[link]

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.

[edit] 2004–05: R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece

In 2004, Snoop signed to Geffen Records/Star Trak Entertainment both of which are distributed through Interscope Records; Star Trak is headed by producer duo The Neptunes, which produced several tracks for Snoop's 2004 release R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), the first single released from the album, was a hit and became Snoop Dogg's first single to reach number one. His third release was "Signs", featuring Justin Timberlake and Charlie Wilson, which entered the UK chart at #2. This was his highest entry ever in the UK chart. The album sold 1,724,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and most of its singles were heavily played on radio and television. Snoop Dogg joined Warren G and Nate Dogg to form the group 213 and released album The Hard Way in 2004. Debuting at No.4 on the Billboard 200 and No.1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, it included single "Groupie Luv". Together with fellow rappers Lil' Jon, Xzibit and David Banner, Snoop Dogg appeared in the music video for Korn's "Twisted Transistor".

[edit] 2006: Tha Blue Carpet Treatment

Snoop Dogg's appeared on two tracks from Ice Cube's 2006 album Laugh Now, Cry Later, including the single "Go to Church", and on several tracks on Tha Dogg Pound's Cali Iz Active the same year. Also, his latest song, "Real Talk", was leaked over the Internet in the summer of 2006 and a video was later released on the Internet. "Real Talk" was a dedication to former Crips leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams and a diss to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California. Two other singles on which Snoop made a guest performance were "Keep Bouncing" by Too $hort (also with will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas) and "Gangsta Walk" by Coolio.

Snoop's 2006 album, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, debuted on the Billboard 200 at No.5 and has sold over 850,000 copies. The album and the second single "That's That Shit" featuring R. Kelly were well received by critics. In the album, he collaborated in a video with E-40 and other West Coast rappers for his single "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)".

[edit] 2007–08: Ego Trippin'

In July 2007, Snoop Dogg also made history by becoming the first artist to release a track as a ringtone prior to its release as a single, which was "It's the D.O.G." On July 7, 2007, Snoop Dogg performed at the Live Earth concert, Hamburg.^[19] Snoop Dogg has ventured into singing for Bollywood with his first ever rap for an Indian movie Singh Is Kinng; the title of the song is also "Singh is Kinng". He also appears in the movie as himself.^[20] The album featuring the song was released on June 8, 2008 on Junglee Music Records.^[21] He released his ninth studio album, Ego Trippin' (selling 400,000 copies in the U.S.), along with the first single, "Sexual Eruption". The single peaked at No.7 on the Billboard 100, featuring Snoop using autotune. The album featured production from QDT (Quik-Dogg-Teddy).

[edit] 2009–10: Malice n Wonderland and More Malice

Snoop was appointed an executive position at Priority Records. His tenth studio album, Malice n Wonderland, was released on December 8, 2009. The first single from the album, "Gangsta Luv", featuring The-Dream, peaked at No.35 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at No.23 on the Billboard 200, selling 61,000 copies its first week, making it his lowest charting album. His third single, "I Wanna Rock", peaked at No.41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Snoop features on the latest Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach. The fourth single from Malice n Wonderland, titled "Pronto", featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, was released on iTunes on December 1, 2009. Snoop re-released the album under the name More Malice.

[edit] 2011–12: Doggumentary

Snoop collaborated with Katy Perry on the first single from her second mainstream album, "California Gurls", which was released on May 11, 2010. Snoop can also be heard on the track "Flashing" by Dr. Dre and on Curren$y's song "Seat Change". He was also featured on a new single from Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, titled "Get 'em Girls" (released September 2010). Snoop's latest effort was backing American recording artist, Emii, on her second single entitled "Mr. Romeo" (released October 26, 2010 as a follow-up to "Magic"). Snoop also collaborated with American comedy troupe The Lonely Island in their song "Turtleneck & Chain", in their 2011 album Turtleneck & Chain.

