What's My Name? (Snoop Doggy Dogg song)

"What's My Name?"
Single by Snoop Doggy Dogg
from the album Doggystyle
Released October 30, 1993
Format 12" single, cassette, EP
Recorded January 1993
Genre West Coast hip hop, gangsta rap, G-funk
Length 4:06
Label Death Row Records, Interscope Records, Atlantic Records
Writer(s) Andre Young, George Clinton, Gary Shider, Calvin Broadus, David Spradley
Producer(s) Dr. Dre
Certification Platinum
Snoop Doggy Dogg chronology
"Let Me Ride"
(1993)		 "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)"
(1993)		 "Gin and Juice"
(1994)
Dr. Dre singles chronology
"Let Me Ride"
(1993)		 "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)"
(1993)		 "U Better Recognize"
(1994)
Audio sample
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"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)", commonly titled "What's My Name?", is the solo debut single by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It is the first single from his debut album, Doggystyle. The song reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified Platinum by RIAA in 1994, after a second digitally enhanced release, and stands to this day to be Snoop's greatest selling single of all time. It was ranked numer 456 on NMEs 500 greatest songs of all time.

Background

The song, produced by Dr. Dre, features an interpolation from Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep" in its bassline, samples and interpolations from George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" in its chorus and throughout, and an interpolation from Parliament's "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" in its bridge. The song's intro contains a sample from The Counts' "Pack of Lies." A vocal sample ("the bomb") from Parliament's "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" can be heard throughout.

The massively acclaimed single features many of the conventional topics found in the gangsta rap genre, as Snoop Doggy Dogg, with the laconic, laid-back drawl he became famous for, raps about his involvement with gang crime, killing, drugs, parties, sex and black-on-black shootings. However, the song adopts a more 'funky' tune, (as seen across much of Snoop and Dr. Dre's earlier work). The single quickly became a hugely successful hit, and is recognised as one of Snoop Dogg's "greatest pieces".

Additional vocals were contributed by LaShana Dendy, Tony Green, and Dr. Dre. The follow-up version of it titled "Snoop Dogg" was released on his album, Tha Last Meal. The cover artwork is by Joe Cool. The song features the line "Shit that I drop 'cuz ya know it don't stop / Mr. One Eight Seven on a motherfuckin' cop", a reference to Snoop and Dr. Dre's previous single, "Deep Cover".

The song briefly features Dr. Dre; although he is uncredited, he is clearly rapping towards the end of the first verse.

Since then, other rappers have used the song's lines in their own songs, most notably Jay-Z, who would borrow the lines "Went solo on that ass / but it's still the same" and "What's my motherfuckin' name?" from for his own hit "Jigga My Nigga", and Ja Rule, who used the latter line as the intro to "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", one of his many collaborations with Jennifer Lopez.

In the UK in 2014, the song was used on an advert for MoneySupermarket, which featured Snoop Dogg.[1]

Music video

Fab 5 Freddy directed a CGI-driven music video for the song.[2] Snoop and others are able to morph into dogs (such as Doberman Pinschers and rottweilers, and the females Cocker spaniels) to evade angry fathers and run amok. One scene shows the animals wearing sunglasses, smoking cigars and gambling on dice games (a parody of the series of paintings titled Dogs Playing Poker). Other associates of Snoop make cameo appearances such as Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, and Warren G.

Track listing

  1. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Clean Radio Mix)
  2. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Clean Club Mix)
  3. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Explicit Club Mix)
  4. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (LP Version)
  5. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Instrumental)[3]

Chart performance

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 22
France (SNEP)[6] 11
Germany (Media Control Charts)[7] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 21
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 20
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 8
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[14] 8
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[15] 1
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[16] 43
US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)[17] 6
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[18] 12

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/mar/01/snoop-dogg-money-supermarket-advert
  2. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg - "What's my name?"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  3. ↑ 8/4/2011Comments (3) (2011-04-08). "Music : What's My Name". Snoop Dogg. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  4. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  6. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in French). Les classement single.
  7. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Snoop Doggy Dogg – Who Am I? (What's My Name?)". GfK Entertainment.
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  9. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Top 40 Singles.
  10. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Singles Top 60.
  11. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Swiss Singles Chart.
  12. ↑ SNOOP DOGGY DOGG Chart History on Official Charts Company Official Charts Company UK Singles Chart for Snoop Doggy Dogg.
  13. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Snoop Dogg.
  14. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Snoop Dogg.
  15. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Rap Songs for Snoop Dogg.
  16. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Snoop Dogg.
  17. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Hot Singles Sales for Snoop Dogg.
  18. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Snoop Dogg.

External links