S. Samuel
West Coast rap veteran Snoop "Dogg" Lion recently explained longtime friend/producer Dr. Dre's reaction to his decision to undergo a rap alias change and dedicate himself to reggae.
According to Snoop, the Doc was initially thrown off by his gradual transformation.
“He would see me come to rehearsals with all of my Rastafari, my gear, my hair, my look. He was just peeping me out, and I let him know I was doing a reggae project and working on the album and whatnot, but he didn’t really understand it until ‘La La La’ came out,” Snoop told MTV News. “La La La,” the first single from Reincarnated, which Snoop released July 20, marked a new chapter in his musical career, though he has always infused reggae lingo in tracks like the 1992 Dr. Dre track “The Day the N—az Took Over” and his 1993 album cut “Pump Pump.” (MTV)
Reports of Snoop’s name change sprouted online this week.
Is Snoop Dogg changing his name? It seems the rapper is changing things up, transforming into Snoop Lion (though his legal name remains Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.). The West Coast artist held a news conference in New York on Monday, where he talked about his February trip to Jamaica as the inspiration for his change of moniker. The Lion worked on his new album, “Reincarnated,” while visiting the island. What do you think of Snoop Lion’s new name? (Boston)
Snoop also claimed the spirit of late music icon Bob Marley entered his soul.
The former gangster rapper is releasing a reggae album called “Reincarnated” in the fall. He said that in Jamaica, he connected with Bob Marley’s spirit and is now “Bob Marley reincarnated.” Bob Marley’s son Rohan attended the conference and gave Snoop his blessing. “I feel like I’ve always been Rastafarian,” Snoop said of the spiritual Jamaican movement. While there, he said, he visited a temple, was renamed Snoop Lion and was also given the Ethiopian name Berhane, meaning “light of the world.”Snoop didn’t explain why he was switching from “Dogg” to “Lion,” but it’s likely a reference to the Lion of Judah, a religious symbol popular in Rastafarian and Ethiopian culture. (Fox News)
Back in 2010, rap veteran Nas experimented with reggae by hooking up with singer Damian Marley for their Distant Relatives album.
“Reggae and hip-hop are cousins,” he said in an interview. “Go back before the ’90s and think about the music that was playing on the ghetto blasters and you’ll hear it…The whole world is like family, split up all over the place. It’s overdue, and I want to help build whatever we can [in Africa]. I’ve worked with a lot of reggae artists, like Sizzla and Supercat, but not until [2005’s] Jamrock did I get a chance to work with Damian. I love his music and I’m a big fan of Bob Marley and the whole family. We haven’t worked out any tour dates yet. But I’m sure Damian and I will do something soon.” (Miami Herald)
Check out Snoop Dogg’s ‘Reincarnated’ Trailer below:
