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

"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 10, 1993 as the first single from his debut album, Doggystyle, with the record labels Death Row Records, Interscope Records, and Atlantic Records.[1] It was ranked number 456 on NME's 500 greatest songs of all time.[2]

"What's My Name?"
Single by Snoop Doggy Dogg
from the album Doggystyle
Released	October 10, 1993 (1993-10-10)
Recorded	1993
Genre	G-funk gangsta rap
Length	4:06
Label	Death Row Interscope Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Calvin Broadus Andre Young
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre
Snoop Doggy Dogg singles chronology
"Let Me Ride" (1993) "What's My Name?" (1993) "Gin and Juice" (1994)
Audio sample
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Music video
"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" on YouTube

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

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 first top 10 hit of Snoop Dogg on the Billboard Hot 100, the first as a lead rap artist. The song reached number 8 on the chart. This was Snoop Dogg's first song that made him famous. 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 directs a CGI-driven music video for the song.[5] Snoop and others are able to transform into dogs (such as Doberman Pinschers, Rottweilers, Pit bulls, and the women Cocker Spaniels and several other breeds) to evade upsetting fathers and run wild, while also evading a pair of clumsy dog catchers while in these forms. One scene shows the dogs wearing sunglasses, smoking cigars and gambling on dice games (a parody of the turn of the 20th-century series of paintings by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge 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 material. Other associates of Snoop make cameo appearances such as Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, and Warren G.

Track listing

• CD Single[1][6]

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 (1993–1994) 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 (Dutch Top 40)[12] 11 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 8 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 21 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 20 UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[18] 27 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 8 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 8 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[21] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[22] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position Australia (ARIA)[23] 61 Germany (Official German Charts)[24] 99 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 62 US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 75

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[28]	Gold	500,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 1994

References

1. "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name ?". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
2. "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time - 500-401". NME.
3. Stubbs, David. "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. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. 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 – What's My Name?". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
11. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=3
12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 3, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved May 15, 2020.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
14. "Charts.nz – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
16. "Swisscharts.com – Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
17. SNOOP DOGGY DOGG Chart History on Official Charts Company Official Charts Company UK Singles Chart for Snoop Doggy Dogg.
18. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
19. "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 1, 1994. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
20. "Snoop Dogg Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
21. "Rap Music: Top Rap Songs Chart | Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 1, 1994. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
22. "Snoop Dogg Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
23. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved June 7, 2019.
24. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
25. "1994: Year-End USA Charts (Singles)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12. (archived by Top40-Charts.com)
26. "The Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year End Charts 1994". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
27. "British single certifications – Snoop Dogg – Sweat". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Sweat in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
28. "American single certifications – Snoop Dogg". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics