SNOOP DOGG NO MORE : The eponymous rapper has been “reincarnated” as Rastafarian reggae singer Snoop Lion.
It can be difficult to take a spiritual awakening seriously when it’s presented as part of an album, film, and book promotion, but rapper Snoop Dogg said at a press conference yesterday that he has (at least temporarily) been christened “Snoop Lion” by a Rastafarian priest in Jamaica. Snoop was there working on his first reggae album, “Reincarnated” (with a documentary film crew in tow), and said “the spirit” called him to do it.
Explaining the new moniker, Snoop said he was visiting a Rastafarian temple when the high priest asked him what his name was. When he answered “Snoop Dogg,” the priest looked him in the eyes and said, “No more. …You are the light, you are the lion.”
When asked by Sway Calloway of MTV if he was converting to the Rastafarian religion, Snoop said he learned that Rastafara isn’t a religion, but “a way of life.” “I feel like I’ve always been Rastafari. I just didn’t have my third eye open, but it’s wide open right now,” said Snoop.
ReligionFacts.com says “the Rastafari movement is a ‘messianic religio-political movement’ that began in the Jamaican slums in the 1920s and 30s” and its most famous adherent was Bob Marley, whose music brought it to international prominence.
“There is significant variation within the Rastafari movement and no formal organization. Some Rastafarians see Rasta more as a way of life than a religion. But uniting the diverse movement is belief in the divinity and/or messiahship of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, the influence of Jamaican culture, resistance of oppression, and pride in African heritage. The Rastafarian lifestyle usually includes ritual use of marijuana, avoidance of alcohol, the wearing of one’s hair in dreadlocks, and vegetarianism,” the article said.
At Complex Music, Rob Kenner introduced his interview with the rapper by saying, “Snoop’s name change was not done on a whim. He was actually baptised in a sacred Rastafarian ceremony. For Rastafarians, the Lion is a symbol of the black God incarnate, His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia—also known as the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”
Kenner also said Snoop has been referring to himself as “Bob Marley reincarnated” for some time now. “At first it seemed like a generic weed reference, or perhaps a touch of rebel flair. But at yesterday’s press conference it became clear that since his recent trip to Jamaica Snoop has been taking this ‘Reincarnated’ project very seriously,” said Kenner.
Marley’s son Rohan was at the presser and said his family is cool with Snoop’s claim. “Music in general is universal. Remember Jamaica is a part of music as well, you know, so we really don’t separate ourselves. And we embrace Snoop, not only through music, but through a divine order, because you see it’s all about life and what you’re going to give. So once you’re going to profess a positive vibration and give pack to the earth, and the land, and the people, and be an instrument of good, we receive that as well,” said Marley.
In his interview with Kenner, Snoop said the Rastafarian elders had given him a new sense of direction. “When you accept the role of leader, you have to know why you’re leading and where you’re leading. And I didn’t know. I always knew I was a leader. I was a good leader, but I needed information to make sure that I was leading people to the light as opposed to the darkness,” Snoop said.
Snoop wants to make music that his kids and grandparents can enjoy, he said. Not that he’s denouncing his gangster rapper past. Rap no longer challenges him though, he told a reporter. “The music I made as Snoop Dogg was who he was. I was young, I was fly, I was pretty, I was flamboyant, you know. I was the greatest of all time. That’s what it called for me to be. But now, I’m a grown man with a family, with kids, with wisdom, with guidance, with understanding, so it’s only right to pass this on,” said Snoop.
In response to another journalist’s question about his evolution, he added, “I could never become Snoop Lion if I was never Snoop Dogg. …Snoop Dogg created Snoop Lion, but Snoop Lion is the elevation of Snoop Dogg.” He’s one of a long line of musicians who’ve claimed spiritual awakenings. Check out these ten rappers who have at Newsday.
The first single off “Reincarnated”is the upbeat “La, La, La,” which sets the tone for the record, Snoop said. Another song is “No Guns Allowed.” He described that one as “spirit inspired” and said it was a song he wouldn’t have been allowed to make as a “gangster.”
Reincarnated is an album, film, and photo book that emerged spontaneously, said Snoop’s manager Ted Chung. The trailer for the documentary, which will air at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, glides along in a haze of smoke. Given Snoop’s history with the drug and its religious significance in the Rastafarian movement, one assumes it’s marijuana smoke.
“This project, if you look at it from a business perspective, it’s this multi-platform media entity that’s going to have a very, very long life. And, what’s awesome about it is that it’s important on so many different levels, but the intentions were really pure,” said film maker Suroosh Alvi.
What do you think?
Is Snoop’s rebirth for real? And if so, is a marijuana-soaked message better for children than the one he was previously selling?
