What's My Name? (Snoop Doggy Dogg song)

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, writing, "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."^[4] NME named it What's My Muthaf—in' Single of the Week, saying, "In time and tune with the '70s revival, Dre has hit a seam of incendiary funk and it just don't stop — coupled with Snoop's irresistible style they've got a Jurassic-size monster of a hit on their hands." The reviewer also praised it as "a straight-up party record, fit for any and every occasion, with more hooks than 20 rounds of Eubank v Benn. This is gonna be HUGE."^[5] Ralph Tee from the Record Mirror 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".^[6] Charles Aaron from Spin commented, "There's a big diff between asking "Who Am I?" and being prepared for conflicting answers from your audience, and asking "What's My Name?" and having yet another fucking George Clinton sample reinforce your ego."^[7]

"Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" was the first top 10 hit of Snoop Dogg on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, the first as a lead rap artist. The song reached number eight on both charts, while topping the Billboard Hot Rap Songs for three weeks. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1994.^[8]

American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer Fab Five Freddy directs a CGI-driven music video for the song.^[9] Snoop and others (Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, and Warren G) are able to transform into dogs (such as Dobermann Pinschers, Rottweilers, Pit bulls, and 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 (an homage to 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. Snoop's girlfriend in the video was played by now-clinical nurse liaison Athena Germany, who later appeared in Family Feud with rest of her family in 2021.^[10]

Snoop performed the song live on The Arsenio Hall Show on December 17, 1993, and on Soul Train on December 18, 1993. He also performed the song live at the 1994 Soul Train Music Awards on March 15, 1994.

• CD single^[11]

1. "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (clean radio mix) — 4:15
2. "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (clean club mix) — 5:03
3. "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (explicit club mix) — 8:12
4. "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (LP version) — 4:15
5. "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)" (instrumental) — 4:15

• List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 1994