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What's My Name? (Snoop Doggy Dogg song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = What's My Name?
| cover = What's My Name.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Snoop Doggy Dogg
| album = Doggystyle
| released =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = G-funk
| length = 4:06
| label = * Death Row
* Interscope
* Atlantic
| writer =
| producer = Dr. Dre
| prev_title = Let Me Ride
| prev_year = 1993
| next_title = Gin and Juice
| next_year = 1994
| misc =
}}
"'Who Am I? (What's My Name?)'" (commonly titled "'What's My Name?'") is the debut solo 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. It was ranked number 456 on NME's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
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.
Critical reception
Alan Jones from 'Music Week' gave it four out of five. 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." Ralph Tee from the magazine's '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".
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 RIAA in 1994.
Music video
Fab Five Freddy directs a CGI-driven music video for the song. 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 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. Other associates of Snoop make cameo appearances such as Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, and Warren G. Another known person to appear in this video was a clinical nurse liaison Athena Germany, who later appeared in 'Family Feud' with rest of the family in 2021.
Track listing
*'CD single'
# "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
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1994)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia (ARIA)
| 61
|-
! scope="row"| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)
| 87
|-
! scope="row"| France (SNEP)
| 29
|-
! scope="row"| Germany (Official German Charts)
| 99
|-
! scope="row"| US 'Billboard' Hot 100
| 62
|-
! scope="row"| US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ('Billboard')
| 75
|}
Certifications
See also
* List of 'Billboard' Hot 100 top 10 singles in 1994
References
Category:1993 songs
Category:1993 debut singles
Category:Fiction about shapeshifting
Category:Gangsta rap songs
Category:Snoop Dogg songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre
Category:Songs about dogs
Category:Songs written by Dr. Dre
Category:Songs written by Garry Shider
Category:Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician)
Category:Songs written by Snoop Dogg
Category:Death Row Records singles
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Atlantic Records singles
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