Snoop Dogg No More- How About Snoop Lion

Talk about rebirth, nearly 20 years after releasing his debut single, "What's My Name?," Snoop Dogg -- born Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. – shall now be referred to as Snoop Lion, so say the rapper during a press conference in NYC on July 30. The legendary hip-hop star has taken on the new identity after undergoing a spiritual and artistic rebirth in Jamaica. "I didn't want to be Snoop Dogg on a reggae track. I wanted to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion, but I didn't know that until I went to the temple and received the name Snoop Lion from the Nyabinghi priest," he explained. "From that moment on, I started to understand why I was there and was able to create something magical in this [Reincarnated] project, something I haven't done before in my career."
Married to high school sweetheart Shante Taylor since 1997, Snoop has three children: Cori, Corde and Cordell. The rapper, famous for profane, over-the-top tracks about sex, drugs and partying, believes his new music will give him "a chance to perform for kids and grandkids."
According to him, the image makeover was a necessary step in fulfilling his musical destiny. "I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated," the rapper said. "I feel I have always been a Rastafari. I just didn't have my third eye open, but it's wide open right now." Marley's son, Rohan, 40, gave Snoop his blessing at the press conference, which was held at the popular Caribbean restaurant - Miss Lily's in New York City.
"There comes a point where you say I done it all, or there isn't much more to do," Snoop said. "This was like a rebirth for me." The 13-time Grammy Award nominee added that "rap is not a challenge" anymore. "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."
“This awakening was necessary,” he told a press assemblage at Miss Lily’s jerk joint in New York’s West Village on Tuesday. “I don’t even know why, I don’t know how. I thought I was going to make another gangsta record. I thought I was going to do another pimp album. I thought I was going to do what I do. But this called me and put all of that to rest.”
The album, Reincarnated, featuring the lead single, “La La La,” was produced by Major Lazer, the team known for their work with Beyonce, Usher, M.I.A. and Santigold.

“Snoop wanted real reggae music,” Major Lazer’s Diplo explained. “He wanted to sing and find a new voice. It’s a dream for a producer to work on an entire record. I always work on a song here or a song there, but working on an entire record is very rare to do that with an artist nowadays. There’s no label here. It’s Snoop putting together the project and Ted. That’s 100% creative control. That doesn’t exist anymore.”

Snoop isn't the only celebrity to change his professional name: rapper Sean Combs has gone by Puff Daddy, Diddy and P. Diddy, Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace and "1 Thing" singer Ameriie added an extra "i" to her name.