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 (1993-10-30)
Format
Recorded January 15, 1993
Genre
Length 4:06
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Dr. Dre
Snoop Doggy Dogg chronology
"Let Me Ride"
(1993)		 "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)"
(1993)		 "Gin and Juice"
(1994)
Snoop Doggy Dogg albums chronology
"Who Am I? (What's My Name?) EP"
(2004)		 "Let's Get Blown"
(2004)
Doggystyle track listing
"Serial Killa"
(9)		 "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)"
(10)		 "For All My Niggaz & Bitches"
(11)
Audio sample
file info · help
Music video
"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" on YouTube

"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (commonly titled "What's My Name?") is the solo debut single by American hip hop recording artist Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on October 30, 1993 as the first single from his debut album, Doggystyle, with the record labels Death Row Records, Interscope Records & Atlantic Records.[1] The song, produced by Dr. Dre, features 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 bass line may be an interpretation of the one from Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep". It was ranked number 456 on NME's 500 greatest songs of all time.[2]

The song and music video were parodied in director Rusty Cundieff's film, Fear of a Black Hat (1993).

Background

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.[3]

Commercial performance

"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" was the third top-ten of Snoop Dogg on the Billboard Hot 100, the first as lead artist. The song reached number 8 on the chart. The song topped the US Hot Rap Songs for three weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA in 1994.[4]

Music video

Fab 5 Freddy directed a CGI-driven music video for the song.[5] Snoop and others are able to turn into dogs (such as Doberman Pinschers and Rottweilers, and the females Cocker Spaniels and several other breeds) 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). Throughout the video Snoop can be seen standing on the roof of V.I.P. Records, a record store and studio where Snoop Dogg recorded some of his first materials. 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) — 4:15
  2. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Clean Club Mix) — 5:03
  3. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Explicit Club Mix) — 8:12
  4. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (LP Version) — 4:15
  5. Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Instrumental) — 4:15

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994–2015) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 22
France (SNEP)[9] 11
Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 20
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 21
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 20
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[17] 27
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 8
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19] 8
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[20] 1
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[21] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 62
US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[23] 75

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name ?". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time - 500-401". NME.
  3. ↑ David Stubbs. "Snoop Dogg's Money Supermarket advert". the Guardian.
  4. ↑ "American certifications – Snoop Dogg – What%27s My Name". Recording Industry Association of America.
  5. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg - "What's my name?"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  6. ↑ 8/4/2011Comments (3) (2011-04-08). "Music : What's My Name". Snoop Dogg. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  7. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Snoop Doggy Dogg – Who Am I? (What's My Name?)". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  11. ↑ http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=3
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  16. ↑ SNOOP DOGGY DOGG Chart History on Official Charts Company Official Charts Company UK Singles Chart for Snoop Doggy Dogg.
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2004-10-09" UK R&B Chart. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 1, 1994. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Snoop Dogg – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Snoop Dogg. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Rap Music: Top Rap Songs Chart | Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 1, 1994. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Snoop Dogg – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Snoop Dogg. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  22. ↑ "1994: Year-End USA Charts (Singles)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12. (archived by Top40-Charts.com)
  23. ↑ "The Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year End Charts 1994". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  24. ↑ "American single certifications – Snoop Dogg". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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