⏜͡෧ㅤ⚞ํ 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔 𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒔ㅤ෧͡⏜‎

𝐵𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝐸𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ

ilomilo

L’AMOUR DE MA VIE

THE GREATEST

i love you

Bitches Broken Hearts

Halley's Comet

xanny

Lost Cause

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish remains one of the biggest stars to emerge in the 21st century. Her third studio album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT features 10 tracks written and recorded in her hometown of Los Angeles, with her brother and producer FINNEAS. In 2019, her debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? debuted at No. 1 in 18 countries, and was the most streamed album of that year. In 2021, her sophomore album 'Happier Than Ever’ debuted at #1 in 20 countries. Both albums were critically acclaimed worldwide and were written, produced, and recorded entirely by Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. 9-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Billie Eilish has made history as the youngest artist to receive nominations and win in all the major GRAMMY® categories, receiving an award for Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Album, and is the youngest artist to write and record an official James Bond theme song, ‘No Time To Die,’ which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2022. In 2023, Eilish also wrote and released the critically acclaimed song “What Was I Made For?” for the Greta Gerwig-directed motion picture Barbie, which also won Academy and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, two GRAMMY® Awards for Song of the Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media, and has solidified Billie Eilish yet again in the history books as the youngest person ever to win two Academy Awards.

𝐾𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑎𝑎𝑟𝑙

Baby Blue

Dos Almas

me va a costar

Colapso

Es Que Yo Te Quiero A Ti

San Lucas

Kevin Kaarl

𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒

Te Lo Prometo

ASTROS ݁⋆ ★ ˚｡⋆

KINTSUGI

fantasmas

DILO CANTANDO

Humbe

𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘

Breaking the Habit

In the End

Crawling

Faint

Numb

Papercut

Given Up

Linkin Park

𝑆𝑎𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟

Tears

Please Please Please (feat. Dolly Parton)

