Top Dog (birth name Dashawn Jamal Yates) is an American rapper, member of the Hip Hop supergroup Boot Camp Clik, and the trio O.G.C.. Top Dog (also known as Big Kahuna and D.O.) debuted on Smif-N-Wessun's Dah Shinin' in 1995, appearing on the single "Sound Bwoy Bureill" and the track "Cession at da Doghillee". Top Dog became a member of The Fab 5 in 1995, releasing the hit single "Blah" b/w "Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka". He and O.G.C. dropped their debut album Da Storm in October 1996, featuring the rap hit "No Fear". He recorded an album with the Boot Camp Clik in 1997, For the People, and followed up with another O.G.C. album, The M-Pire Shrikez Back, in 1999. He returned with the Camp in 2002, releasing the album The Chosen Few, and released another album with the Boot Camp, The Last Stand, on July 18, 2006. Top Dog is the younger brother of Smif-n-Wessun rapper and fellow Boot Camp member, Steele.
The expression top dog is an idiom for the boss or the leader. In a competition, it is also the favorite or the one expected to win, and the opposite of the underdog. It may be a shorthand reference for a dominance hierarchy.
The name Top Dog may refer to:
Top Dog is a 1995 comedy action film directed by Aaron Norris and starring Chuck Norris. Written by Aaron Norris and Tim Grayem, it was Norris' last film to release theatrically before he shifted to direct-to-video films for several years.
In the film, Norris' character, Jake Wilder, is partnered with Reno, a police dog, whose handler was killed. Jake and Reno investigate a plot by domestic terrorists to attack a conference on unity. Jake and Reno survive assassination attempts and several hand-to-hand fights with the terrorists and eventually discover enough clues to foil the attack. The film is set in San Diego and was largely filmed there.
The film received mainly negative reviews, and its box office was negatively impacted by the timing of its release, only 9 days after the Oklahoma City bombing.
The film opens as two white nationalists destroy an apartment complex in which most of the residents are minorities. Veteran police officer, Sgt. Lou Swanson, and his police dog, Reno, investigate the crime and realize the explosives are military in style. Their investigation takes them to the harbor, where they find a ship loaded with weapons. They are discovered and shot. Lou dies, but Reno survives.
Top Dog is a character from the comic book of the same name, published by Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel Comics). Top Dog was created by Lennie Herman (writer) and Warren Kremer (artist).
Top Dog is a very intelligent, talking dog who befriends a human child named Joey Jordan. Top Dog goes on to live with Joey, who promises not to expose the fact that Top Dog can speak. The duo go on to have adventures involving spies, criminals and mad scientists, after it is revealed that Top Dog was formerly "Mr. X", a government agent who was valued for his intelligence, but had to disguise his canine nature with a cover ID and a full-body cloak. Amongst these adventures were several crossovers with other Star Comic characters such as Heathcliff and Royal Roy. One story even seemingly involved a Spider-Man team-up. Although it was actually an actor in a Spider-Man suit, the real Peter Parker does make an appearance. The series ran for fourteen issues after which, the character continued to make appearances in Heathcliff comic books (starting in issue #22) in both crossovers and backup stories.