Snoop Dogg's newest studio album is Doggumentary. The album went through several tentative titles including Doggystyle 2: Tha Doggumentary and Doggumentary Music: 0020 before being released under the final title Doggumentary during March 2011.^[22] Snoop was featured on Gorillaz' latest album Plastic Beach on a track called: "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" with the The Hypnotic Brass, he also completed another track with them entitled "Sumthing Like This Night" which does not appear on Plastic Beach, yet does appear on Doggumentary. He also appears on the latest Tech N9ne album All 6's and 7's (released June 7, 2011) on a track called "Pornographic" which also features E-40 and Krizz Kaliko.

[edit] 2012–present: Reincarnated

On February 4, 2012, Snoop Dogg announced a new documentary alongside his new upcoming studio album entitled Reincarnated.^[23] Snoop Dogg is set to headline the Osheaga Festival in Montreal, Canada this summer. ^[24]

Other ventures[link]

Media appearances[link]

Snoop Dogg has appeared on television and in films throughout his career. In 1998, Snoop had a cameo appearance in the film Half Baked as the "Scavenger Smoker".^[25] In 2000, Snoop (as "Michael J. Corleone") directed Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, a pornographic film produced by Hustler. The film, combining hip hop with x-rated material, was a huge success and won "Top Selling Release of the Year" at the 2002 AVN Awards.^[26] Snoop then directed Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp in 2002 (using the nickname "Snoop Scorsese").^[27]

In 2001, Snoop lent his voice to the animated show King of the Hill, in which he played a white pimp named Alabaster Jones.^[28] He played a lead character in the movie The Wash with Dr. Dre. He portrayed a drug dealer in a wheelchair in the film Training Day, featuring Denzel Washington.^[29] In 2001, Snoop starred in the horror film Bones, with him playing a murdered mobster who returns from the dead to exact his revenge against those who murdered him.

In 2002, Snoop hosted, starred in, and produced his own MTV sketch comedy show entitled Doggy Fizzle Televizzle. Snoop was filmed for a brief cameo appearance in the television movie It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002), but his performance was omitted from the final cut of the movie.^[30] On November 8, 2004, Snoop Dogg was starred in the episode "Two of a Kind" of NBC's series Las Vegas.^[31]

In 2004, Snoop appeared on the Showtime series The L Word as the character "Slim Daddy". He also notably played the drug dealer-turned-informant character of Huggy Bear, in the 2004 remake film of the 1970s TV-series of the same name, Starsky & Hutch. He appeared as himself in the episode "MILF Money" of Weeds,^[32] and made an appearance on the TV shows Entourage^[33] and Monk,^[34] for which he recorded a version of the theme, in July 2007.

Snoop Dogg at WrestleMania XXIV at Orlando's Citrus Bowl with Ashley Massaro and tag team partner Maria, March 30, 2008

Snoop founded his own production company, Snoopadelic Films, in 2005. Their debut film was Boss'n Up, a film inspired by Snoop Dogg's album R&G, starring Lil Jon and Trina.^[35]

In December 2007, his reality show Snoop Dogg's Father Hood premiered on the E! channel.^[36] Snoop Dogg joined the NBA's Entertainment League.^[37] On March 30, 2008 he appeared at WrestleMania XXIV as a Master of Ceremonies for a tag team match between Maria and Ashley Massaro as they took on Beth Phoenix and Melina.^[38]

On May 8 and May 9, 2008, Snoop appeared as himself on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, with a new opening theme recorded by the artist presented for both episodes. In the episodes, Snoop performs at the bachelorette party for character Adriana Cramer, and credits Bo Buchanan with helping him get his start in show business.^[39][40] On February 24, 2010, Snoop Dogg reprised his role, performing his song "I Wanna Rock" from his new album, Malice n Wonderland, as well as once again performing a special remixed, vocal rendition of the show's opening theme.^[41] In recent interviews he has explained that, as a child, One Life to Live was one of his favorite shows, and he still regards the show fondly. He has also stated that he has always been a particular fan of Robert S. Woods, who has portrayed the character of Bo Buchanan since 1979.

In 2009, Snoop Dogg appeared in Sacha Baron Cohen's film Brüno as himself performing a rap addition to the song "Dove Of Peace".^[42] On October 19, 2009, Snoop Dogg was the guest host of WWE Raw.

