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Rapper Snoop Dogg is now Rastafarian Snoop Lion

Matt Pitchford Contributor
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A few years ago veteran West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg wrote a song asking, “Who Am I, What’s my Name?” The answer was obvious until Monday.

His new name is “Snoop Lion,” and he says he is “Bob Marley reincarnated.”

The New York Times reports that Snoop underwent a “spiritual and artistic rebirth while making a new album in Jamaica last February.” There, he was rechristened by Rastifarian priests.

“I feel I have always been a Rastafari,” Snoop told reporters. “I just didn’t have my third eye open, but its wide open right now.”

His new album, “Reincarnated,” abandons rap entirely and consists of reggae tunes that are, according to Entertainment Weekly, ones “he could perform for kids and grandparents.” Vice Media also went with him to Jamaica, and a full-length documentary chronicling the making of the album and Snoop’s exploration of Rastafarian culture will be at the Toronto International Film Festival.

But he hasn’t sworn off rap for good. “I could never become Snoop Lion if I wasn’t Snoop Dogg,” he said.

His first single off the album, “La la la,” has already been released.

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Matt Pitchford