The artiste formerly known as Snoop Dog is Snoop Lion now. This is after a musical pilgrimage to Jamaica where he had an artistic makeover. He says he visited the Caribbean reggae Mecca so as to search for a “new path to new beginnings”.
The man born as Calvin Broadus, has had numerous personalities in his long and highly colorful career. It seems he is now entering a new phase after being the “Dogg Father” for close to a decade now. Starting as a rapper under Dr. Dre in 1992 with the hit album “Doggystyle”, he somehow ended up with the name Snoop Doggy Dogg. This was later abbreviated to Snoop Dogg, perhaps to rhyme with his late cousin’s name – Nate Dogg.
This new change in names is claimed to have been arrived upon with a high priest in Kingston, Jamaica. Snoop says that the priest proclaimed that he is no longer a dog, but a lion. He says he now feels like Bob Marley reincarnate. He says that Snoop Lion is now more introspective when it comes to his music. He even grew “Rastafarian” dreads and a shaggy beard, perhaps to symbolize a lion!
A documentary film produced by Vice films in conjunction with Snoopadelic Films will be released this September to show how the Dog became a Lion. There is a reggae album set to hit the stores with “La La La”, the debut single by Snoop Lion already out. The album will be titled – unsurprisingly- “Reincarnated”.
Snoop Lion is not the first celebrity to change his name. Other famous people to rebrand themselves include Mark Sinclair Vincent who is now known as Vin Diesel. More recently, Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace as a show of remorse for being banned after brawling with a fan. But perhaps the most transformative personality is Prince. He has also been referred to as “The Love Symbol” and “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”.
With Snoop Lion’s emergence, we await to see whether the Dogg House, as his residence is called, will now be called the Lion’s Den.