Espresso

Manchild

Sabrina Carpenter

𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑎

Borró cassette

Obsesión

El perdedor

Felices los 4

Maluma

Maluma is the stage name of award-winning Colombian pop singer, songwriter, and rapper Juan Luis Londoño Arias. Possessed of a sweet, grainy tenor voice and streetwise yet romantic delivery, the pop urbano was able to cross over from a reggaeton audience to the mainstream thanks to infectious early singles such as "Obsesión" and "Miss Independent" (whose videos also went viral). His 2012 debut Magia endeared him to radio listeners across Latin America, while 2015's Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy broke through in the U.S., landing on the upper rungs of the Latin Pop, Urban, and Tropical charts. Since that time, Maluma has been charging toward world domination with a steady stream of videos, charting singles, and hit albums like 2019's 11:11 and 2020's Papi Juancho. He was also the subject of the documentary Maluma: Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré. His success continued in the next decade with the chart-topping 2021 single "Sobrio," his starring role in the 2022 <a href="spotify:artist:2DlGxzQSjYe5N6G9nkYghR">Jennifer Lopez</a> rom-com Marry Me, and the release of The Love & Sex Tape. Maluma's name is a tribute to his family. Before he began singing professionally, his now-famous stage name was a tattoo on his left leg. He made the word up from the initial syllable of his family's names -- his mother Marlli, his father Luis, and his sister Manuela. He adopted the name a few years later when he started singing and gained fame as a teenager. He originally pursued football as a vocation for eight years and was gifted enough to attract the attention of the media in his native Medellín. He initially sang for pleasure at hundreds of birthday parties, weddings, and celebrations. Given the rise of social media, and YouTube in particular, his already intense focus on music turned exclusive. In 2011, at the age of 16, Maluma cut his first independent single, "Farandulera." Due to its internet popularity and emergent radio airplay in Colombia, the song gained the attention of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony+Music%22">Sony Music</a>, which signed him. The following year, Maluma released Magia, his debut album. Several of its singles -- "Obsesión," "Loco," and "Miss Independent" -- received consistent airplay and hit the charts in Colombia and Latin America. His next single, "La Temperatura," entered the North American charts and earned him a Latin Grammy nomination in 2013. The following year, he was the featured vocalist on <a href="spotify:artist:1c22GXH30ijlOfXhfLz9Df">Elvis Crespo</a>'s hit "Ole Brazil," recorded for the World Cup. Maluma returned in early 2015 with PB DB. The Mixtape, a compilation of hits with two new singles, "Me Gustas Tanto" and "Climax." The new tracks charted and set the stage for a brand-new album, Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy, which appeared in the fall. The recording was produced by Walter Kolm. In 2016, Maluma released a collaborative track with fellow Colombian star <a href="spotify:artist:0EmeFodog0BfCgMzAIvKQp">Shakira</a>, "Chantaje," and the video became massively popular, racking up over one billion views online within five months. The track "Cuatro Babys," which reflected him as a swaggering Lothario with a rotating cast of women in and out of his bedroom, sparked a backlash when offended listeners called out the song's objectification of women. Some circulated a petition to have it removed from digital platforms. (It wasn't, but Maluma apologized.) In 2017, Maluma was named "Artist of the Year" at the Premios Lo Nuestro, a Latin music awards show presented by Spanish-language television network Univision. That same year, he began work on his next album, writing songs in English as well as Spanish. In November 2017, he delivered an initial pre-release single, "Corazón," featuring Brazilian singer <a href="spotify:artist:1B0Rp4SWGnFgGCPU5Pju6E">Nego do Borel</a>, that peaked at number five at Hot Latin Songs. In May, he released the full-length F.A.M.E., produced mainly by the artist's Medellín camp, including Édgar "Edge" Barrera and "Rude Boyz" Kevin ADG & Chan el Genio, with further duet contributions by <a href="spotify:artist:5Y5TRrQiqgUO4S36tzjIRZ">Timbaland</a> ("Mi Declaración"), <a href="spotify:artist:3MHaV05u0io8fQbZ2XPtlC">Prince Royce</a> ("Hangover"), and <a href="spotify:artist:07YZf4WDAMNwqr4jfgOZ8y">Jason Derulo</a> on the bilingual "La Ex." The album reached the top spot on the Latin Albums chart and number 37 on the Hot 200. Early 2019 saw Maluma issue a remix of the single "Mala Mía," which featured contributions from <a href="spotify:artist:7FNnA9vBm6EKceENgCGRMb">Anitta</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4obzFoKoKRHIphyHzJ35G3">Becky G</a>. A few months later, he collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a> on the song "Medellín" from her album Madame X. The pair's hi-tech performance of the song at the Billboard Music Awards brought the house down with its use of holograms. That May, Maluma released his fourth studio album, 11:11, supported by the singles "HP" and "11 P.M." His collaborators on the record included <a href="spotify:artist:1i8SpTcr7yvPOmcqrbnVXY">Ozuna</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4VMYDCV2IEDYJArk749S6m">Daddy Yankee</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7slfeZO9LsJbWgpkIoXBUJ">Ricky Martin</a>. It entered the Top Latin Albums chart at number one in June while F.A.M.E. was still in the Top 20. Also in 2019, YouTube Originals premiered its documentary on the singer, Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré, directed by Dominican filmmaker Jessy Terrero. In early 2020, Maluma scored another hit with the single "ADMV," which paved the way for his fifth album, Papi Juancho. Released in August of that year, it featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:0eHQ9o50hj6ZDNBt6Ys1sD">Yandel</a>, Yomo, <a href="spotify:artist:1pQWsZQehhS4wavwh7Fnxd">Lenny Tavárez</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:14zUHaJZo1mnYtn6IBRaRP">Justin Quiles</a>, and others, peaking at number two on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart and reaching number 34 on the Billboard 200. 2021 began with the release of the #7DJ (7 Días en Jamaica) EP, followed by the chart-topping stand-along single "Sobrio." Among Maluma's other singles that year were "Imposible Amor" with <a href="spotify:artist:1GDbiv3spRmZ1XdM1jQbT7">Natti Natasha</a> and "Mama Tetema" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:7G9dCn1mqomAa0ucJoBm6J">Rayvanny</a>. In 2022, Maluma starred alongside <a href="spotify:artist:2DlGxzQSjYe5N6G9nkYghR">Jennifer Lopez</a> in the romantic comedy Marry Me, and also sang on the soundtrack. A few months later, he revisited the steamier side of his sound with The Love & Sex Tape which yielded several hits including "Cositas de la USA" and "Nos Comemos Vivos" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:37230BxxYs9ksS7OkZw3IU">Chencho Corleone</a>. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

𝐾𝑎𝑙𝑖 𝑈𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑠

See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis)

Muévelo

SI NO ES CONTIGO (REMIX)

She's My Collar

Melting

Igual Que Un Ángel

Love Between...

