Lost Dogg Found

Snoop Dogg is as upbeat as someone who has just heard his song on the radio for the first time, as he sits with some buddies in his trailer on the set of his movie, “The Game of Life.”

It’s late afternoon and the lanky Long Beach native is rapping word for word as his new album blasts through the trailer’s stereo system.

Snoop, whose first two albums generated an estimated $90 million in sales and made him one of the most valuable properties on the infamous Death Row Records label, still has security guards, but they are playing dominoes next to his trailer, which is parked behind a warehouse in a downtown industrial district.

The casual atmosphere is quite a contrast from just a year ago, when tensions around Snoop and his record label were so high in the aftermath of Tupac Shakur’s slaying that he seemed like a man under siege.

At that time, paranoia gripped the rap world as theory after theory was put forth regarding the killings of Shakur and fellow rapper the Notorious B.I.G. Were they isolated incidents or part of some bigger feud? Were other rap stars targeted?

Snoop, a labelmate of Shakur, was so anxious that he traveled with a bulletproof van on last year’s Lollapalooza concert tour. He also had the Nation of Islam’s security guards by his side throughout the tour.

In an interview during the tour’s Washington, D.C., area stop, Snoop--who then still called himself Snoop Doggy Dogg--was edgy in manner and restrained with his words, as if the wrong comment might trigger some sort of retaliation.

“I went through a lot of tragedies, a lot of growing up . . . a lot of development,” Snoop, 26, says now in his typically soft-spoken manner. “I lost a lot of friendship, a lot of companionship. I went through a lot since the last album. This album, I went into it with a clear head, free mind . . . ready to do just good music.

“Nothing really concerns me right now [other than] staying true to what I do and thanking God for every moment I breathe and walk this Earth. You’ve got to enjoy life, man. Going through things like [I have], it betters the person. You’ve got to go through some downs to come up. It helped strengthen me up mentally, physically and musically.”

Those ups and downs have been dramatic indeed.

As the featured rapper on “The Chronic,” Dr. Dre’s landmark 1992 album, Snoop became the hottest rapper in the country even before his own album was released. The combination of Snoop’s relaxed “gangster” rhyme flow and producer Dre’s danceable, funk-inspired beats not only captivated hard-core hip-hop fans, but also helped integrate rap with popular culture across the country.

By the time his debut collection, “Doggystyle,” hit record stores in 1993, there was enough of an audience waiting to make it an instant hit. The album eventually sold 5.1 million copies.

But while the record was flying off store racks, Snoop (born Calvin Broadus) was standing trial for murder in connection with the 1993 death of a man who was shot in a Culver City park by Snoop’s bodyguard, who was a passenger in his Jeep.

The rapper was cleared in 1996 when a jury acquitted him and the bodyguard of murder and Snoop of conspiracy after the fact. The jury deadlocked on voluntary manslaughter charges.

However, Snoop and Death Row Records began to have problems.

Before “Tha Doggfather,” Snoop’s second solo album, was released in November 1996, Dr. Dre had left Death Row Records and Shakur had been killed. Furthermore, Death Row no longer commanded the respect it once had with rap consumers. Although “Tha Doggfather” sold more than 2 million copies, the album, produced primarily by DJ Pooh, lacked the energy and attitude of Snoop’s Dre-produced debut.

Many in the rap world began to wonder whether Snoop had a future without Dre. When Death Row co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1997 for violation of probation terms imposed for a 1992 assault, Snoop began looking for ways out of his Death Row contract.

The rapper says he found interest at other rap labels and it’s likely he seemed an intriguing prospect. If someone could put Snoop back in the studio with the right producer, the combination of his talent and his reputation within rap would give him a good chance to regain his top-tier status.

Snoop arranged his release from Death Row and signed with No Limit, the company that has emerged in recent months as rap’s hottest label. The excitement began to build in the rap world for Snoop’s new album, which is titled “Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told” and is due in stores Tuesday. (See accompanying review.)

“I ain’t got no problem with Death Row,” says Snoop, who wouldn’t elaborate on their parting. “No beefs, no grudges--nothing. When I was mad at ‘em, I was mad at ‘em. As a grown man, you live and you learn. We put that behind us. I’m just tryin’ to do business now. We came to a business agreement--that’s how I was able to get with No Limit. Other than that, I would have been in court. [Death Row] was business enough to let me go and I appreciate them for that. I’m just trying to move forward.”

He considered signing with rapper Mack 10’s newly formed Hoo-Bangin’ Records, but opted for what he says was a more promising deal with No Limit, which is owned by rap impresario and artist Percy Miller (a.k.a. Master P). (Coincidentally, No Limit is distributed by the same label, Priority, that now distributes Death Row.)

The album was produced by Beats by the Pound, the camp that oversees all the No Limit product. Master P promised to release Snoop’s record quickly, and agreed to release a direct-to-video Snoop movie.

“[Master P] wanted to keep me out there and keep me promoted to the fullest and give me the right music and put me in the right surroundings and make the public appreciate me for who I am,” Snoop says. “Sure enough, it’s happening.”

As he’s done with the other artists on his roster, Miller has featured Snoop Dogg on a number of high-profile releases preceding his album. He’s appeared on albums from Mystikal, Silkk the Shocker, C-Murder and Miller’s own Master P releases. Each of those albums has sold at least 700,000 copies.

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Now retailers are expecting brisk sales of Snoop’s third album.

“It’s greatly anticipated,” says Angie Tirone, general manager of the Tower Records store in Westwood. “There’s a big buzz on the street for the album.”

Predictably, the tone of the album leans toward the signature sound of the No Limit releases. “Still a G Thing,” a track from the album, has already been released as a single by No Limit and a video of the song is due to follow this month.

The move from Death Row to No Limit wasn’t the only major change in Snoop’s life.

In June of 1997, he married the mother of his two children, ages 4 and 1.

Displaying his wedding ring, Snoop, who lives in the west San Fernando Valley, says, “It helped me get real with myself. When I was out there rippin’ and runnin’, I wasn’t real with myself. Coming home to my wife and kids is what’s real.

“People love for me to be real and to be an example, to be a father to my kids and a husband to my wife and to just be a helluva inspiration to this music game and make good music. That’s what’s most important.”

Snoop’s movie, in typical, straight-to-video rap fashion, is being churned out in less than two weeks, apparently to capitalize on the interest in the album. The project seems like a lark to Snoop, who plays a casino operator with links to the mob.

His musical future, he believes, has been resurrected now that he’s with No Limit.

“I developed into a full-grown man in front of the public and musically I developed,” he says, moments before stepping out of the trailer and taking his place in front of the cameras. “I am happy. I’m able to work in an environment where everybody is just strictly [about] music.”