10 Artists Who Got Away With Totally Breaking The Law

5. Snoop Dogg

Snoop Doggy Do...Lion? Um, Calvin Broadus Jr. is perhaps one of the most recognisable figures in modern pop culture, either through his successful career as a rapper, as one of the biggest advocate for marijuana legalisation or as the guy who played Huggy Bear Brown in Ben Stiller's adaption of Starsky and Hutch. From early on in his career, Snoop played up his image as a gangster with his songs and lyrics often coming under criticisms for glorifying violent and misogynistic behaviour. It was also well known that he was a former Crips member, but what may be less known is that his gang affiliation could have cost him a life sentence. In 1993, while working on his debut album Doggystyle, Snoop and his associate McKinley Lee drove down to the Palm neighbourhood, deep in Los Angeles gang territory and shot and killed Phillip Woldermarian, a rival gang member. Snoop Dogg was reportedly the driver whilst Lee was the one who actually shot Woldermarian. However, they were both charged with murder. They both pleaded not guilty to all charges, claiming the shooting was in self-defence, despite the fact that the location of the wounds on Woldermarian indicated that he was likely shot unknowingly. Nevertheless, Snoop Dogg ended up getting acquitted of all charges. It is perhaps interesting to note that Johnny Cochran, the man who infamously defended O.J Simpson, was also the defence attorney for the two.