Sugar! Honey! Love!

Kali Uchis

𝐸𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑚

Without Me

Superman

The Real Slim Shady

My Name Is

Mockingbird (Album Version)

Big Weenie

Eminem

Apart from being one of the best-selling artists in music history, Eminem is one of the greatest rappers of his generation. He's effortlessly fast, fluid, dexterous, and unpredictable, capable of pulling off long-form narratives or withering asides. And thanks to his mentor <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>, he's had music to match with thick, muscular loops evoking the terror and paranoia conjured by his lyrics. To be certain, a great deal of the controversy Eminem courted came through in how his violent fantasias, often directed at his mother or his wife, intertwined with flights of absurdity that appealed to listeners too young to absorb the psychodramas explored on his breakthrough albums The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP. Eminem's commercial peak came around the time of his 2002 album The Eminem Show (which went platinum 27 times over) and with his crossover onto the big screen that same year with 8 Mile, a film that earned him acclaim for his performance and an Oscar for the film's anthem, "Lose Yourself." Eminem's journey as a living rap legend included struggles with addiction, near-constant feuding with other artists, and a celebrity status that shifted as the years went on. Through all his various changes, however, he continued growing as an artist as well as consistently hitting high commercial marks. Though critics could be unkind to efforts like 2009's Relapse or 2017's Revival, fans made sure that each new album sold at least platinum numbers and topped the charts. Instead of recycling old ideas, the rapper experimented with new production approaches, faster flows, and increasingly complex multisyllabic wordplay on projects like 2020's Music to Be Murdered By and the 2024 concept album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), in which he confronted and killed his alter ego. Born Marshall Mathers in the Kansas City, Missouri suburb of St. Joseph, Eminem spent his childhood between Missouri and Michigan, settling in Detroit in his teens. At the age of 14, he began rapping with a high school friend, the two adopting the names "Manix" and "M&M," which soon morphed into Eminem. Under this name, Mathers entered battle rapping, a struggle dramatized in the fictionalized 8 Mile. Initially, the predominantly Black audience didn't embrace him, but soon his skills earned him a reputation, and he was recruited to join several rap groups. The first of these was the New Jacks, and after they disbanded, he joined Soul Intent, who released a single in 1995. This track also featured <a href="spotify:artist:1W7G3vXPeISR3Oi9ggVfyE">Proof</a>, and the two rappers broke off on their own to form <a href="spotify:artist:5Qi4Bb7a8C0a00NZcA77L0">D-12</a>, a six-member crew that functioned more as a <a href="spotify:artist:34EP7KEpOjXcM2TCat1ISk">Wu-Tang</a>-styled collective than a regularly performing group. As he was struggling to establish his career, Eminem and his girlfriend Kim had a daughter, Hailey, forcing him to spend less time rapping and more time providing for his family. He assembled his first album, Infinite, which received some underground attention in 1996, not all of it positive. After its release, Eminem developed his Slim Shady alter ego, a persona that freed him to dig deep into his dark id, something he needed as he faced a number of personal upheavals, beginning with a bad split with Kim, which led him to move in with his mother and increase his use of drugs and alcohol, capped off by an unsuccessful suicide attempt. All this sturm und drang was channeled into The Slim Shady EP, which is where he first demonstrated many of the quirks that became his trademark, including his twitchy, nasal rhyming and disturbingly violent imagery. The Slim Shady EP opened many doors, the most notable being a contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope+Records%22">Interscope Records</a>. After Eminem came in second at the 1997 Rap Olympics MC Battle in Los Angeles, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope%22">Interscope</a> head Jimmy Iovine sought him out, giving the EP to <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>, who proved eager to work with Eminem. They quickly cut