Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. is famously known by many names — Snoop Dogg, Snoop Lion, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and most recently Uncle Snoop. Before he went on to sell 30 million records worldwide, his career began when he was a kid growing up in Los Angeles. 

Snoop was born on Oct. 20, 1971, in Long Beach, California. He came up in a rap group called 213 he formed with childhood friends Warren G and the late Nate Dogg. Dr. Dre began working with Snoop after he discovered one of the group's songs on a mixtape. 
From the jump, Snoop Dogg created a respectable solo career for his debut, Doggystyle, which sold one million copies the week it released in 1994. In 2012, he announced a major name change in relation to his new religious awakening in Rastafarianism. In 2013, he released Reincarnated, an album that showed off his new style influenced by reggae music.
Besides being nominated for 15 Grammys, Snoop has starred in several films throughout his career such as Hot Boyz, Training Day and Starsky & Hutch. He also served as the host for the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards and the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards. 

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(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)