Snoop Dogg has gone reggae.
By now you've certainly heard that Snoop D-O-double-G is no more. The Long Beach rapper wants to "bury Snoop Dog and become Snoop Lion," reggae artist and born-again Rastafarian.
"I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated," Snoop recently told reporters. "I feel I have always been a Rastafari. I just didn't have my third eye open, but it's wide open right now."
While the apparent rebranding may seem like a marketing scheme to help promote Snoop's forthcoming reggae album, Reincarnated, and its supplemental documentary by the same name, Hallandale music store Reggae Land Muzik's Jah V thinks it's long overdue.
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"A lot of these major artists either do a reggae album or reggae songs," Jah V tells New Times. "[Reggae] is the heartbeat of the people."
According to the cheerful shop operator, Snoop's flow has always had a "nice reggae, dancehall vibe." After all, he says, "Hip-hop came from reggae and dancehall, 100 percent." And the Dogfather, ahem, Pride Master is simply "coming back to [his] roots."
As for the name change, however, Jah V's not sure it'll do much.
"[Snoop] don't need to change his name to gain credibility," he quips. "He's already huge."
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