snoop's journey from dogg to lion

When news first filtered through that West Coast gangsta rapper legend Snoop Dogg was going to make a reggae album in Jamaica and change his name to Snoop Lion, a lot of people at first thought it was an internet rumour started as a joke. Then when this wasn't the case, cynical folks just thought this was obviously some kind of publicity stunt aimed at keeping the hip hop star's persona out there. However, they were all wrong as Snoop was being deadly serious. Tired of the rap game at the moment (and who can blame him?!), he was seeking out new ventures and new avenues, which brought him to the spirtual and cultural world of Jamaica. Arriving on the island with the intention of recording a straight up reggae album with no hints of gangsta whatsoever, Snoop found himself under the influence of his surroundings in a very deep way. He took to the many flavours of Jamaica, including the Rastafarian movement (I'm sure the herb smoking didn't put him off at all) and decided to make a documentary film showing his transformation from Snoop Dogg to Snoop Lion.

The name of this film is 'Reincarnated' and it was officially entered into the Toronto Film Festival 2012. I've yet to see it but the early word has been it makes very interesting viewing. Being true to his word Snoop really does let go of his gangsta rap image and embraces the cool runnings style of the Caribbean, putting together a reggae album. What will his peeps back in Long Beach, California make of this? They will get a chance to find out as it's just been announced that 'Reincarnated' will be shown in 6 US cities (Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Franscisco, Atlanta and Chicago) in March 2013. It shouldn't be too long before the Lion reaches the UK with this offering. G'wan Snoop!!!!