When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dr.

Dre began
working with him, first on the theme song of the 1992 film Deep Cover and then on Dr. Dre's
debut solo album The Chronic along with the other members of his former starting group, Tha
Dogg Pound. This intense exposure played a considerable part in making Snoop Dogg's debut
album, Doggystyle, the critical and commercial success that it was.[13]

Snoop Dogg in 1998

Fueling 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.[13] Gangsta rap became the center of
arguments about censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent
and misogynistic musicians.[20] Unlike much of the harder-edged gangsta rap artists, Snoop Dogg
seemed to show his softer side, according to music journalist Chuck Philips. 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."[15] 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.

A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial, 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.[21]

Broadus was acquitted of his murder charge on February 20, 1996. According to Broadus, after
he was acquitted he did not want to continue living the "gangsta" lifestyle, because he felt that
continuing his behavior would result in his assassination or a prison term.[22][23]

After his acquittal, he, 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 its
first artists.[24] He collaborated with fellow rap artist Tupac Shakur on the 1996 single "2 of
Amerikaz Most Wanted". This was one of Shakur's last songs while alive; he was shot on
September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas, dying six days later.
Snoop Dogg (left) with Maynard James Keenan in 2001

By the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the
price of appearing to live 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 Tupac
Shakur and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight.[13] 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 from Doggystyle, and the leadoff single, "Snoop's
Upside Ya Head", featured a collaboration with Charlie Wilson. The album sold reasonably well
but was not as successful as its predecessor. Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to
the G-funk style. After Dr. Dre withdrew from Death Row Records, Snoop realized that he was
subject to an ironclad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he
produced for a number of years), and refused to produce any more tracks for Suge Knight other
than the insulting "Fuck Death Row" until his contract expired.[18] In an interview with Neil
Strauss in 1998, Snoop Dogg said that though he had been given lavish gifts by his former label,
they had withheld his royalty payments.[25]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that after Tha Doggfather, Snoop Dogg began
"moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic":[13] 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.[26]