In July 2009, Snoop revealed his desire to appear in the popular soap opera Coronation Street while touring in the UK. However ITV bosses were said to be less keen.^[43]

In 2010, Snoop Dogg appeared in an episode of I Get That a Lot on CBS as a parking-lot attendant.

In June 2010, Snoop created a music video for True Blood accompanying a song he wrote for one of the main characters of the show entitled "Oh Sookie."^[44][45]

In March 2011, Snoop participated in Comedy Central's Roast of Donald Trump with other comedians and media personalities.^[46]

January 2, 2012, appeared on the The Price Is Right and raised $72,000 for his charity, Snoop Youth Football League.

Endorsements[link]

Snoop Dogg performing live in Hawaii, July 23, 2005.

• St. Ides
• Snoop Dogg 40 Oz Malt liquor
• Adidas Originals
• Boost Mobile cell phone
• Chrysler 300
• Colt 45 Blast
• Metro PCS Samsung Galaxy 4G
• Orbit Gum
• AOL commercial with Jerry Stiller
• Cal Worthington's Ford dealership in Long Beach, California
• "Snoop Doggs" – foot-long hot dogs manufactured in Massachusetts, a joint venture with Platinum One Media^[47]
• "Snoop Dogg Board Company (SDBC)" – skateboards and Luggage fabrication company (with Pentagon Distribution)
• "Snooperbowl" and "Snoop Youth Football league"^[48]
• "Chronic Candy" – candy that tastes like marijuana (from Switzerland and is currently banned in some cities of US)
• Love Don't Live Here No More, Doggy Tales Vol.1 – love novel (co-written by David E. Talbert, published by Atria and Snoopadelic Films) ISBN 0-7432-7363-X^[49]
• Tha Doggfather : The Times, Trials, And Hardcore Truths Of Snoop Dogg – autobiography (published by William Morrow) Hardcover ISBN 0-688-17158-3, Paperback ISBN 0-06-107607-4^[50]
• Fear & Respect (project cancelled as of March 1, 2006) – PlayStation 2 video game (developed by Midway Games)
• "Doggy Biscuitz" – shoe brand (in partnership with Pony International)^[51]
• "Snoop Dogg Clothing" – streetwear (distributed at Macy's)
• "WRFF" – unique design scooters (in cooperation with Salton, Inc.)^[52]
• "Hip Hop Gaming League" – a celebrity online gaming competition (hosted by Global Gaming League)^[53]
• "Snoop Dogg figures" (Vital Toys, SOTA Toys)^[54]
• "Snoop Dogg Boxing" – mobile phone game (Sony Pictures Mobile)
• "Snoop Dogg Pet Accessory Line" (in conjunction with Jakks Pacific)^[55]
• Snoop Dogg is a celebrity voice of a TomTom GPS navigation system.^[56][57] He stated on George Lopez's talk show Lopez Tonight that he is tired of hearing directions from the same woman.
• In August 2008, Snoop Dogg announced the launch of a new streetwear line called Rich & Infamous, via a partnership with Robert Thorne Co. The line was unveiled during the Magic Tradeshow in Las Vegas.^[58]
• "Hack is Wack" – Promoting Norton AntiVirus.^[59]
• "Coffee Cup With A Cause" with 7 Eleven.^[60]
• "Serious Pimp" clothing line.^[61]
• "iFizzle" iPhone Application.^[62]
• "Vybe Mobile"^[63]
• "Pepsi Max" – Zero Calories^[64]

Style and rap skills[link]

Kool Moe Dee ranks Snoop at No.33 in his book There's a God on the Mic, and says he has "an ultra-smooth, laidback delivery",^[65] and "flavor-filled melodic rhyming".^[66] Peter Shapiro describes Snoop's delivery as a "molasses drawl"^[67] and Allmusic notes his "drawled, laconic rhyming" style.^[7] Kool Moe Dee refers to Snoop's use of vocabulary, saying he "keeps it real simple...he simplifies it and he's effective in his simplicity".^[68]

Snoop is known to freestyle some of his lyrics on the spot for some songs – in the book How to Rap, Lady of Rage says, "Snoop Dogg, when I worked with him earlier in his career, that's how created his stuff... he would freestyle, he wasn't a writer then, he was a freestyler,"^[69] and The D.O.C. states, "Snoop's [rap] was a one take willy, but his shit was all freestyle. He hadn't written nothing down. He just came in and started busting. The song was "Tha Shiznit"—that was all freestyle. He started busting and when we got to the break, Dre cut the machine off, did the chorus and told Snoop to come back in. He did that throughout the record. That's when Snoop was in the zone then."