Em's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope%22">Interscope</a> debut in the fall of 1998 -- during which time Marshall reconciled with Kim and married her -- and The Slim Shady LP appeared early in 1999, preceded by the single "My Name Is." Both were instant blockbusters and Eminem became a lightning rod for attention, earning praise and disdain for his violent, satirical fantasias. He quickly followed The Slim Shady LP with The Marshall Mathers LP in the summer of 2000. By this point, there was little doubt that Eminem was one of the biggest stars in pop music: the album sold almost two million copies within the first two weeks of release, but Mathers felt compelled to tweak other celebrities, provoking pop stars in his lyrics, and <a href="spotify:artist:4xtWjIlVuZwTCeqVAsgEXy">Insane Clown Posse</a>'s entourage in person, providing endless fodder for the tabloids. This gossip blended with growing criticism about his violent and homophobic lyrics, and under this fire, he reunited his old crew, <a href="spotify:artist:5Qi4Bb7a8C0a00NZcA77L0">D-12</a>, releasing an album in 2001, then touring with the group. During this furor, he had his biggest hit in the form of the moody ballad "Stan." Performed at the Grammys as a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a>, thereby undercutting some accusations of homophobia, the song helped Eminem cross over to a middlebrow audience, setting the stage for the ultimate crossover of 2001's 8 Mile. Directed by Curtis Hanson, best known as the Oscar-nominated director of L.A. Confidential, the gritty drama fictionalized Eminem's pre-fame Detroit days and earned considerable praise, culminating in one of his biggest hits with the theme "Lose Yourself," which won Mathers an Oscar. After all this, he retreated from the spotlight to record his third album, The Eminem Show. Preceded by the single "Without Me," it turned into another huge hit, albeit not quite as strong as its predecessor, and there were some criticisms suggesting that Eminem wasn't expanding his horizons much. Encore, released late in 2004, did reach into more mature territory, notably on the anti-<a href="spotify:artist:2JZbcOAw67koOHlFTjMeGX">George W. Bush</a> "Mosh," but most of the controversy generated by the album was for behind-the-scenes events: a bus crash followed by canceled dates and a stint in rehab. Rumors of retirement flew, and the 2005 appearance of Curtain Call: The Hits did nothing to dampen them, nor did the turmoil of 2006, a year that saw Mathers remarrying and divorcing Kim within a matter of four months, as well as the shooting death of <a href="spotify:artist:1W7G3vXPeISR3Oi9ggVfyE">Proof</a> at a Detroit club. During all this, Em did some minor studio work, but he soon dropped off the radar completely, retreating to his Detroit home. He popped up here and there, most notably debuting the hip-hop channel Shade 45 for Sirius Satellite Radio in September 2008, but it wasn't until early 2009 that he mounted a comeback with Relapse, an album whose very title alluded to some of Mathers' struggles with prescription drugs, but it also announced that after an extended absence, Slim Shady was back. While not quite a blockbuster, the album went platinum, and Eminem followed it at the end of the year with an expanded version of Relapse (dubbed Relapse: Refill) that added outtakes and new recordings. Recovery, initially titled Relapse 2, was issued in June 2010. The album debuted on top of the Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for five consecutive weeks, while its leadoff single, "Not Afraid," debuted on top of the magazine's Hot 100 singles chart. The year 2010 also brought Eminem back together with <a href="spotify:artist:6DVipHzYsPlIoA0DW8Gmns">Royce da 5'9"</a> under the <a href="spotify:artist:77IURH5NC56Jn09QHi76is">Bad Meets Evil</a> moniker. In turn, June 2011's Hell: The Sequel marked the release of their first EP as a duo (barring the previous month's release of key EP track "Fastlane" as a single) and was their first batch of new material since a 1999 double A-side. After an intense period of recording, Eminem announced in August 2013 that his next solo album would be a nostalgically themed set of new material entitled The Marshall Mathers LP 2, which landed in early November. The album featured the singles "Berzerk," "Rap God," and "Survival," plus the chart-topping hit "The Monster" with <a href="spotify:artist:5pKCCKE2ajJHZ9KAiaK11H">Rihanna</a>. In 2014, new tracks landed on the double-disc set Shady XV, which celebrated the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Shady%22">Shady</a> label's 15th birthday. The singles "Phenomenal" and "Kings Never Die" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:4yiQZ8tQPux8cPriYMWUFP">Gwen Stefani</a> arrived a year later, both taken from the Southpaw soundtrack. Eminem resurfaced in October 2017 with a freestyle anti-Trump rap, which didn't appear on Revival, the December 2017 album that was filled with cameos, including appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:6vWDO969PvNqNYHIOW5v0m">Beyoncé</a> ("Walk on Water"), <a href="spotify:artist:6eUKZXaKkcviH0Ku9w2n3V">Ed Sheeran</a> ("River"), and <a href="spotify:artist:1KCSPY1glIKqW2TotWuXOR">P!nk</a> ("Need Me"). His seventh straight chart-topper, it ultimately failed to match the sales heights of past efforts, despite the international success of the "River" single. The next year, without warning, Eminem issued his surprise tenth album, Kamikaze. The set featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:6C1ohJrd5VydigQtaGy5Wa">Joyner Lucas</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6DVipHzYsPlIoA0DW8Gmns">Royce da 5'9"</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3KedxarmBCyFBevnqQHy3P">Jessie Reyez</a>, as well as "Venom," from the film of the same name. In January 2020, he repeated this surprise-release approach with 11th studio album Music to Be Murdered By. The album featured production from <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a> and cameos from the now-usual host of special guests, this time featuring <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6eUKZXaKkcviH0Ku9w2n3V">Ed Sheeran</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3jK9MiCrA42lLAdMGUZpwa">Anderson .Paak</a>, and the late <a href="spotify:artist:4MCBfE4596Uoi2O4DtmEMz">Juice Wrld</a>, among many others. The set debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and was re-released in expanded form in December under the title Music to Be Murdered By: Side B. In 2021, Eminem appeared on the <a href="spotify:artist:4utLUGcTvOJFr6aqIJtYWV">Skylar Grey</a> song "Last One Standing" along with <a href="spotify:artist:6AgTAQt8XS6jRWi4sX7w49">Polo G</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4AA474G2hRfrHyGrfyDseO">Mozzy</a>. The track was featured on the soundtrack for the film Venom: Let There Be Carnage and cracked the Top 100 of the Billboard charts. 2021 also saw Eminem opening a spaghetti restaurant in Detroit, named Mom's Spaghetti after a line from "Lose Yourself." In February 2022, he performed alongside <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1XkoF8ryArs86LZvFOkbyr">Mary J. Blige</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2YZyLoL8N0Wb9xBt1NhZWg">Kendrick Lamar</a>, and others at the half-time show of Super Bowl LVI. That June, Eminem released "The King and I," a track he recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:5nLYd9ST4Cnwy6NHaCxbj8">CeeLo Green</a> for the soundtrack of <a href="spotify:artist:7HhTERkBV4Ot14KphgBfSh">Baz Luhrmann</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:43ZHCT0cAZBISjO8DG9PnE">Elvis Presley</a> biopic, Elvis. "The King and I" was one of three new songs on Curtain Call 2, a 2022 compilation covering the singles Eminem had released since Curtain Call: The Hits. "From the D to the LBC," a collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:7hJcb9fa4alzcOq3EaNPoG">Snoop Dogg</a>, was also featured on Curtain Call 2. In June of 2024, Eminem released his 12th studio LP The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). The album largely centered around the concept of Marshall Mathers being kidnapped by his alter ego Slim Shady and fighting internally between these two sides of his personality. The album included production work from <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">DJ Premier</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5CiGnKThu5ctn9pBxv7DGa">Benny Blanco</a>, as well as rap cameos from <a href="spotify:artist:0c173mlxpT3dSFRgMO8XPh">Big Sean</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0sKsReKseslDlhxmbN6wLk">BabyTron</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6U3ybJ9UHNKEdsH7ktGBZ7">JID</a>, and others. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

