Recorded 1993 | Length 4:06 | |
Released October 30, 1993 (1993-10-30) Format CD single
12" single
cassette
EP Genre G-funk
West Coast hip hop
gangsta rap Label Death Row
Interscope
Atlantic | ||
"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. 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.
Contents
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.
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.
Music video
Fab 5 Freddy directed a CGI-driven music video for the song. 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
- Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Clean Radio Mix) — 4:15
- Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Clean Club Mix) — 5:03
- Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Explicit Club Mix) — 8:12
- Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (LP Version) — 4:15
- Who Am I? (What's My Name?) (Instrumental) — 4:15