Snoop Dogg to Release Reggae Album as Snoop Lion

SNOOP DOGG BECOMES SNOOP LION
ON NEW REGGAE ALBUM

Rapper Snoop Dogg has announced he will release his latest album Reincarnated under the name Snoop Lion. Recorded in Jamaica earlier this year, Reincarnated is a reggae album with production by Diplo.

"Rap is not a challenge to me," Snoop explained to reporters in New York yesterday. "I had enough of that. It's not appealing to me no more. I don't have no challenges. 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 says he experienced a spiritual revelation while visiting a Nyabinghi temple in Jamaica earlier this year. "I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion. I didn't know that until I went to the temple, where the High Priest asked me what my name was, and I said, 'Snoop Dogg.' And he looked me in my eyes and said, 'No more. You are the light; you are the lion.' From that moment on, it's like I had started to understand why I was there."

The album features very little rapping. Instead, Snoop sings on tracks like "No Guns Allowed", a song with a strong anti-gun message. The album's first single, "La La La", is available now on iTunes. Click here to get it.

Below, listen to "La La La" via youtube, watch the press conference where Snoop explains his reincarnation as Snoop Lion, and check out the trailer for the official documentary accompanying the release of Reincarnated.