Movies

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Snoop Dogg's turn to Snoop Lion documented at 'Reincarnated' premiere

By: Michael Brick, The Associated Press

Posted: 03/14/2013 6:41 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/14/2013 8:03 PM

AUSTIN, Texas - In hip-hop terms, using three names in four decades qualifies as a sign of remarkable consistency.

So expectations were high when Snoop Lion, the rapper born Calvin Broadus who rose to fame in the gangsta rap 1990s as Snoop Doggy Dogg, emerged Thursday for the premiere of his new movie, album and identity.

For "Reincarnated," the documentary that made its domestic debut at the South by Southwest Film Festival, filmmakers followed Snoop to Jamaica, where he marinated in Rastafari culture. He emerged with the new name, plus a reggae album and a political agenda.

Some of his views marked more of a departure than others. In the song "No Guns Allowed," for example, he renounces gunplay.

"Anti-bad things," said the film's director, Andy Capper, "whereas before he celebrated the bad things."

Dressed in gold-rimmed shades and a red track suit with orange stripes, Snoop did not strut the red carpet so much as hang out on it.

He offered a loose handshake and spoke in barely audible tones. He was smiling, kind of.

Asked about his enduring touchstone issue, the legalization of marijuana, Snoop turned relatively animated.

"Wake up," he said. "It's the 21st century. Some of these laws and rules we have are 18th century and 19th century and 20th century. People need to understand that some of these laws and rules need to be tweaked to the people of today."

Capper suggested any tweaking should be kept on the mild side.

"I don't know if you'd want to legalize the kind of marijuana he smokes," he said. "Because if you did, people would be walking around going crazy."

Before strolling off to watch the film, Snoop distanced himself from all the political talk.

"I'm not a politician," he said. "I just like dealing with the reality of it."

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Movies

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.