Big Snoop Raging Lion!

Snoop Dogg becomes Snoop Lion for his newest album release.

Soon Snoop Dogg will be admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame legends in the coming years. In the meantime, the 40-year old rapper is planning on revamping his gangsta image. He's going Rastafarian.

Calvin Broadus, aka Snoop Dogg has remodeled himself as Snoop Lion, a reggae star. The legendary rapper is now looking forward to release a reggae album under this new moniker.

The rapper has been in the news lately for his charity work as well as his criminal history. He was recently busted in Texas for having an ounce of the good. And also banned from Norway for the next two years.

These controversies hasn't stopped the legend from making the news.

The rapper has advocated for legalizing marijuana consumption.

The rapper has taken rounds with country music, rock music and jazz. Reggae is the newest venue.

Snoop Dogg emerged on the scene after appearing on Dr. Dre's debut album The Chronic, a masterpiece of gangsta funk and raw hip-hop. In 1994, Snoop Dogg released Doggystyle, his first album under the hardcore rap label Death Row. Snoop Dogg is a former Crip gang member.

Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Lady of Rage, and later Tupac Shakur made Death Row Records and its founder Suge Knight very successful.

Alas, Dr. Dre leaving the production table and label, the death of Tupac Shakur, internal conflict within the label and its ties to the infamous Bloods street gang has ruined Death Row. Suge Knight lost his label in 2010.

Snoop Dogg worked with No Limit Records founder and actor Percy Miller (known then as Master P).

Snoop Dogg left the label and established his own label called Doggystyle Records.

Snoop Dogg collaborated with rappers Warren G and the late Nate Dogg to form the group 2-1-3.

Snoop Dogg reunited with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube to reform N.W.A. and Westside Connection with rapper WC and Mack 10.

Snoop Dogg also aligned himself with hip-hop producers The Neptunes to release two albums under their Star Trak label.

Snoop Dogg has collaborated many artists. Some notable ones include: Katy Perry, 50 Cent, Eminem, Wiz Khalifa, Nelly, Ludacris, Jay-Z, The Game, Lil' Wayne, Xzibit, Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Bow Wow, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, R. Kelly, and Willie Nelson.


According to Fox News, the artist said at a news conference Monday in New York that he was "born again" during a visit to Jamaica in February and is ready to make music that his "kids and grandparents can listen to."

The former gangster rapper is releasing a reggae album called "Reincarnated" in the fall. He said that in Jamaica, he connected with Bob Marley's spirit and is now "Bob Marley reincarnated."

Bob Marley's son Rohan attended the conference and gave Snoop his blessing.

"I feel like I've always been Rastafarian," Snoop said of the spiritual Jamaican movement. While there, he said, he visited a temple, was renamed Snoop Lion and was also given the Ethiopian name Berhane, meaning "light of the world."

Snoop didn't explain why he was switching from "Dogg" to "Lion," but it's likely a reference to the Lion of Judah, a religious symbol popular in Rastafarian and Ethiopian culture.

Later, he played five songs for a small crowd, including one called "No Guns Allowed." It features his daughter and includes the lyrics, "No guns allowed in here tonight, we're going to have a free for all, no fights."

"It's so tragic that people are doing stupid things with guns," he said.

Snoop, best known for hits like "Gin and Juice" and "Drop It Like It's Hot," is an avid supporter of marijuana rights and has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount last month.

He said that in Jamaica, where he stayed for 35 days, he grew closer to his wife, who saw his transition. He added that he's excited to perform music that his family and children can listen to.

"As a 40-year-old man ... I've got to give them something," he said. "That's what you do when you're wise."

Snoop Dogg said he's not completely retiring from hip-hop but is "tired" of the genre because it is no longer challenging.

"Reggae was calling ... it's a breath of fresh air," he said. "Rap isn't challenging; it's not appealing."

The album was produced by Diplo and will feature Snoop singing. It will be released on Vice Records.

The album will be followed with a documentary of the same name, also produced by Vice. It features Snoop making music and will include some personal elements of his life, a producer of the film said. It will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

A coffee table book about Snoop's rebirth is also in the works.

"It feels like I'm 19 or 20 years old again," he said.

Snoop Dogg (known also as Snoop Lion) appears on Doggystyle Records/Priority Records.