It's not...that I want to become Snoop Dogg...
on a reggae track.
I want to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion.
Everybody this is Wilbert L Cooper for Noisey, [WILBER L COOPER NOISEY]
Standing outside of Snoop Lion's press conference [WILBER L COOPER NOISEY]
for his new multimedia project, Reincarnated.
Which involves a new album, a new documentary
and a new book. [REINCARNATED THE PHOTO BOOK]
We're in the Nyahbhingi center, where
the high priest, when I walked in...
he asked me what was my name.
And I said Snoop Dogg.
And he looked in my eyes and he said "No more".
"You are Berhane. You are the light"
You are the light.
From that moment on, it was like I had started to understand why I was there.
And we hadn't even recorded one song.
Reincarnated is a three umm... [TED CHUNG MANAGER]
step process. It's basically, the album,
a film and an amazing photo book.
that was shot by renowned, Los Angeles photographer, Willie T.
-When Ted reached out to me, I'd worked with Snoop before.
I'm a huge fan, like everybody in this room.
Um, but I was playing him some of the demos from our new project. [DIPLO PRODUCER]
But you played "Get Free" earlier, kind of like culture reggae records.
That was, I was, that was the direction we were going into.
Like real reggae music, and uh, I think when we had the team down there.
Which is Angela, Jai Dan, Moon and uh, my team Ario and Driscoll.
The chemistry was amazing.
-Diplo gave me a call, like about maybe last year. [ANGELA HUNTER WRITER]
And was like, Im getting ready to do this project,
I'm really excited about it.
-He wanted, to sing and find a new voice.
and uh, uh, you know, make good music.
And I was about that. The music that we wrote all together was
is some of the best I've been a part of,
and I think that the message that Snoop wants to be bring
is about positivity in records that are universal.
and it's not about politics or this direction,
or that direction, it's about good music.
And, it's a dream come true for a producer to make a record like that.
[THE UNEXPECTED JOURNEY OF A MODERN ICON]
When I first met with Ted, I actually thought
what could possibly come from a meeting with Snoop's manager? [SUROOSH ALVI VICE]
He was very persistent. He said, "We're gonna go down to Jamaica"
"This is going to be something different for Snoop."
I didn't know what we were signing up for.
I thought maybe we'll film twenty minutes,
and it will be like, some extra, online viral assets,
that will go alongside the album whenever it comes out.
I realized after three or four days, we're making
a feature length documentary here. This is amazing.
-So what did you think about the announcement
-Uh, I thought it was very good. Very interesting.
-If what is playing in the background of the trailer
is what sounds like the record, then it's going to be really good.
-What you smoking on man?
-Oh man, that's that California love.
-If you wanna get buzzed...
-I heard you used to be smoking some crazy shit man.
People say they smoke with you, just like don't even know whats going on.
-We double day do it if they try and get in the fam.
See what you did, you're out here smoking, you don't even like that.
You smoked it once, you gave it back. A lot of motherfuckers are like,
-Yeah you gotta, you just, ha ha
-I'm smoking with Snoop Dogg.
-What strand of weed would you smoke to "La La La"?
Like, what is the perfect strand to smoke when you listen to "La La La"?
-It's only right that you're on access [BON VOYAGE AIRPLANE BOYS]
Cause you don't wanna be too wavy, you know what I mean, [BON VOYAGE AIRPLANE BOYS]
You wanna be just right man. Just right with some Sess.
-Your first record Doggy Style and you worked with Dre on The Chronic
really exposed new audiences to hip hop.
Do you think that this record is going to have that same kind of power and really
you know, help more people hear reggae that have never heard it before?
-Most definitely. That's what I think it's going to do the most.
I think more people, are going to become aware of reggae music
who never knew what it was, or bothered to
open it up to even you know, give it a chance.
Now people are going to give it a chance.
Accept it. Love it. And appreciate it.
And it's gonna grow and it's gonna spread around the world.You know.
Even bigger and better than its always, that it's already done.
And that's what it was made for. To continue to grow.
I'm just a seed that was planted,
that's gonna try and help it grow some more.
-So when...are we gonna see the perm again?
We ever gonna to see your french braids?
-I think the perm has been retired! -Ok.
-Rasta men don't wear no perms.
-One of the songs, from just hearing a little bit of the record
that really touched me, is the song about no guns.
I know everybody's been talking about it,
but I was wondering, in light of the Dark Knight situation
and stuff like that, like after you wrote that song and recorded it,
and you heard about that incident, like how did it make you feel
Like, what's going through your mind with that recent tragedy right now?
In context of that powerful, powerful song.
-Well it's like, sometimes when you write, you write what you feel
And it's a projection of life that's going to happen,
over even that has happened.
And it's to the point now, to where I feel like, well we
if we do put this out, this will reflect on that moment
and make more people aware and hopefully stop
the next two or three from happening.
And maybe prevent it from happening. And make people feel like
it's not cool to have guns and put more ramifications on
you know, people buying guns. Give them more of a background check
to find out what they going to do with the guns.
And what not, just to get them off.
-No I dig that. That's really powerful stuff.
I think that's what everybody needs to hear right now.
I wanted to ask you one final question, well a couple of questions.
Basically you changed your name from Snoop Dogg to Snoop Lion,
if there was another animal, 'cause you kinda went you know
from like a dog to a feline, is there another animal
that you could switch off to like, what would it be?
If there's like a third phase, of the animal, of the Snoop animals.
-Um, it would have to be something underwater boogie,
'cause you know, I can dance under water without getting wet,
What's the most, what's the most vicious animal in the water?
-Shark? Is a shark? I, I'm scared of sharks.
-Well then, if it scares you, that's what I want to be.
-I dig it man. Well yo, thank you so much for sitting and talking with me
-What up yo, it's your boy Snoop D O double G
A.K.A. Snoop Lion and you're rocking with Noisey, jah.
Rasta lion.