"What's My Name?"
Single by Snoop Doggy Dogg
from the album Doggystyle
ReleasedNovember 11, 1993 (1993-11-11)
GenreG-funk[1]
Length4:06
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dr. Dre
Snoop Doggy Dogg singles chronology
"Let Me Ride"
(1993)		 "What's My Name?"
(1993)		 "Gin and Juice"
(1994)
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 debut solo single by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, released on November 11, 1993, as the debut single from his first album, Doggystyle (1993), with the record labels Death Row and Interscope Records. The song, produced by Dr. Dre, features samples and interpolations from George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" in its chorus and throughout, the bass line from Funkadelic's (Not Just) Knee Deep 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.[2] It was ranked number 456 on NME's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]

Critical reception

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five, naming it Pick of the Week. He wrote, "Clearly influenced by George Clinton, Cameo and the like, this laidback rap cut has been widely praised with the industry has a gimmick warcry, some soulful femmes and stands every chance of being a hit."[4] NME named it What's My Muthaf—in' Single of the Week, saying, "In time and tune with the '70s revival, Dre has hit a seam of incendiary funk and it just don't stop — coupled with Snoop's irresistible style they've got a Jurassic-size monster of a hit on their hands." The reviewer also praised it as "a straight-up party record, fit for any and every occasion, with more hooks than 20 rounds of Eubank v Benn. This is gonna be HUGE."[5] Ralph Tee from the RM Dance Update complimented "its infectious "Bow wow wow yippy yo yippy yeah" hook and a production steeped in the tradition of Seventies George Clinton and Cameo". He stated that "it's Snoop's rhymes and the aforementioned hook that's making this a smash".[6] Charles Aaron from Spin commented, "There's a big diff between asking "Who Am I?" and being prepared for conflicting answers from your audience, and asking "What's My Name?" and having yet another fucking George Clinton sample reinforce your ego."[7]

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 eight on the chart. The song topped the US Hot Rap Songs for three weeks. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1994.[8]

Music video

Fab Five Freddy directs a CGI-driven music video for the song.[9] Snoop and others (Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, and Warren G) are able to transform into dogs (such as Dobermann Pinschers, Rottweilers, Pit bulls, and 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 (an homage to the late 19th century/early 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. Snoop's girlfriend in the video was played by now-clinical nurse liaison Athena Germany, who later appeared in Family Feud with rest of her family in 2021.[10]

Live performances

Snoop performed the song live on The Arsenio Hall Show on December 17, 1993, and on Soul Train on December 18, 1993. He also performed the song live at the 1994 Soul Train Music Awards on March 15, 1994.

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

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States November 11, 1993 Cassette [8]
United Kingdom November 22, 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [41]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DMX vs. Snoop Dogg in 'Verzuz' Battle of the Dawgs: See Our Scorecard & Winner". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ Stubbs, David (March 2014). "Snoop Dogg's Money Supermarket advert". the Guardian.
  3. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time - 500-401". NME.
  4. ↑ Jones, Alan (November 27, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles - Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 18. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Singles". NME. October 30, 1993. p. 20. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Tee, Ralph (November 20, 1993). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 7. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  7. ↑ Aaron, Charles (March 1994). "Singles". Spin. p. 80. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "American single certifications – Snoop Dogg – What's My Name?". Recording Industry Association of America.
  9. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg - "What's my name?"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ "OUCH! The board TROLLS Steve Harvey! - Family Feud". Fremantle. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  11. ↑ 8 April 2011Comments (3) (April 8, 2011). "Music : What's My Name". Snoop Dogg. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2383." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 8. February 19, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 7. February 12, 1994. p. 15. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  19. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – What's My Name". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 3, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Snoop Doggy Dogg – What's My Name?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Snoop Dogg: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. December 4, 1993. p. 22. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  28. ↑ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). December 4, 1993. p. 4. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Snoop Dogg Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  33. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994". ARIA. Retrieved June 7, 2019 – via Imgur.
  34. ↑ "1994 in Review Sales Charts – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. 12. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1994" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1994". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  38. ↑ "The Year in 1994: Hot R&B Singles". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-34.
  39. ↑ "The Year in 1994: Hot Rap Singles". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-38.
  40. ↑ "British single certifications – Snoop Dogg – Who Am I (What's My Name)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. November 20, 1993. p. 23.
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