What do you think?
Rate this book
Tha Doggfather: The Times, Trials, And Hardcore Truths Of Snoop Dogg
This is a tale of a young man's struggle against a system that consigned him to a destiny of poverty, crime, and hopelessness from birth. Set against the mean streets of L.A.'s South Bay 'hoods, the book is populated by a cast of vivid characters, including Tupac Shakur, Snoop's one true friend and musical soulmate, cut down at the beginning of a brilliant career, and Suge Knight, whose Death Row Records brought street-level credibility--and gangland tactics--into the corporate suites of the entertainment industry. From the Crip gang members who recruited Snoop virtually off the playground to the pimps and players, whores and hustlers who formed his extended family on the streets and behind prison walls, Tha Doggfather offers a scathing, unexpurgated look at life on the edge in a modern urban jungle. Snoop's rise to the pinnacle of rap stardom is chronicled, along with his nearly career-ending arrest and trial for a murder he didn't commit. Raised to the pinnacle, brought to the brink, Snoop Dogg eventually found sanity and salvation in his relationship with Shantay Taylor, his high school sweetheart. Married in 1997, the couple started a new life with their two young sons, even as Snoop's career reached new heights in his creative collaboration with Master P and No Limit Records.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1999
11 people are currently reading
446 people want to read
About the author
Snoop Dogg
32 books119 followersCordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is a Grammy Award-nominated American rapper, singer, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as an MC in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of producer Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. His catch phrase is "-izzle," a slang term developed by Oakland, California rap group 3X Krazy in the mid-1990s and popularized primarily by fellow Bay Area rapper E-40.
His mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because of the way he dressed and because of his love of the cartoon Peanuts; he took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began recording. He changed his name to Snoop Dogg in 1998, when he left his original record label Death Row Records and signed with No Limit Records.
His mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because of the way he dressed and because of his love of the cartoon Peanuts; he took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began recording. He changed his name to Snoop Dogg in 1998, when he left his original record label Death Row Records and signed with No Limit Records.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 2, 2016
As bold and outspoken as Ta-Nehisi Coates -- all the truth-telling with twice the passion, three times the humor and none of the smug, self-serving political correctness!
January 14, 2017
With honesty and candor, well what can you respect from Snoop... he tells his life story and how he came to be!
June 25, 2024
A REVEALING AND INSIGHTFUL MEMOIR FROM A CULTURAL ICON
Snoop Dogg wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “To increase the peace. To spread the music. To elevate and educate. If you don’t get past another line in this book go back and read those words again. Then read them one more time. You might never hear another thing about be, who I am and where I’m coming from. But if you remember those words you’ll know all you need to about Snoop Dogg. Straight from the source. Because you’ve probably already heard what everybody else has to say on the subject: Crack cocaine dealer. Ex-con. Accused murderer. Rap star. Family man. Loyal son of Long Beach, California… It’s all just pictures on the late news… What matters is increasing the peace. Spreading the music. Elevating and educating. That’s my mission… when it all comes down, I only answer to one description: I’m a child of God. Doing God’s work.” (Pg. 1)
He continued, “In every rap I ever recorded, in the mad flow of every street-corner freestyle I ever represented, there was only one thing I wanted to get across: the way that it is. Not the way I might want it to be. Not the way I think YOU might want it to be. But the way it REALLY is, on the streets of the ‘hoods of America, where life is lived out one day at a time, up against it, with no guarantees.” (Pg. 2)
He goes on, “Brothers talk to me about ‘telling my side of the story’ and ‘setting the record straight.’ But I’ve got no time for that s__t. A man that’s got to defend himself has already lost his self-respect… This book isn’t ever going to be about pleading my case in the court of public opinion… This book is not a defense. It’s a description. I want people to take the time, with an open mind, to look behind what they’ve been told about me and the world I come from, and hear the truth… I learned something about being free a long time ago, too. It comes with a price… I paid the price to get myself free, from drugs and violence, from incarceration and intoxication, and from fear of death of every description. I paid the price so that maybe you don’t have to, so that maybe… you can take a lesson from me, avoid my mistakes, and share my success.” (Pg. 3)
He observes, “But the fact it, the more I get out and take a look around, the more other brothers and sisters seem to have in common with the homies on my own turf. I’ve been all around America, across Europe and way up into Scandinavia, and if anyone ever tells you that hardcore hip-hop music is by blacks, for blacks, and about blacks, you tell him to come by one of my concerts in Oslo or Copenhagen or Stockholm, where as far as you can see is an ocean of pale faces, blue eyes, and blond hair, and every one of them is jamming hard and heavy like they were partying at a Compton club on a Saturday night.” (Pg. 4)
Of his younger says, he recounts, “Whatever was left over from the sixties… was getting swallowed up by drugs and guns and war between the races… I just wanted the chance to prove myself, to make my reputation and stand tall in the ‘hood, no matter what it took… Ready or not, it was time for Snoop Dogg to grow up… There was a whole new class of hero coming up---the pimp and the outlaw, the thug and the gangster---and if you wanted to stay alive on the streets of Long Beach or Watts or Compton… where the American Dream was falling apart and fading away, you better get with their program. It was the only game in town.” (Pg. 41)
He notes, “today, hip-hop music sells more records than R&B or soul ever did… Rap is the hottest music of our time and there’s a good reason for it. It’s real. It talks about the way things ARE, not just the way they ought to be…Rap is… a way for the n____s to make a noise, get noticed, and scare the s__t out of a lot … who’ve been trying to pretend that, if they don’t pay us any attention, maybe we’d just go away.” (Pg. 45)
He states, “Black and white have less in common than most of us want to believe---different ways of thinking and acting and looking at reality, and while maybe that doesn’t mean we aren’t ever going to be able to live together in peace, reaching that goal is going to be a whole lot harder than most of us, black or white, want to accept. White people, from my way of looking at it, have what you might call an attitude of entitlement. They expect things to come their way… and it’s hard for them to accept the cold facts when they don’t add up to the bottom line they have in mind. A white brother can’t help it---he was born thinking certain powers and privileges come with the territory.” (Pg. 53-54)
He acknowledges, “I’ve been smoking chronic since before I can remember and … I’m still blowing upward of an ounce a day, between me and my posse. There’s hardly a time between when I wake up and when my head hits the pillow that I’m not toking on a blunt… An ounce a day is what you might call a major commitment to getting high and staying high, and if you want to call that an addiction, I’m not going to argue the point.” (Pg. 63) But he adds, “Am I setting a good example for my sons?... I don’t think so. If it ever gets to the point where my sons ask me about drugs, I’m going to tell them what I truly feel. They’re better off without them… and if that makes me a hypocrite, then that’s just a charge I’ll have to cop to.” (Pg. 64) Still later, he says, “Cocaine is poison, straight up… and if you’re looking for what brought life in the ghetto down to a dog-eat-dog level, then you’ve sure enough got your culprit.” (Pg. 93)
He cautions, “Crime doesn’t pay, as the old saying goes, and they got that right. For all the effort we put into ripping off folks’ welfare payments, or breaking into a housing-project apartment to lift someone’s VCR, we weren’t even making a living wage. The fact is, I think I was doing better at Lucky’s … and I … was working better hours.” (Pg. 88)
He recounts that after a visit from his mother while he was in prison: “I could sense somebody, or something, sharing that space with me… I didn’t hear a voice… But I sure enough realized… that no matter what had come before, no matter what I ‘d done wrong… I still had a chance… I could make a difference in my life… Maybe you could say I had some kind of religious experience… It all happened in the quietness between my ears, between me and God, with no one else getting in the way. You can call that religion if you want… What happened to me was for ME and for me alone… I know God looked into my heart and saw that I was sincere… I know because He gave me a sign to show that it was so. When I got back to my cell my afternoon there was a message from my P.D. … By the grace of almighty God they made me another offer… I could plead guilty to a lesser charge… and serve a year, half that with good behavior… I was… not just free in body, but free in mind and spirit.” (Pg. 145)
He observes, “Looking back, I have to say that Dre was, without question, the hypest talent in rap music at the time. My only regret for the brother is that he wasted so much of that time fighting the same old turf battles that made the ‘hood such a dangerous place to be. It’s like he just transferred that whole mentality into the recording studio … while all along he should have been doing what he does best: making great rap records.” (Pg. 167)