The FBI will release a revised edition of the “Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide” that gives their agents more flexibility when it comes to violating your constitutional rights. It is difficult to believe the agency’s recent action has managed to fly under the media radar, but a great deal of the nation has been overly concerned with Anthony Weiner and his inability to act like a morally reasonable adult. FBI agents will be allowed to use commercial and law enforcement databases to gather intelligence without having to file any records. They will also be given the authority to evaluate “potential informants” by sorting through trash or giving lie-detector tests. In a letter to the director of the FBI, Senator Jon Tester of Montana says “until law enforcement agents have reason to investigate any American, it is unacceptable for those agents to cast a wide, non-specific net when they are evaluating a target as a potential informant.” With Big Brother growing more and more powerful, we may soon be living (and not just reading about) George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Wikileaks is auctioning 8 tickets to have lunch with founder Julian Assange as a fundraiser. The bidding began last week and was already at $812 by Wednesday. The lunch will be held on July 2nd, at one of London’s finest restaurants. Along with Assange, guests will have the opportunity to dine with Slovenian Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zizek. Assange is currently on bail and has pled not-guitly for sexual misconduct against two women. Bidding closes today; will you win this once in a lifetime opportunity?
Derrick Kayongo, an Uganda native, was not content with simply fleeing the tyrannical rule of a dictator. Instead he has made it his business to lower child-mortality rates in poor countries. Kayongo and The Global Soap Project (GSP) recycle soap from hotels and create new pathogen-free soap to distribute to struggling villages and families. GSP does not chargerecipients and relies mostly on volunteer assistance. By providing recycledsoap to thousands, Kayongo and The Global Soap project has freed people from having to decide between eating or washing their hands of potential life threatening bacteria. With a more socially conscious generation entering into adulthood, we are bound to see more world citizens like Derrick Kayongo. Tweet
Kreayshawn, no that’s not a typo, was recently signed to Columbia Records, and has been supported by artist, Snoop Dogg. Based on her single, “Gucci, Gucci,” she is not bound to attract a conservative audience, but there is something worth discussing concerning this artist. Kreayshawn was born Natassia Zolot. She dropped out of high-school, made a career directing music videos, and then decided to be a rapper. Her single dismisses label brands like “Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Prada,” because she is above labels. Her claim to fame is supposed to be her originality, but aside from her being a white girl from San Francisco, I’m struggling to find the uniqueness. Once again, a gimic wins over the sheep. How will we effectively market real messages in this sea of confusion called the media? Watch Interview below (WARNING: Explicit language) Tweet
Leanne Archer is 15 years old and has a successful hair care business that had revenues of over $100,000 last year. Robert Nay is 14 years old and, with no coding experience, went to a library and learned how to create an iPhone app game. A month later, he created Bubble Ball, which has been downloaded more than 7 million times. Lizzie Marie is 11 and the star of the cable series “Healthy Cooking with Lizzie.” These are just a few of the successful young moguls. They all had one thing in common: their parents’ blessing! Encourage your kids now to do what they want to do “when they grow up.”
For the past five years, insurance premiums have remained stable, but due to rising costs of energy and building materials (gasoline is up 37%, copper is up 20%, and plywood is up 8%) insurance premiums are rising. Consequently, premiums at State Farm Insurance Co. increased its rates 7.3% on average last year. Experts anticipate more increases for homeowners as a backlash for the recent uprising of natural disasters around the world; some say the increase could be as much as 20%. How will your family brace for the increase?
IBM recently announced that it will offer a packaged software platform for cities with applications such as real-time video feeds and street sensors for police, and aims to eventually offer advancements for urban populations. The first three “solutions” will roll out over the next two years and will provide innovative technology for public safety, water management, and transportation monitoring. The future is upon us!
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Oprah has declared, “I have a dream of O.J. Simpson confessing to me…And I am going to make that happen people.” Winfrey hopes to bring this exclusive on her new interview show, Oprah’s Next Chapter, which is set to launch in January. Although she has referred to her new goal as not “that lofty,” I doubt Simpson would confess unless he was on his deathbed. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing Winfrey start her “next chapter,” and I hope that inspires other 50-somethings to keep dreaming beyond mid-life.
9 MOVIES WINNE MANDELA CALLS BIOPIC PLAYED BY JENNIFER HUDSON AN INSULT
Jennifer Hudson will play Winnie Mandela in biopic ‘Winnie,’ due later this year. Although the film has been set up as a tribute to Mrs. Mandela, she does not support the film and expressed her disdain in an interview with CNN because she was not consulted. Mandela has never seen the script; she has never even met Hudson. They have positioned the film as a love story between Nelson and Winnie Mandela during the apartheid struggle. Mandela has exclaimed, “I don’t know what would be romantic in our bitter struggle.” Mandela argues that the filmmakers have done exactly what the enemy did, “they thought for (me)…they (know) what I thought, what I felt like….” Powerful words.
Watch the interview below. Do you think the film is an act of disrespect?
Tracy Morgan had no choice but to go into damage control after saying anti-gay statements in a recent standup in Nashville, TN. Morgan will go with GLAAD to protest the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which outlaws the discussion of homosexuality before the ninth grade in public schools. Morgan recanted his offensive statements saying, “I was bullied when I was a kid. I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it. I never want to use my comedy to hurt anyone. My family knew what it was like to feel different. My brother was disabled and I lost my father to AIDS in 1987.” Morgan also plans to do a PSA. It seems like every other week a new celebrity has to go into PR rehab after saying an offensive anti-gay statement. Is this an unnecessary parade, or does this issue need to be publicly addressed?