Peter Shapiro says that Snoop debuted on "Deep Cover" with a "shockingly original flow – which sounded like a Slick Rick born in South Carolina instead of South London"^[70] and adds that he "showed where his style came from by covering Slick Rick's 'La Di Da Di'".^[67] Referring to Snoop's flow, Kool Moe Dee calls him "one of the smoothest, funkiest flow-ers in the game".^[66] How to Rap also notes that Snoop is known to use syncopation in his flow to give it a laidback quality,^[71] as well as 'linking with rhythm' in his compound rhymes,^[72] using alliteration,^[73] and employing a "sparse" flow with good use of pauses.^[74]

Snoop re-popularized the use of -izzle speak, particularly in the pop and hip-hop music industry.^[75]

Personal life[link]

Snoop Dogg in August 2009

Broadus's father left the family when Broadus was three months old. Snoop married his high school sweetheart, Shante Taylor, on June 12, 1997. On May 21, 2004, he filed for divorce from Shante, citing irreconcilable differences.^[76] The couple renewed their wedding vows on January 12, 2008.^[77] R&B singers Brandy and Ray J are his first cousins.^[78] In 2002, the rapper announced he was giving up marijuana, one of his image trademarks, for good.^[79] According to his IMDb biography, Snoop is a fan of the thrash metal band Metallica^[80] and performed their song "Sad But True" on the band's 2003 MTV Icon Special which is available on YouTube.^[81] A DNA test read by George Lopez on Lopez Tonight revealed Snoop Dogg to be of 0% East Asian, 23% Native American, 6% European, and 71% African descent.^[82]

Snoop is an avid fan of hometown teams Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Snoop is also an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan.^[83] and is often seen wearing Pittsburgh Steelers apparel. Snoop has mentioned that his love for the Steelers began in the 1970s during the team's dynasty years while watching the team with his grandfather growing up in L.A.^[84] In the 2005 offseason, Snoop mentioned that he wanted to be an NFL head coach, "probably for the Steelers".^[85] The following year, he was in attendance for the Steelers' victory in Super Bowl XL and later in Super Bowl XLIII. He is also a fan of the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, often wearing a No.5 jersey, and has been seen at Raiders training camps.^[86] He did his own free style rap based on his similarities with Tony Romo.^[87][88] He is also a fan of the USC Trojans Football team. He has also shown affection for the New England Patriots, as he has been seen performing at the Gillette Stadium and picked the Patriots as the favorite to win Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles.^[89][90] On August 6, 2009, Snoop visited the training camp of the Baltimore Ravens at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.^[91] He was invited by Ray Lewis the day after his concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

A certified football coach, Snoop Dogg has been head coach for his son's youth football teams and the John A. Rowland High School team.^[92][93]

Snoop Dogg is an avid hockey fan; he sported a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey (with the name and number 'GIN AND JUICE' 94 on the back) and a jersey of the now-defunct Springfield (MA) Indians of the American Hockey League in his 1994 music video, "Gin And Juice". On the E! show, Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood, Snoop Dogg and his family received lessons on playing hockey from the Anaheim Ducks, then returning to the Honda Center to cheer on the Ducks against the Vancouver Canucks in the episode Snow in da Hood.^[94]

In 2009, it was revealed that Snoop Dogg was a member of the Nation of Islam. On March 1, 2009, he made an appearance at the Nation of Islam's annual Saviours' Day holiday, where he praised minister Louis Farrakhan. Snoop claimed to be a member of the Nation of Islam, but he declined to give the date on which he joined. He also donated $1,000 to the organization.^[95][96][97]

Snoop claimed in a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine that unlike other hip hop artists who've superficially adopted the pimp persona, he was an actual professional pimp in 2003 and 2004, saying "That shit was my natural calling and once I got involved with it, it became fun. It was like shootin' layups for me. I was makin' 'em every time." He goes on to say that upon the advice of some of the other pimps he knew, he eventually gave up pimping to spend more time with his family.^[98]

Legal issues[link]

Mug shot of Snoop Dogg taken in September 1993.

Shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.^[7]

While recording Doggystyle in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested in connection with the death of Phillip Woldermarian, a member of a rival gang who was shot and killed by Snoop's bodyguard, McKinley Lee; Snoop was charged with murder along with Lee as he was driving the vehicle from which the shooting had commenced. Snoop and Lee were defended by Johnnie Cochran.^[99] Both Snoop and Lee were acquitted; Lee was acquitted on grounds of self-defense, but Snoop Dogg remained entangled in the legal battles around the case for three years.^[100]

In July 1993, Snoop was stopped for a traffic violation and a firearm was found by police while conducting a search of his car. In February 1997, he pleaded guilty to possession of a handgun and was ordered to record three public service announcements, pay a $1,000 fine, and serve three years' probation.^[101][102]

In May 1998, Snoop Dogg was fined and arrested for a misdemeanor of marijuana possession.^[103]

In October 2001, Snoop Dogg was arrested again for a misdemeanor of marijuana possession.^[103] In 2002 he pleaded no contest and was fined a total of $398.30 and received a suspended 30-day jail sentence.^[104]

Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and The Game were sued for assaulting a fan on stage at a May 2005 concert at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. The accuser, Richard Monroe, Jr., claimed he was beaten by the artists' entourage while mounting the stage.^[105] He alleged that he reacted to an "open invite" to come on stage. Before he could, Snoop’s bodyguards grabbed him and he was beaten unconscious by crewmembers, including the rapper and producer Soopafly; Snoop and The Game were included in the suit for not intervening. The lawsuit focuses on a pecuniary claim of $22 million in punitive and compensatory damages, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.^[106] The concerned parties appeared in court in April 2009.

On April 26, 2006, Snoop Dogg and members of his entourage were arrested after being turned away from British Airways' first class lounge at Heathrow Airport. Snoop and his party were not allowed to enter the lounge because some of the entourage were flying first class, other members in economy class. After the group was escorted outside, they vandalized a duty-free shop by throwing whiskey bottles. Seven police officers were injured in the midst of the disturbance. After a night in jail, Snoop and the other men were released on bail on April 27, but he was unable to perform at the Premier Foods People's Concert in Johannesburg on the same day. As part of his bail conditions, he had to return to the police station in May. The group has been banned by British Airways for "the foreseeable future."^[107][108] When Snoop Dogg appeared at a London police station on May 11, he was cautioned for affray under Section 4 of the Public Order Act for use of threatening words or behavior.^[109] On May 15, the Home Office decided that Snoop Dogg should be denied entry to the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future due to the incident at Heathrow as well as his previous convictions in the United States for drugs and firearms offenses.^[110][111] Snoop Dogg's visa card was rejected by local authorities on March 24, 2007 because of the Heathrow incident.^[112] A concert at London's Wembley Arena on March 27 went ahead with Diddy (with whom he toured Europe) and the rest of the show. However the decision affected four more British performances in Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow^[113] and Budapest (due to rescheduling).^[114] As of March 2010, Snoop Dogg has been allowed back into the UK.^[1]

On September 27, 2006, Snoop Dogg was detained at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California by airport security, after airport screeners found a collapsible police baton in Snoop's carry-on bag. The baton was confiscated but Snoop was allowed to board the flight. He has been charged with various weapons violations stemming from this incident. Donald Etra, Snoop's lawyer, told deputies the baton was a prop for a musical sketch. Snoop was sentenced to three years' probation and 160 hours of community service starting on September 20, 2007.^[115]