He adds, “I tried to keep my name and my nose out of the hardcore tactics that Suge and his crew at Death Row would use to get what they wanted. I was always proud to be part of a record label that was as successful and influential as Death Row… But when it came to extortion and assault and hanging people out of windows to get them to sign over their publishing… that kind of s__t I’d just stay the f__k away from. I’d done my time as a gangsta.” (Pg. 168)
Of his decision to move with his family out of Long Beach, he says, “I’ve heard a lot of n____s get down on me for picking up and moving away from my roots, and my answer to them is… f__k y’all… I LIVED in the real world my whole … life, and when it’s time to go for the same of yourself and your family, you better do the right thing or you DESERVE what comes down… It’s about survival for me and mine, and if that means packing up and moving behind the biggest, highest wall they can build, you can bet … I’ll be there…” (Pg. 183)
He concludes, “Brothers and sisters, listen to me. We’ve got to stop killing each other. We’ve got to turn our rage … [on] the system that keeps us oppressed and down and addicted to crack… We’ve got to spread the peace. Before it’s too late. The way I see it, ‘Pac didn’t understand that… A lot of things changed when Tupac died… I think a lot of brothers in the music business woke up ... Fighting among ourselves, gunning each other down… just because we came from different ‘hoods or cut on different labels wasn’t going to make anything better… It was time to tell it like it could be.” (Pg. 210)
This book will be “must reading” for anyone interested in Snoop Dogg, and Rap/Hip-Hop music and culture.
Snoop Dogg wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “To increase the peace. To spread the music. To elevate and educate. If you don’t get past another line in this book go back and read those words again. Then read them one more time. You might never hear another thing about be, who I am and where I’m coming from. But if you remember those words you’ll know all you need to about Snoop Dogg. Straight from the source. Because you’ve probably already heard what everybody else has to say on the subject: Crack cocaine dealer. Ex-con. Accused murderer. Rap star. Family man. Loyal son of Long Beach, California… It’s all just pictures on the late news… What matters is increasing the peace. Spreading the music. Elevating and educating. That’s my mission… when it all comes down, I only answer to one description: I’m a child of God. Doing God’s work.” (Pg. 1)
He continued, “In every rap I ever recorded, in the mad flow of every street-corner freestyle I ever represented, there was only one thing I wanted to get across: the way that it is. Not the way I might want it to be. Not the way I think YOU might want it to be. But the way it REALLY is, on the streets of the ‘hoods of America, where life is lived out one day at a time, up against it, with no guarantees.” (Pg. 2)
He goes on, “Brothers talk to me about ‘telling my side of the story’ and ‘setting the record straight.’ But I’ve got no time for that s__t. A man that’s got to defend himself has already lost his self-respect… This book isn’t ever going to be about pleading my case in the court of public opinion… This book is not a defense. It’s a description. I want people to take the time, with an open mind, to look behind what they’ve been told about me and the world I come from, and hear the truth… I learned something about being free a long time ago, too. It comes with a price… I paid the price to get myself free, from drugs and violence, from incarceration and intoxication, and from fear of death of every description. I paid the price so that maybe you don’t have to, so that maybe… you can take a lesson from me, avoid my mistakes, and share my success.” (Pg. 3)
He observes, “But the fact it, the more I get out and take a look around, the more other brothers and sisters seem to have in common with the homies on my own turf. I’ve been all around America, across Europe and way up into Scandinavia, and if anyone ever tells you that hardcore hip-hop music is by blacks, for blacks, and about blacks, you tell him to come by one of my concerts in Oslo or Copenhagen or Stockholm, where as far as you can see is an ocean of pale faces, blue eyes, and blond hair, and every one of them is jamming hard and heavy like they were partying at a Compton club on a Saturday night.” (Pg. 4)
Of his younger says, he recounts, “Whatever was left over from the sixties… was getting swallowed up by drugs and guns and war between the races… I just wanted the chance to prove myself, to make my reputation and stand tall in the ‘hood, no matter what it took… Ready or not, it was time for Snoop Dogg to grow up… There was a whole new class of hero coming up---the pimp and the outlaw, the thug and the gangster---and if you wanted to stay alive on the streets of Long Beach or Watts or Compton… where the American Dream was falling apart and fading away, you better get with their program. It was the only game in town.” (Pg. 41)
He notes, “today, hip-hop music sells more records than R&B or soul ever did… Rap is the hottest music of our time and there’s a good reason for it. It’s real. It talks about the way things ARE, not just the way they ought to be…Rap is… a way for the n____s to make a noise, get noticed, and scare the s__t out of a lot … who’ve been trying to pretend that, if they don’t pay us any attention, maybe we’d just go away.” (Pg. 45)
