It debuts at the Toronto Film Festival next month. Snoop Lion has a new single, “La la la,” and a documentary “Reincarnated,” which follows his recent trip to Jamaica and chronicles his conversion experience. “From that moment on,” Snoop said, “it’s like I had started to understand why I was there.” “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. “I want to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion,” he said at a Monday press conference. Snoop Dogg wants to be called Snoop Lion and instead of rapping on his latest album now he’ll be singing reggae. (CNN) – Rapper Snoop Dogg announced Monday that he’s burying his name and old career, all because of a religious experience with Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion with origins in Jamaica. Rastafari movement began in Jamaica in 1930 Snoop Dog is a Rasta now, so what’s Rastafari? His interests were shaped particularly by his experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in the West Indies, from 1986 to 1988. His current work uses the idea and methods of practical theology to examine American civil religion. He was the Chair of the American Academy of Religion seminar on Rastafari in Global Context. He is especially interested in New World Christianities, Christian-Syncretic religious movements, and how religious groups in general form. His dissertation used sociological and anthropological methods to compare how Pentecostal, Roman Catholic and Rastafarian groups formed recently in Dominica, a small island in the West Indies. in Religion and the Human Sciences from the University of Chicago. in political from Hobart College and received his M.A. ‘So you can emancipate yourself from that and recognize the divine within you, your real value.'” ‘The line, ’emancipate yourself from mental slavery,’ – if someone can convince you that you are inferior, then they have really oppressed you,’ Salter said. It continues, “Salter points to Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song,’ as a key to understanding that point. The article notes: “A key belief for Rastas is the notion of death to all white and black oppressors the religion embodies a theological push for equality on all levels.” Sometimes that return is a return in body, actually going back to Ethiopia, and sometimes it’s more of a spiritual return.”
Salter is quoted explaining the nature of Rastafari: “It’s an Afrocentric faith that… focuses on the return to Africa of its members. The article explores the musician’s decision and the key points of the Rastafarian movement. It’s also due out in April.An article on CNN following Rapper Snoop Dogg’s announcement that he is changing his stage name to Snoop Lion following an experience with Rastafari quoted Associate Professor of Religious Studies Richard Salter ’86. According to The Guardian, the game will feature kung-fu and “Blaxploitation-inspired fights” in what’s being described as a “beat-matching combat experience” (watch a preview on YouTube).Įcho Peak and 505 Games, both of the U.K., are developing the game for Xbox, Playstation, iOS and Android. STORY: Jay-Z, Birdman, Kanye West Top Complex’s 25 Most Powerful People in Rap ListĮlsewhere in the Snoop world comes news of a forthcoming video game called “Way of the Dogg,” which will star an animated version of the rapper. In a clip from the film (watch below), Snoop reflects on his trip to the Nyabinghi temple where he learned about the importance of dreadlocks and herbs in order to get “whipped-and-dipped” with the origins of its culture. The documentary gives viewers unprecedented access as the rapper visits Jamaica and meets with Rastafarian elders while also reflecting on his turbulent youth in Long Beach and rapid rise to international icon. Reincarnated the film will hit select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago and Austin on March 15. PHOTOS: Snoop Dogg: His Life and Career in Pictures