Artist Snoop Dogg

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Snoop Dogg

Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., a.k.a. Snoop Dogg, has become America’s Hustla. Sure, he takes a Krusty The Clown approach to licensing his name and image, but Snoop’s the real deal. Along with Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, Snoop revolutionized the sound, style, and business of hip-hop, for better (Doggystyle) and worse (Father Hood). His smooth vowel deconstruction shook up American vocabulary (see: “for shizzle”) while continual forays into new musical territory—last year’s countrified “My Medicine;” the title track for the Bollywood movie Singh Is Kinng—deserves applause for being both interesting and surprisingly good. The man hustles his persona so much these days it’s easy to forget he’s more than just a character, but September’s Malice In Wonderland helped to rectify that.

Updated 10/15/2009