He states, “Black and white have less in common than most of us want to believe---different ways of thinking and acting and looking at reality, and while maybe that doesn’t mean we aren’t ever going to be able to live together in peace, reaching that goal is going to be a whole lot harder than most of us, black or white, want to accept. White people, from my way of looking at it, have what you might call an attitude of entitlement. They expect things to come their way… and it’s hard for them to accept the cold facts when they don’t add up to the bottom line they have in mind. A white brother can’t help it---he was born thinking certain powers and privileges come with the territory.” (Pg. 53-54)
He acknowledges, “I’ve been smoking chronic since before I can remember and … I’m still blowing upward of an ounce a day, between me and my posse. There’s hardly a time between when I wake up and when my head hits the pillow that I’m not toking on a blunt… An ounce a day is what you might call a major commitment to getting high and staying high, and if you want to call that an addiction, I’m not going to argue the point.” (Pg. 63) But he adds, “Am I setting a good example for my sons?... I don’t think so. If it ever gets to the point where my sons ask me about drugs, I’m going to tell them what I truly feel. They’re better off without them… and if that makes me a hypocrite, then that’s just a charge I’ll have to cop to.” (Pg. 64) Still later, he says, “Cocaine is poison, straight up… and if you’re looking for what brought life in the ghetto down to a dog-eat-dog level, then you’ve sure enough got your culprit.” (Pg. 93)
He cautions, “Crime doesn’t pay, as the old saying goes, and they got that right. For all the effort we put into ripping off folks’ welfare payments, or breaking into a housing-project apartment to lift someone’s VCR, we weren’t even making a living wage. The fact is, I think I was doing better at Lucky’s … and I … was working better hours.” (Pg. 88)
He recounts that after a visit from his mother while he was in prison: “I could sense somebody, or something, sharing that space with me… I didn’t hear a voice… But I sure enough realized… that no matter what had come before, no matter what I ‘d done wrong… I still had a chance… I could make a difference in my life… Maybe you could say I had some kind of religious experience… It all happened in the quietness between my ears, between me and God, with no one else getting in the way. You can call that religion if you want… What happened to me was for ME and for me alone… I know God looked into my heart and saw that I was sincere… I know because He gave me a sign to show that it was so. When I got back to my cell my afternoon there was a message from my P.D. … By the grace of almighty God they made me another offer… I could plead guilty to a lesser charge… and serve a year, half that with good behavior… I was… not just free in body, but free in mind and spirit.” (Pg. 145)
He observes, “Looking back, I have to say that Dre was, without question, the hypest talent in rap music at the time. My only regret for the brother is that he wasted so much of that time fighting the same old turf battles that made the ‘hood such a dangerous place to be. It’s like he just transferred that whole mentality into the recording studio … while all along he should have been doing what he does best: making great rap records.” (Pg. 167)
He adds, “I tried to keep my name and my nose out of the hardcore tactics that Suge and his crew at Death Row would use to get what they wanted. I was always proud to be part of a record label that was as successful and influential as Death Row… But when it came to extortion and assault and hanging people out of windows to get them to sign over their publishing… that kind of s__t I’d just stay the f__k away from. I’d done my time as a gangsta.” (Pg. 168)
Of his decision to move with his family out of Long Beach, he says, “I’ve heard a lot of n____s get down on me for picking up and moving away from my roots, and my answer to them is… f__k y’all… I LIVED in the real world my whole … life, and when it’s time to go for the same of yourself and your family, you better do the right thing or you DESERVE what comes down… It’s about survival for me and mine, and if that means packing up and moving behind the biggest, highest wall they can build, you can bet … I’ll be there…” (Pg. 183)
He concludes, “Brothers and sisters, listen to me. We’ve got to stop killing each other. We’ve got to turn our rage … [on] the system that keeps us oppressed and down and addicted to crack… We’ve got to spread the peace. Before it’s too late. The way I see it, ‘Pac didn’t understand that… A lot of things changed when Tupac died… I think a lot of brothers in the music business woke up ... Fighting among ourselves, gunning each other down… just because we came from different ‘hoods or cut on different labels wasn’t going to make anything better… It was time to tell it like it could be.” (Pg. 210)
This book will be “must reading” for anyone interested in Snoop Dogg, and Rap/Hip-Hop music and culture.
February 12, 2012
This was an easy style of book to read and from what he has written it reflects his style of living and writing. Taken at face value and in his words he isn't going to lie, Snoop Dogg has had an interesting life and though he has gone through some tough times he has come through them and continues to do what he does best. Recommended read if you like autobiographies.
May 30, 2024
More like 3.5* The content was super interesting, but my issues were with the styling of the book. It was not chronological; sometimes it would be and then Snoop would jump around, then come back to the main topic before jumping around again. Plus, while it was written in 1st person he would occasionally switch to 3rd person and stop saying "I" and instead refer to himself as "Snoop" which was weird. I liked learning about his life growing up, how he got involved with the gang, that while the gang might be big there are small sub-gangs, and how he came to be in the rap game. I knew that he was on trial for murder, but until reading this book had no idea about the details of the case, so that was interesting. Also, this book published in 1999, which means it only chronicles his life up to the innocent verdict. It would be interesting to read another book about what has happened since then.
September 29, 2017
Tha' wisdom...
Aside from The Doggfather's unhurried observations and often humorous insight, favorite spots where I drew inspiration was in the likes of Coach Johnson’s message on ‘having a mission’ (I call it passion). Auntie Mary was another favorite, as was Shanté. Adding much muse to this memoir were his raw, rustic perspectives and outlook on life, his growth and his innate relationship with God, on top of his love for his wife and children...wanting his children ‘to feel safe, free and fine about themselves.’ I’m saying, “raise your kids up right, best legacy to bestow the world...” stole my heart. I’ve read very few memoirs as redemptive and redeeming as Tha Doggfather. Highly recommended!
Aside from The Doggfather's unhurried observations and often humorous insight, favorite spots where I drew inspiration was in the likes of Coach Johnson’s message on ‘having a mission’ (I call it passion). Auntie Mary was another favorite, as was Shanté. Adding much muse to this memoir were his raw, rustic perspectives and outlook on life, his growth and his innate relationship with God, on top of his love for his wife and children...wanting his children ‘to feel safe, free and fine about themselves.’ I’m saying, “raise your kids up right, best legacy to bestow the world...” stole my heart. I’ve read very few memoirs as redemptive and redeeming as Tha Doggfather. Highly recommended!
November 18, 2021
I liked the insights. A little preachy but that's expected of Snoop.
October 11, 2023
love the Dog.
February 1, 2024
For From the Streets to the Suites
Love his voice and music throughout. Entertaining and interesting at the same time. I'm a fan.
Love his voice and music throughout. Entertaining and interesting at the same time. I'm a fan.
May 30, 2024
Bow-wow-wow yippee-yo yippee-yay
This book was a time warp as it was written in 1999.
Snoop still builds hype.
This book was a time warp as it was written in 1999.
Snoop still builds hype.
June 2, 2024
I love snoop dogg!
December 28, 2024
Written just like Snoop talks. Enjoyed learning more about his journey, though wish there was a more recent to bring his life up to date.
October 16, 2025
Good read.
April 4, 2008
I just love hip-hop culture, gangster rap, ebonics, all that hyphe goodness, and books on those topics are few and far between, especially written by actual rappers. The writing was bland but the content wan on the the money, drugs, thugs, and wrapping people up in rugs prior to dumping them out on the freeway. Also, Snoop is about my age, so that added to my interest level during the read. A must-read for hip-hop fans.
March 18, 2011
I'm not a huge Snoop Dogg fan but I love musician biographies and he is definetly a talented rapper. This book was really funny especially about his beginings in the music industry and his take on life in general.
May 17, 2007
A funny and insightful look into the rough and tumble life of a rap impresario.
August 26, 2021
Three-and-a-half stars. Good ghetto-to-gold story, but the broad generalizations and cliches that are persistent throughout do not help the book.
Want to read
August 25, 2016not on overdrive
January 14, 2013
Good life story
Currently reading
October 17, 2008tyhis book is bad ass
Read
December 20, 2010That life can really be a different type of people that has kids coming into this crazy world.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews