Snoop Dogg is Now Snoop Lion, Reggae Star

The Dogg days are over: rap legend Snoop Dogg is changing his name.

Don't worry, he's not doing anything drastic like turning his name into a symbol and making us call him The Artist Formerly Known As Snoop. Rather, he's simply making an animal upgrade. His new moniker: Snoop Lion.

"Rap is not a challenge to me," the West Coast MC said at a press event. "With no disrespect to other rappers, but they can't f*ck with me in rap."

So, Snoop, still a Dogg, went on a spiritual journey in Jamaica, where he met with Rastafarian priests. "I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion," he explained. "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.'"

Well, who are we to argue?

Unlike Bow-Wow or Diddy, who changed names but continued the same musical style, Snoop will be pursuing a different musical path from here on in: reggae. Snoop claims that he always felt he was "Bob Marley reincarnated," and wants to pursue reggae instead of rap so that his kids, his grandmother, and people around the world who don't accept rap can enjoy his music. "This reggae music is music of love—happiness and sadness," he said.

Sound off about Snoop's name change in the comments, and check out his first single as reggae artist Snoop Lion below: