TIFF PRESS CONFERENCE: Snoop Dogg/Lion is surprisingly sincere at the Reincarnated presser
“I was double-dutchin’, jumping in and out,” said Snoop Lion, née Snoop Dogg (ok, actually née Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., but who’s counting?). He was referring to the life he lived before he discovered reggae and the Rastafari movement, living half like a child and half like a man. Snoop’s transition is charted in Andy Capper’s doc Reincarnated, which made its world premiere at TIFF yesterday. Capper joined Snoop at TIFF’s press conference for the film, alongside producers Ted Chung and Suroosh Alvi (co-founder of Vice) and moderator George Stroumboulopoulos.
“I’m not what reggae music is,” Snoop clarified. “I’m an extension of where’s it going to go….It reached me in California, and I’m bringing it back around the world.” Snoop spoke pretty convincingly about his decision to go to Jamaica to make a record and his desire to document it. He also addressed the connection between The Wailers and Snoop’s old Long Beach hip-hop crew 213, and how he’s, um, the reincarnation of Bob Marley. (Marley died in 1981, 10 years after Snoop, or at least Broadus, was born—but far be it from us to fact-check a spiritual rebirth.) Decked out in a rastacap and beaded necklace, a few threads of grey streaking through his goatee, Snoop seemed sincere, even sentimental. Then again, considering this is the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg, we could probably dredge up another explanation for those puffy eyes. (Yes, we’re talking about weed.)
John Semley’s writing has appeared in the Guardian, Rolling Stone, Esquire and elsewhere. He is a regular contributor to Wired, the New Republic and the Toronto Star.
