Snoop Dogg Only Had 1 No. 1 Song as a Lead Artist

Snoop Dogg has had far more hit songs than most rappers. Despite this, two of Snoop Dogg’s No. 1 hits were pop songs that featured him as a guest rapper. He only took the reigns on one No. 1 single.

Snoop Dogg had No. 1 songs with Akon, Katy Perry, and Pharrell Williams

So far, Snoop Dogg has released three songs that topped the Billboard Hot 100. He was a featured artist on two of them: Akon’s “I Wanna Love You” and Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.” However, he was the lead artist on “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” a collaboration with superstar producer/singer/rapper Pharrell Williams.

While Pharrell is a star in his own right, he’s also produced hits for Justin Timberlake, Kelis, Gwen Stefani, and others. His signature mix of pop, R&B, and hip-hop worked well for Snoop Dogg. No wonder “Drop It Like It’s Hot” was a hit!

During a 2023 interview on Audible, Snoop Dogg discussed working with Pharrell. “He in the back with the keyboards, it’s just him and the engineer,” Snoop Dogg recalled. “He ain’t even got the beat all the way made. This how this n**** get down, he don’t say words, he just [mimics Pharrell’s wordless vocalizations], so it’s my job to make that s*** make sense!”

Snoop Dogg was worried he might get upstaged. “This n**** done took the bar all the way,” Snoop Dogg said. “I cannot let Pharrell out-rap me on my motherf****** song!”

Snoop Dogg worried Dr. Dre would hate the song

While Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre have famously worked together, the former recalled that the latter was very critical of his music during this period. The “Sensual Seduction” rapper worried that Dr. Dre might not like “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” “This n**** don’t like nothing!” Snoop exclaimed. “I’m scared he gon’ come and say he don’t like it!” 

However, Dr. Dre was a huge fan of the track. In Snoop Dogg’s recollection, Dr. Dre said “N****, this s*** right here off the hook! This s*** bomb, n****! Y’all did that!”

‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ was huge and inspired a Lana Del Rey song

“Drop It Like It’s Hot” reached the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. It lasted on the chart for 30 weeks, making it Snoop Dogg’s longest-running single besides “Young, Wild & Free.” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” appeared on the album R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. That record peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and charted for 31 weeks. Putting the word “masterpiece” in the title of an album seems like an overly cocky move, but Snoop Dogg is so charismatic that he managed to pull it off.

Lana Del Rey also name-checked “Drop It Like It’s Hot” in her song “Body Electric” from her record Paradise. The track also appeared in a scene that takes place in the Garden of Eden from her ambitious short film Tropico. Del Rey has a long history of referencing other songs in her music, but she usually focuses on classic rock hits. The fact that she gave a shout-out to “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” a song from the 21st century, shows how legendary the song became in a relatively short span of time.

“Drop It Like It’s Hot” is a great song and it proved that Snoop Dogg could rule the airwaves as a lead artist.