(AllHipHop News) Snoop Dogg is going through some major changes in his music and personal life and the metamorphosis manifests itself in a new reggae album, Reincarnated.
Snoop spoke to a small group of journalists at Miss Lily’s, a popular Caribbean restaurant in New York and explained his new-found attitude.
“When I make records I like to come from the heart and records that means something, that’s gonna really change the world. And on this particular project, I had no planning on going to Jamaica, making a reggae record. The spirit called me. And, you know, anytime the spirit calls you, you gotta know that its serious.”
Snoop continued saying that the spirit he felt in Jamaica moved him in such a way that he evoked the late Bob Marley. “I’ve always said that I was Bob Marley reincarnated.” Incidentally, Rohan Marley was also in attendance, supporting Snoop’s new incarnation.
After speaking with his business manager, he decided to reach out to super producer Diplo and artist Major Lazer to begin crafting the album.
He said he had to establish some rules to the people that were working with him on the project.
“I basically let them know what I want. Its not that I want to become Snoop Dogg in a reggae track…I want to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion.” The Long Beach representative said that after a spiritual meeting with a high priest his old name was discarded and replaced with “Lion.”
The rapper said that he’s “tired” of rap music and that he had seen the highest levels of achievement in the genre that make him famous.
“Rap is not a challenge to me. I had enough of that. It’s not appealing to me no more. I don’t have no challenges,” he insisted. “I’m ‘Uncle Snoop’ in rap. When you get to be an uncle, you need to find a new profession so you can start over and be fresh again. I want to be a kid again.”
Snoop said that his Hip-Hop life has also made it difficult for him to offer live shows that weren’t inundated with profanity, sex and violence.
“I’ve always wanted to perform for kids, my grand mother and people around the world that love me, can’t accept the music that I make. This reggae music is the music of love, happiness and struggle.”
Snoop made it clear that he wasn’t fully retiring from Hip-Hop, but that he felt a need to express his personal growth through the music.
“Now as a 40-year-old man, the artists call me Uncle Snoop, I gotta give ’em something. I can’t keep taking them to a dead end street and dropping them off. I gotta teach ’em how to fish, teach ’em how to grow…”
Reincarnated was also produced with a DVD movie that documented the creation of Snoop Lion. Watch the official trailer below, and take a listen to his new track, “La La La”: