Tragic Details About Snoop Dogg's Four Children

This article discusses mental health and suicide.

Snoop Dogg may be one of the best-known rappers of all time, but that's not the title he values most. Snoop views his kids as his most important legacy. "My relationship with my kids is more important than anything," he told Today in 2015. The rap legend, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., wants his three sons, Corde, Cordell, and Julian Broadus, and his daughter, Cori Broadus, to know that he will always be there for them, no matter what. "It's a friendship relationship," he said.

Despite his best efforts, the "Drop It Like It's Hot" singer wasn't able to protect his brood from tragedies and circumstances beyond his control. Snoop's daughter lives with a serious medical condition, which he couldn't prevent. Even though Snoop and his wife, Shante Broadus, did what they could to keep Cori from feeling singled out because of her lupus diagnosis in childhood, they still couldn't control how the lifelong illness would affect her mental health.

Snoop also could do nothing to keep Corde from experiencing the devastating pain of losing his baby son after he was born with a health condition. On the other hand, he could arguably have done more to make Julian, who was born to a different mother, feel more included in his nuclear family. He could also perhaps have communicated to Cordell that he didn't have to pursue sports to earn his love. He did his best, but being a music icon didn't protect his four children from traumatic life experiences. 

In 20006, Cori Broadus, then just 6, was diagnosed with lupus, an inflammatory autoimmune disease that can affect different organs and cause an array of symptoms. In her case, one of the consequences was hair loss. "I would put a scarf on her," Shante Broadus told W magazine 2021. "And so she wouldn't feel like she was the only one wearing scarves, we all wore scarves with her to make her feel less alone." Cori's condition served as inspiration for Snoop Dogg and Shante's headwear like, The Broadus Collection.

There is no cure for lupus, but Cori got her symptoms under control by undergoing a series of lifestyle changes. That included taking a holistic approach and taking a step back from heavy medications. "I'm just doing everything natural, all types of herbs, sea moss, teas," she told People in 2023. "I started working out, drinking lots of water." In just a few months, she noticed a difference. "I've been good, better than I've ever been," she said.

But Cori experienced another health blow in January 2024, when she suffered a stroke. She was hospitalized for days as she suffered from kidney issues. She was released when her CT scans showed no abnormal results. "I'm going home today I can [probably] cry omgggg," she wrote in an Instagram Story (via Los Angeles Times). Cori didn't say what caused the stroke, but lupus patients are eight times more susceptible, according to WebMD. 

When she learned about her stroke, Cori Broadus had a hard time believing she had to face yet another health battle. "I'm only 24 what did I do in my past to deserve all of this?" she wrote in an Instagram Story (via Today). Broadus' lifelong struggles with lupus and its consequences have taken a toll. And it started early. "My childhood literally got taken away from me in a snap of a finger," she said in an Instagram video.

It wasn't just the painful symptoms that negatively affected her life. The treatments with steroids caused her to gain weight, leading to self-image issues. She also suspects that all the long-term medication she took altered how her body functioned. "I've always been sad, I've always been depressed because I just felt like I have been through a lot," she said in a 2021 Instagram video.

As a kid, Broadus also struggled to understand why her brothers got to live normal, pain-free lives when she didn't. "I'm not saying I wish they had it, but why me?" she wondered. A day before the video, Broadus had revealed in a post that she had attempted suicide. "The last few weeks my mental has not been so great at one point I tried to end my life but you & my family really give me a purpose to live," she captioned a carousel of herself enjoying an outdoor date with fiancé Wayne Duece.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Corde Broadus welcomed his third child, a son named Kai, on September 15, 2019. But the baby, his second with his wife Soraya Love, died 10 days later. "My Son Kai brought so much love and positivity into this world," Corde penned in an Instagram post (via People). "His energy will live on and these 10 days of love will always be special to us. Let's all cherish life and those we love while we are here." He paired the message with a video of his and Soraya's then-1-year-old daughter, Elleven, kissing her baby brother goodbye.

Corde shared another tribute to Kai two days later in which he shared that Kai died in his arms. "My son did all he needed to do in his 10 days here on earth ... He has now graduated and continuing to do work," he wrote in the since-deleted post (via CBS News). The couple continues to honor their son, who was born with a congenital heart disease, through a foundation they founded in his name. "I started Kai Heart Foundation after Kai passed to HONOR the wisdom he gifted me on overall HEART health," Love wrote on Instagram.

Corde and Soraya raise funds for different children-related causes. Soraya also hopes to teach her children the importance of giving back to the community. "God blessed us so we can bless those in return," she wrote in a post. In February 2021, Corde and Soraya welcomed another son, Sky. 

Snoop Dogg welcomed Julian Broadus with Laurie Holmond in June 1998, exactly a year after he tied the knot with Shante Broadus. That makes Julian a year younger than Snoop and Shante's second son, Cordell, and a year older than their daughter, Cori. But being a son from a different relationship, and one that happened within Snoop's marriage at that, Julian wasn't raised close with his half-siblings or his father.

That's not what Julian would have wanted for himself. When Snoop and his family starred on E!'s "Snoop Dogg's Father Hood" in 2007, he felt excluded. "I'd like to be on the show so I can learn more about my family," he told Star magazine (via HNHH). "It would be great if we could just hang out with each other. I think we can get there one day." Even if he didn't have the relationship he wanted with Snoop and his kids growing up, Julian became closer to the family as time went on.

In early 2018, Julian celebrated his father's influence in his life. "Paved the way so i can do anything i wanted," he captioned an Instagram photo of Snoop holding him as a baby. In 2021, he also posted pictures with Snoop, Corde, and one of his nephews to Instagram. In the second picture, he is featured holding the baby in his lap next to his father, showing he even has a relationship with the newest Broadus generation.

Cordell Broadus showed a talent for football in high school, a sport he continued to play in college. In 2015, he joined the UCLA Bruins as one of the country's best receivers. Snoop Dogg, a USC fan, was excited his son was pursuing football. He didn't even care that he was going to represent his team's rival. "I'm going to back him up 1,000 percent. I'm throwing all my USC drawers away," he told ESPN (via New York Post). "I'm going UCLA 1,000 percent."

Later, Broadus saw that his father's excitement had too big of a role in his decision. "I played football for my father because I thought that was the only way he would love me & be a part of my life," he explained in a 2015 Instagram post. With time and maturity, he came to see that wasn't true. Just six months after signing with UCLA, Broadus quit the team to pursue a career in fashion and filmmaking. That the prospects proved harder than anticipated.

"I thought it would be easy to come up with ideas and execute your vision, but it's been the complete opposite," he told WWD in 2020. "Four long years went by." He went back to football, but his heart wasn't in it. He quit again in 2016 and didn't look back. "It took me 12 years to realize [Dad] loves Cordell Broadus the person not Cordell Broadus the football player," he wrote.