Snoop Dogg was arrested again on October 26, 2006 at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California while parked in a passenger loading zone. Approached by airport security for a traffic infraction, he was found in possession of marijuana and a firearm, according to a police statement. He was transported to Burbank Police Department Jail, booked, and released on $35,000 bond. He faced firearm and drug possession charges on December 12 at Burbank Superior Court.^[116]

He was again arrested on November 29, 2006, after performing on The Tonight Show, for possession of marijuana and a firearm.^[117]

Snoop was arrested again on March 12, 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden after performing in a concert with P. Diddy in Stockholm's Globe Arena after he and a female companion reportedly "reeked" of marijuana. They were released four hours later after providing a urine sample. The results on urine determined whether charges would be pressed. However the rapper denied all charges.^[118][119]

On April 26, 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship banned him from entering the country on character grounds, citing his prior criminal convictions. He had been scheduled to appear at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 29, 2007.^[120] Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship lifted the ban in September 2008 and had granted him visa to tour Australia. DIAC said "In making this decision, the department weighed his criminal convictions against his previous behaviour while in Australia, recent conduct – including charity work – and any likely risk to the Australian community ... We took into account all relevant factors and, on balance, the department decided to grant the visa."^[121]

Snoop Dogg's many legal issues forced San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to withdraw his plan to issue a proclamation to the rapper.^[122]

Snoop Dogg was banned from Parkpop, a festival in the Netherlands on June 27, 2010, where he was scheduled to perform. The mayor and law enforcement officials asked organizers of the festival to find an artist more “open and friendly” to play the event.^[123]

Snoop Dogg was arrested again on January 7, 2012 for possession of Marijuana charge after Border control agents discovered a small amount of marijuana on his tour bus. Snoop Dogg was stopped at the same Sierra Blanca, Texas, checkpoint where country singer Willie Nelson was arrested for marijuana possession in 2010. The agents conducted a routine inspection of his tour bus at the U.S.– Mexico border checkpoint, east of El Paso, Texas and thought they smelled marijuana. Snoop Dogg was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia, released and given a court date of Friday, January 20, 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• Doggystyle (1993)
• Tha Doggfather (1996)
• Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998)
• No Limit Top Dogg (1999)
• Tha Last Meal (2000)
• Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss (2002)
• R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (2004)
• Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006)
• Ego Trippin' (2008)
• Malice n Wonderland (2009)
• Doggumentary (2011)
• Reincarnated (2012)

Filmography[link]

• 1994: Murder Was the Case (Platinum)
• 1998: Caught Up
• 1998: Half Baked (cameo appearance)
• 1998: Da Game of Life
• 1998: Hot Boyz
• 1998: Ride
• 1999: Whiteboyz
• 1999: Urban Menace
• 2000: Tha Eastsidaz
• 2000: Up in Smoke Tour
• 2001: Baby Boy
• 2001: Training Day
• 2001: King of the Hill (voice)
• 2001: Bones
• 2001: The Wash
• 2003: Malibu's Most Wanted
• 2003: Old School
• 2004: Starsky & Hutch
• 2004: Soul Plane
• 2004: Volcano High
• 2005: Boss'n Up
• 2005: Racing Stripes (voice)
• 2006: The Tenants
• 2006: Weeds: Himself
• 2006: Hood of Horror
• 2007: Arthur and the Invisibles (voice)
• 2007: Monk
  • During the opening credits, he covered the title song by Randy Newman "It's a Jungle out There".
• 2007: The Boondocks
• 2008: Singh Is Kinng (as Himself)
• 2008: Snoop Dogg's Father Hood (as Himself)
• 2009: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (voice)
• 2009: Dogg After Dark: Himself
• 2009: Xavier: Renegade Angel (voice)
• 2009: Brüno (cameo appearance)
• 2009: Falling Up
• 2010: Down for Life
• 2010: One Life to Live as Calvin Broadus
• 2010: Straight Outta L.A. (as Himself)
• 2010: Freaknik: The Musical
• 2010: Malice n Wonderland as Malice
• 2010: Big Time Christmas as Himself
• 2011: 90210 (TV series) as Himself
• 2011: Roast of Donald Trump

Awards[link]

Snoop Dogg was also a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[124]

Further reading[link]

	Book: Snoop Dogg
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.