Snoop Dogg: from gangsta rap to laying MVNO tracks

Snoop Dogg took the music world by storm in late 1992 when he helped propel gangsta rap to the most commercially successful subgenre of hip hop up to that point. But, the world-famous rapper who brought us songs that will live on in clubs and house parties for decades to come has long since moved toward a more mainstream-friendly sound.
Snoop Dogg, who entered the world in 1971 as Cordozar Calvin Broadus, has put more cities on the map and coined and delivered more slang and catch-phrases to American culture than anyone in recent memory. He’s successfully brought his talent and lovable characteristics to TV shows, commercials and the like. The wireless industry is no exception. Although Snoop Dogg emerged when cassettes were still the industry norm, he’s never lagged far behind the shape of things to come.
The man (whose made it his trademark to add “izzle” to the end of as many words as possible), his band and a sizeable entourage were at Amp’d Mobile Inc. studios in Los Angeles last week to lay down some live tracks for Amp’d Mobile Live. After a noticeable huddling of Amp’d employees around the company’s in-house, state-of-the-art recording studio, Snoop Dogg emerged from an upper level room that served as the interrogation room in the first season of Fox’s “24.” Amp’d has made its home in the former Fox studio where CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit) headquarters came to life during the hugely popular show’s first season.
Snoop Dogg then delved into a 45-minute warm-up session in the studio wearing a “Unify the Hood” t-shirt and plenty of smiles. There were no grills to be found, but the recording artist did bring a huge piece of bling that served as his microphone holder with “SNOOP DOGG” appearing outward in two lines of what appeared to be diamonds.
Once he and his seven other band members were ready to record, the self-professed pimp played to the camera as he so famously does. Not a few minutes went by without everyone in the control room being overwhelmed with the stunning hilarity of it all. He obviously had fun with the entire experience, keeping his band members laughing while joking around between tracks, and surely pleased the Amp’d Mobile executives with his steady flow of shout outs to the entertainment company and MVNO. Meanwhile, Amp’d Mobile’s studio crew focused on capturing the session in methods most optimal for the mobile audience, including close-up shots and slow camera movements.
Throughout his time in the studio, Snoop Dogg regularly free-styled between tracks, played a song that sounded much more rock than rap and even put on a little dance to the soundtrack of a mariachi tune. The former Crips member, who beat murder charges in 1993, recorded “That’s That Sh*t,” his wildly popular “Gin & Juice” and “Boss’ Life.” The tracks will be available on-deck for Amp’d customers by the end of March.