When it comes to gangster rap, Snoop Dogg stands as the unparalleled Top Dogg. The Long Beach icon is easily the biggest, most respected and most prolific hard-core artist hip-hop has ever known.

Whenever Snoop blesses a track, it's guaranteed to be a chart-topping party-starter, a quality Snoop's work has possessed since he appeared on Dr. Dre's landmark 1992 album, "The Chronic." The collection's revolutionary Parliament-inspired beats and menacing raps from Dre, Snoop and friends made the high-powered album a must-have in ghettos and suburbs around the country -- and eventually the world.

More importantly, however, "The Chronic" provided the up-and-coming Snoop Doggy Dogg a platform to showcase his infectious flow, which was equally relaxing and authoritative, part angst and part pimp-strut.

After generating more buzz than a beehive via his appearance in early 1992 on the title track to the soundtrack of the Laurence Fishburne movie "Deep Cover," Dr. Dre's latest protZgZ had the world was fiending for his innovative lyrical stylings. After all, Dre had been the musical mastermind behind such monumental hip-hop acts as Eazy-E, N.W.A and The D.O.C., so expectations were sky-high for his new rhyming partner.

Dre let the Dogg out with "Nuthin' But A G Thang," the lead single from "The Chronic," which was named one of the best singles of the 1990s by Rolling Stone magazine. "Nuthin' But A G Thang" also kicks off Snoop Doggy Doggy's "Death Row's Greatest Hits," a collection that highlights many of Snoop's most significant recordings and pays worthy tribute to his immense recording legacy.

With laid-back production and equally subdued flows, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg ushered in a new sound and outlook with "Nuthin' But A G Thang." They made gangster rap something that could be smooth-flowing, catchy, commercially viable and respected in the streets all at the same time -- something that had not yet taken place in the musical marketplace.

"Nuthin' But A G Thang" helped propel "The Chronic" to triple-platinum status, an unheard of accomplishment for hip-hop at the time. Although "The Chronic" was Dr. Dre's album, the spotlight honed in on Snoop Doggy Dogg, who possessed the charisma, lyrical abilities, delivery patterns and image to become as big a star as hip-hop had ever seen.

When Snoop's debut album, "Doggystyle," arrived toward the end of 1993, it rocketed all the way to No. 1 on the Pop Music charts its first week of release. The album's lead single, "Who Am I (What's My Name)," featured a clever video directed by one-time Yo! MTV Raps host Fab 5 Freddie and cameos from such friends as Dr. Dre and Kurupt.

Even though "Who Am I" was a bonafied hit (it was reworked in 2000 by Lil Bow Wow on his double platinum "Beware of Dog" album), it came nowhere close to making the impact of follow-up single "Gin & Juice." Paying homage to his favorite beverage, Snoop created a brand of party-friendly gangster rap that was so intoxicating that it helped push sales of "Doggystyle" beyond the 4-million unit mark, past those of even "The Chronic." Snoop Doggy Dogg had, in less than two years, become rap's biggest, most admired and universally accepted artist.

"Doggy Dogg World," another single from "Doggystyle," allowed Tha Dogg Pound to shine alongside Snoop. Kurupt and Daz Dillinger helped fans familiarize themselves with Snoop's rhyming buddies, who had been making an impact since "The Chronic" but had yet to make a visual mark until the release of this stylized video.

As "Who Am I (What's My Name)," "Gin & Juice," and "Doggy Dogg World," ruled the airwaves, the sexually explicit "Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)" became one of the underground's most popular cuts, as fans lapped up the cold-hearted lyrics of Snoop, Kurupt, Warren G and Nate Dogg, which paradoxically excited the very women they were slamming on the song.

With "Doggystyle" still riding high on the charts, Snoop starred in a mini-movie interpretation of his "Murder Was The Case" song, which mirrored his own life, as he was on trial for murder himself as "Doggystyle" was released. "Murder Was The Case" was remixed for the film, which arrived in stores in 1994. In the song, Snoop imagines himself bartering with the Devil as he attempts to leave his life of crime behind. It's a chilling take on life in gang-infested streets, one that Snoop knew all too well in his Long Beach, California neighborhood.

By the time Snoop released his second album, 1996's "Tha Doggfather," he had beaten the murder charge, become a father and parted ways with mentor Dr. Dre, who had left Death Row Records, the imprint that released both "The Chronic" and "Doggystyle." With all of this turmoil and change, it should come as no surprise that "Tha Doggfather" introduced a more introspective Snoop Dogg, one who trades in some of his gangster ways for a more cautionary, reflective lyrical outlook.

Snoop's remake of Biz Markie's "Vapors" extended a hand to the East Coast after years of tension between artists from the two coasts, while "Snoop Bounce" was Snoop's attempt at making a club record that could be embraced on dancefloors across the country. Snoop was branching out artistically, showing the world that he was more than just the gangster rapper many had made him out to be.