Snoop Dogg recorded the 'Nuthin But A G Thang' demo in prison

Snoop Dogg is one of hip hop’s most beloved MCs. Rising to prominence by the side of Tupac and Dr Dre on Death Row Records, the rapper (real name Calvin Broadus) is loved for his unique tone, funky West Coast raps and laidback delivery. Known as hip hop’s marijuana maestro, Snoop is an iconic figure in the culture.

With the Long Beach rapper’s rise to fame commencing during the early 1990s G-Funk era, his mainstream commercial success was almost instant when he was introduced to the world as Dr Dre’s protégé on the legendary track ‘Deep Cover’ in 1992. 

His first and second albums would lay the foundation for a career that would accelerate at lightning speed leading the rapper to work with the likes of The Neptunes, Ice Cube and Jay-Z. Furthermore, outside of US hip hop, Snoop would take a journey to explore Rastafarianism and attempt to incorporate reggae into his music

After he burst onto the scene in 1992 as a feature on Dr Dre’s ‘Deep Cover’, he was soon at the top of the charts when he found himself as one of the primary featuring artists on Dr Dre’s debut album, The Chronic and one of the most memorable tracks from the album is the legendary ‘Nuthin But A G Thang’.

Involved in a murder case as one of the primary suspects, Snoop Dogg was in and out of court and jail throughout the early 1990s until he finally beat the case in 1996 when he was found not guilty. Talking about the demo he received for the track, Dr Dre recalled, “He called in, and I taped the receiver of the phone to the mic,” Dre recounted. “You can hear jail sounds in the back.”

‘Nuthin But A G Thang’ was one of Dr Dre’s first G-funk after ‘Deep Cover’ and would set the sonic blueprint for his career throughout the 1990s. The Southern California sub-genre, which sampled a lot of P-funk, would go on to become the sound of the West Coast and reach the top of the charts. You can listen to ‘Nuthin But A G Thang’ in the video below.