In 1994, Calvin Broadus, also known as Snoop Dogg, was the hottest rapper on the planet. Following his anchoring of superproducer Dr. Dre’s first solo album, “The Chronic,” his own debut album, “Doggystyle,” had been one of 1993s biggest smashes, producing two Top 10 singles and shattering sales records for a solo debut. His performance at the 1994 VMAs should have been a celebration — but instead, it turned into something more.
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Immediately following the previous year’s VMAs, Snoop — after serving as a presenter — had been arrested on a murder charge stemming from a fatal run-in with neighborhood gangsters; Snoop had been driving the vehicle from which a member of his entourage, McKinley “Malik” Lee, had fired the shot that killed Phillip “Little Smooth” Woldermariam. (Both Snoop and Lee claimed the shooting was in self-defense.) At the 1994 ceremony, Snoop, who was awaiting trial, was wheeled onstage in a wheelchair amid a full funeral scene with a casket, gospel choir, and “mourners,” as he performed his song “Murder Was the Case,” a timely choice if ever there was one. Midway through the second verse, he got to his feet, sending the crowd into a frenzy — but even that wasn’t the most compelling part of the performance. At the very end of the tune, as the beat dropped out from under him, Snoop declared, “Murder was the case that they gave me, I’m innocent — I’m innocent.” The audience went completely bonkers, and as it turned out, his jury agreed, acquitting him of the charge in February 1996.
