Early life

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. was born in Long Beach, California, to Vernall Varnado and
Beverly Broadus (née Tate).[11][12] Vernall, who was a Vietnam veteran, singer, and mail carrier,
left the family only three months after Calvin's birth, and thus he was named after his stepfather,
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Sr.[13] His father remained largely absent from his life. As a boy, his
parents nicknamed him "Snoopy" due to his love and likeness of the cartoon character from
Peanuts.[14] He was the second of his mother's three sons. His mother and stepfather divorced in
1975.[11] When Broadus was very young, he began singing and playing piano at the Golgotha
Trinity Baptist Church. In sixth grade, he began rapping.[15][16] As a child, Broadus sold candy,
delivered newspapers, and bagged groceries to help his family make ends meet. He was
described as having been a dedicated student and enthusiastic churchgoer, active in choir and
football. Broadus said in 1993 that he began engaging in unlawful activities and joining gangs in
his teenage years, despite his mother's preventative efforts.[17]

Broadus would frequently rap in school. As he recalled: "When I rapped in the hallways at
school I would draw such a big crowd that the principal would think there was a fight going on.
It made me begin to realize that I had a gift. I could tell that my raps interested people and that
made me interested in myself."[17]

As a teenager, Broadus frequently ran into trouble with the law. He was a member of the Rollin'
20s Crips gang in the Eastside area of Long Beach;[18] although in 1993 he denied the frequent
police and media reports by saying that he never joined a gang.[15] Shortly after graduating from
high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and for the next three years, was
frequently incarcerated, including at Wayside Jail.[13] With his two cousins Nate Dogg and Lil' ½
Dead and friend Warren G, Snoop recorded homemade tapes; the four called their group 213
after the area code of their native Long Beach at that time. One of Snoop's early solo freestyles
over "Hold On" by En Vogue was on a mixtape that fortuitously wound up with Dr. Dre; the
influential producer was so impressed by the sample that he called Snoop to audition. Former
N.W.A affiliate The D.O.C. taught him to structure his lyrics and separate the themes into verses,
hooks, and choruses.[19]