𝑆𝑛𝑜𝑜𝑝 𝑑𝑜𝑔

Drop It Like It's Hot

Young, Wild & Free

I Wanna Love You (feat. Snoop Dogg)

Snoop Dogg

One of the most iconic figures to emerge from the early-'90s G-funk era, Snoop Dogg evolved beyond his gangsta rap beginnings to become a lovable pop culture fixture with forays into television, movies, football coaching, and wrestling while expanding his musical reach far beyond his primary genre. Introduced through <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>'s Top Five rap hit "Deep Cover" (1992), Snoop quickly became one of the most famous stars in rap, partially due to his drawled, laconic rhyming, as well as the realistic violence implied in his lyrics. His own Doggystyle (1993) become the first debut album to enter the Billboard 200 at number one, and featured the Top Ten pop hits "What's My Name" and "Gin and Juice." After the popularity of gangsta rap waned in the late '90s, he proved himself to be a masterful chameleon, riding his pot-loving image in various directions that helped buoy his career through the 2000s. His biggest hits as a lead artist during the first decade of the 21st century included "Beautiful" (2003) and the chart-topping "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004), and he was also featured on a slew of major hits by fellow rappers, R&B crooners, and pop groups alike. The 2010s saw him branch out into reggae (2013's Reincarnated), house (as a DJ), and gospel (2018's Bible of Love), but he has remained hip-hop at his core, releasing projects in the 2020s such as The Algorithm (2021), his first album as executive creative consultant for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Def+Jam%22">Def Jam</a>, and BODR (2022), which marked a return to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Death+Row+Records%22">Death Row Records</a>, his first label home. Nicknamed Snoop by his mother because of his appearance, Calvin Broadus was raised in Long Beach, California, where he frequently had trouble with the law. Not long after his high school graduation, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, beginning a period of three years when he was often imprisoned. He found escape from a life of crime through music. Snoop began recording homemade tapes with his friend <a href="spotify:artist:2B4ZHz4QDWJTXPFPgO5peE">Warren G</a>, who happened to be the stepbrother of <a href="spotify:artist:4EnEZVjo3w1cwcQYePccay">N.W.A</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:2B4ZHz4QDWJTXPFPgO5peE">Warren G</a> gave a tape to <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a>, who was considerably impressed with Snoop's style, and began collaborating with the rapper. When <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a> decided to make his tentative first stab at a solo career in 1992 with the theme song for the film Deep Cover, he had Snoop rap with him. "Deep Cover" started a buzz about Snoop that escalated into full-fledged mania when <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a> released his own debut album, The Chronic, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Death+Row+Records%22">Death Row Records</a> late in 1992. Snoop rapped on The Chronic as much as <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a>, and his drawled vocals were as important to the record's success as its <a href="spotify:artist:5SMVzTJyKFJ7TUb46DglcH">P-Funk</a>-inspired bass grooves. <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a>'s singles "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" and "Dre Day," which prominently featured Snoop, became Top Ten pop crossover hits in the spring of 1993, setting the stage for Snoop's much-anticipated debut album, Doggystyle. While he was recording the album with <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a> in August, Snoop was arrested in connection with the drive-by shooting death of Phillip Woldermarian. According to the charges, the rapper's bodyguard, McKinley Lee, shot Woldermarian as Snoop drove the vehicle; the rapper claimed it was self-defense, alleging that the victim was stalking Snoop. Following a performance at the MTV Music Awards in September 1993, he turned himself over to authorities. After many delays, Doggystyle was finally released on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Death+Row%22">Death Row</a> in November of 1993, and it became the first debut album to enter the charts at number one. Despite reviews that claimed the album was a carbon copy of The Chronic, the Top Ten singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin & Juice" kept Doggystyle at the top of the charts during early 1994, as did the considerable controversy over Snoop's arrest and his lyrics, which were considered exceedingly violent and sexist. During an English tour in the spring of 1994, tabloids and a Tory minister pleaded for the government to kick the rapper out of the country, largely based on his arrest. Snoop exploited his impending trial by shooting a short film based on the Doggystyle song "Murder Was the Case" and releasing an accompanying soundtrack, which debuted at number one in 1994. By that time, Doggystyle had gone quadruple platinum. Snoop spent much of 1995 preparing for the case, which finally went to trial late in the year. In February 1996, he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album, this time without <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a> as producer. Nevertheless, when The Doggfather was finally released in November 1996, it bore all the evidence of a <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a>-produced G-funk record. The album was greeted with mixed reviews, and it initially sold well, but it failed to produce a hit along the lines of "What's My Name?" or "Gin & Juice." Part of the reason for the moderate success of The Doggfather was the decline of gangsta rap. <a href="spotify:artist:1ZwdS5xdxEREPySFridCfh">2Pac</a>, who had become a friend of Snoop's during 1996, died weeks before the release of The Doggfather, and <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dre</a> had left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Death+Row%22">Death Row</a> to his partner Suge Knight, who was indicted on racketeering charges by the end of 1996. Consequently, Snoop's second album got lost in the shuffle, stalling at sales of two million, which was disappointing for a superstar. Perhaps sensing something was wrong, Snoop began to revamp his public image, moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic. He also began making gestures toward the rock community, signing up to tour with Lollapalooza 1997 and talking about two separate collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:3vbKDsSS70ZX9D2OcvbZmS">Beck</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2VYQTNDsvvKN9wmU5W7xpj">Marilyn Manson</a>. The solo Da Game Is to Be Sold Not to Be Told, Snoop's first effort for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22No+Limit%22">No Limit</a>, followed in 1998; No Limit Top Dogg appeared a year later, and Dead Man Walkin' the year after that. Tha Last Meal followed in December of that same year. The heavy release schedule resulted in varying musical quality from album to album, but by the turn of the century, Snoop had become such a cultural phenomenon that his albums became almost secondary to the personality behind them. An autobiography appeared in 2001, followed by a stream of movie roles in several high-profile pictures. Late in 2002, Snoop released his first album for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Capitol%22">Capitol</a>, Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$. He then switched to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Geffen%22">Geffen</a> for 2004's R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. The hit album spawned Snoop's first number one single, the <a href="spotify:artist:2RdwBSPQiwcmiDo9kixcl8">Pharrell Williams</a>-produced "Drop It Like It's Hot," as well as the hit "Signs" with <a href="spotify:artist:31TPClRtHm23RisEBtV3X7">Justin Timberlake</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6CxZzQFUTM6AzgluGwtq5w">Charlie Wilson</a>. R&G was followed a year later by Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Album, a collection of tracks from the Welcome to the Chuuch mixtape series. That same year, he hosted a West Coast peace summit in hopes of squashing all beefs. In 2006, he appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:60CFNa0ggWjV8OSDey8aGT">Tha Dogg Pound</a>'s Cali Iz Active and <a href="spotify:artist:3Mcii5XWf6E0lrY3Uky4cA">Ice Cube</a>'s Laugh Now, Cry Later. Toward the end of the year, the intentionally leaked "My Peoples" freestyle appeared. The track paid tribute to many of those involved in Cali's Latin rap community, so it was no big surprise when "Vato," with <a href="spotify:artist:4P0dddbxPil35MNN9G2MEX">Cypress Hill</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:2LiWxiQzuD9nmWQ6NCA8Gd">B Real</a>, became his next album's lead-off single. The hard and very G-funk Tha Blue Carpet Treatment triumphantly capped off a year of heavy West Coast activity. In late 2007, he recruited two hip-hop veterans -- new jack swing legend <a href="spotify:artist:5VDmBevaLkMLnK0rLOjijw">Teddy Riley</a> and West Coast hero <a href="spotify:artist:0b2XeWDPeBiLeskT6RFqMb">DJ Quik</a> -- and formed the production team QDT Muzic. The team oversaw Snoop's 2008 album, Ego Trippin', which included the single "Sensual Seduction." In 2009, he issued Malice N Wonderland, the maiden release of a new alliance with the reactivated <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Priority%22">Priority</a> label, which also signed him on as its creative chairman. He promoted the album a couple months prior to its street date when he hosted the live wrestling television broadcast WWE Raw. A year later, the CD/DVD set More Malice rounded up some odds and ends from the album and packaged them with a DVD featuring the Malice N Wonderland short film. He maintained his mainstream image with a star appearance on <a href="spotify:artist:6jJ0s89eD6GaHleKKya26X">Katy Perry</a>'s "California Gurls," nabbing Snoop his third number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011, he released Doggumentary, an album he considered the sequel to his classic debut. The record featured production from the likes of Swizz Beats, DJ Khalil, and Scott Storch, with guest artists including <a href="spotify:artist:5K4W6rqBFWDnAN6FQUkS6x">Kanye West</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5y2Xq6xcjJb2jVM54GHK3t">John Legend</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:137W8MRPWKqSmrBGDBFSop">Wiz Khalifa</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5W5bDNCqJ1jbCgTxDD0Cb3">Willie Nelson</a>. Also arriving that same year was a feature film with <a href="spotify:artist:137W8MRPWKqSmrBGDBFSop">Khalifa</a>, Mac + Devin Go to High School, along with its accompanying soundtrack. After a 2012 trip to Jamaica, Snoop Dogg returned rechristened as <a href="spotify:artist:4RxUeUyMaEe2T5tvULq5j0">Snoop Lion</a>, and with the help of producer <a href="spotify:artist:5fMUXHkw8R8eOP2RNVYEZX">Diplo</a>, he released his first all-reggae album, Reincarnated, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a> in 2013. Another name change came later in the year when he became Snoopzilla and joined modern funkster <a href="spotify:artist:1AEcpjnSCmm53IBZQo3g9z">Dâm-Funk</a> for the project/album 7 Days of Funk. He returned to Snoop Dogg in 2015 when he partnered with <a href="spotify:artist:2RdwBSPQiwcmiDo9kixcl8">Pharrell Williams</a> for the hip-hop effort Bush. The album included the single "Peaches N Cream" and featured guest appearances from <a href="spotify:artist:7guDJrEfX3qb6FEbdPA5qi">Stevie Wonder</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:31TPClRtHm23RisEBtV3X7">Justin Timberlake</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0ZrpamOxcZybMHGg1AYtHP">Robin Thicke</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6CxZzQFUTM6AzgluGwtq5w">Charlie Wilson</a>. Coolaid, a back-to-basics effort for which <a href="spotify:artist:2cADQgiLMjNhbsfeN52Bf3">Swizz Beatz</a> served as executive producer, was released in 2016. That same year, Snoop teamed up with Martha Stewart for VH1's Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, a variety show that featured bits with guest actors and performances by hip-hop musical guests. The show aired into 2017, the same year that Snoop issued the simultaneously nostalgic and in-the-moment Neva Left, which referenced classics by <a href="spotify:artist:22282KfMxDo2PMjnBc82I4">Biz Markie</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:09hVIj6vWgoCDtT03h8ZCa">A Tribe Called Quest</a>. For his 16th set, Snoop once again changed course, this time dipping into the gospel world for 2018's Snoop Dogg Presents Bible of Love. The collection featured guests from both the gospel and hip-hop worlds, topping the Billboard Gospel Albums chart upon release. A year later, Snoop returned to the streets for his 17th album, I Wanna Thank Me, a nostalgic set that celebrated his legacy while asserting his enduring place in contemporary hip-hop. In addition to guests <a href="spotify:artist:0A0FS04o6zMoto8OKPsDwY">YG</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1W9qOBYRTfP7HcizWN43G1">Slick Rick</a>, the LP also included an appearance by the late <a href="spotify:artist:1Oa0bMld0A3u5OTYfMzp5h">Nate Dogg</a>. In 2020, while locked down in quarantine due to the global threat of COVID-19, Snoop released the restless single "I Wanna Go Outside," setting his feelings of housebound frustration and concerns for the world's health to a funky, old-school instrumental. The swaggering "C.E.O." appeared in early 2021 on From tha Streets 2 tha Suites, a brief set which included appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:4AA474G2hRfrHyGrfyDseO">Mozzy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0OMJR0LjjKv21qNvICTgbi">Devin the Dude</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1grN0519h2zYqpRtYbDZAl">Larry June</a>, and was released on April 20. Snoop was hired as <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Def+Jam%22">Def Jam</a>'s executive creative consultant in June, and his first album with the label, The Algorithm, appeared in November. The sprawling set included guests such as <a href="spotify:artist:23zg3TcAtWQy7J6upgbUnj">Usher</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5Matrg5du62bXwer29cU5T">Benny the Butcher</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1XkoF8ryArs86LZvFOkbyr">Mary J. Blige</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4sb7rZNN93BSS6Gqgepo4v">Too $hort</a>, and dozens of others. Snoop offered yet another album only four months later. The February 2022 release of BODR -- short for "Bacc on Death Row" -- coincided with Snoop acquiring the trademark rights to the label that issued his first two albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

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