The roof of VIP Records appears in the “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” video that marked Snoop’s solo debut. “To work at tha V-I-P would be the lick.” Let Snoop take you on a funky ride, all around his Southland. Snoop is a fascinating tour guide of his own personal Southern California history. In the video for his latest single, “California Roll,” Snoop, Pharrell, and Stevie Wonder take listeners on a tour of a futuristic Los Angeles that blends ancient Egypt with modern-day Cali, like Blade Runner was transported through the Stargate. 2 Snoop has spent much of his career reckoning with the disparity between his youth and his current life, eventually reaching a Zen master understanding that he can be all things at the same time. Snoop’s smoke-filled stream of consciousness has recurring themes, 1 and there’s a clear and classic American story arc of rags to riches: The brilliant artist, born into poverty, turns to a life of crime to ascend in financial status, finds another path out through art, becomes a huge star but gets caught up with the wrong people, almost dies, is accused of murder, is acquitted, moves to a suburban neighborhood, and gets accused of selling out. As a collected work of Americana they sit with Walt Whitman. I read through all of Snoop Dogg’s lyrics over the long weekend. And he looks for the freeway intersections of interest between diverse groups, bringing people together over weed, beautiful cars, and, most of all, music. He embraces his own contradictions, exploring how gangbanging shaped his identity for better and worse - it gave him a sense of self and community when he needed it and money when he had none, but it also meant he might die or go to jail without ever having the chance to make music, without ever capitalizing on his true potential. gangs and then a vocal proponent of peace, focusing his rage on the structural inequalities that create circumstances like his own childhood. Snoop was at first the public face of L.A. War, which began as a backing group for Eric Burdon of the Animals (!), became a band whose lineup matched its musical ethos: promoting equality through cultural fusion. With songs like “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” War set lyrics dealing with serious sociopolitical issues like race relations into a laid-back groove that matched the beautiful backdrop. The result is eclectic and slinky - but still bumping, mind you - reminiscent of a group that put Long Beach on the map: War’s proto G-Funk paved the way for Snoop’s. His 13th album, Bush, is an R&B album in which Snoop leans into his singing voice. Snoop has always referenced Long Beach and Los Angeles with extreme specificity. Calvin “Snoop (Doggy) Dogg” Broadus’s discography is a California bildungsroman, the story of a young boy’s journey into manhood.