Almost the entire time Snoop is on screen in the new documentary Reincarnated, he's grinning ear-to-ear. And it's not just the weed. The man is truly happy.
After years of turmoil and transformation – from Calvin Broadus to the D-O-Double-G, from gangster to pimp – the rapper we all know as Snoop Dogg has now officially been reborn as Snoop Lion, and turned from rapper to reggae singer with a new record (also titled Reincarnated) coming on April 23 and based in Jamaican roots and dancehall music.
The documentary, which opens in select U.S. theaters today, follows Snoop to Jamaica where he sets up in a swank ocean-front studio to record the album, working with a production team headed by Thomas "Diplo" Pentz, to craft beats, write lyrics and sing praises to Jah. The music is great, full of life and positive vibrations, and while those looking for a G-thang may be disappointed, reggae fans will likely approve.
"So far, everybody's feeling it," he says. "It's different, but they're feeling it. The music is dope, the singing is in pocket, the concept is right. How could you deny what I'm doing? It's the truth."
Most of the film takes place outside the studio, following Snoop as he cruises around Jamaica to soak up the vibes and hang with the locals. He heads to Tuff Gong studios, where Bob Marley once worked his magic; he drives up into the hills to visit the high priest of reggae, Bunny Wailer, who instantly renames Snoop by dubbing him "The Lion" (to rastas, "dog" has negative connotations, while "lion" is a noble title).
Snoop also visits Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston, one of the poorest and most downtrodden slums in the Caribbean. While there, he hooks up with a group of local musicians, Cutty Corn and the President's Soldiers, and visits their tiny basement studio. Despite the destitute surroundings and the cramped quarters, it's all smiles and spliffs; Snoop says it was one of his favorite experiences of in Jamaica.
"It just reminded me of what it used to be like for me," he says. "Me and my homies, we didn't have no record deal. Whoever's studio was the makeshift studio, we'd be in there just collaborating and coming up with songs and inspiring each other. Amongst us, we were stars. That's what it felt like [with] Cutty Corn and all his homies, knowing inside that they were stars even if they never made it."
In the last act of the film, Snoop attends a traditional Nyabinghi celebration, where he is blessed by the Rastafarian elders and given the name "Berhane," which Snoop says translates to "The Trinity of the Light."
"It means to shine," he says. "To take my light and make it more physical and shine it [on] all things necessary. Instead of bringing so much darkness, put light on it. It means that when I'm met with aggression, to meet it with peace. Because peace is light."
It's some seriously deep spiritual talk coming from a guy who used to run drugs, carry guns, and pimp out women. His past has made him rich and comfortable, but he says it's also put him in too many dangerous situations. Now 40 years old, Snoop is ready to cool out.
During an intimate moment in Reincarnated, Snoop gazes at the floor as recounts the deaths of Tupac Shakur (the rapper was shot dead in 1996) and Nate Dogg (who succumbed to multiple strokes in 2011), and also recounts about his own numerous run-ins with the law for possession of drugs and guns. He's seen too much of that world, he says, and wants to create a more positive message with his music after years of songs that focused on the negative.
"You know, I was invited to the White House to play for Obama," he says in the film after discussing some of the less positive aspects of his back catalog. "But what the fuck am I gonna perform?"
Reincarnated was directed by filmmaker and Vice editor Andy Capper, but also executive produced by Snoop and his wife Shante Broadus, so it's no surprise that the film paints an especially positive portrait of Snoop. I asked Capper if he was at all concerned that people would view the movie as nothing but a puff piece.
"That was one hundred percent at the forefront of my mind," Capper says. "It needs to be legit. Because if he's going to go out there and say he's full-on rasta and that he's Bob Marley reincarnated, people are going to say, 'Well, that's a bit fucking rich.'"
But all the talk of spirituality and rebirth in the film comes across as sincere and truthful. There seems to be no question that Snoop is working through some serious issues in Reincarnated, or that he has truly hit a turning point in his life. So either this is some astonishingly masterful propaganda, or it really is a joyous portrait of a man seeking – and finding – spiritual redemption.
One of the most telling scenes happens when the camera turns on his daughter, Cori B, who sings on the track "No Guns Allowed."
"He used to come home angry all the time," Cori says. "Now he's just happy."
I ask Snoop the question directly: At this point in your life, are you really happy?
His answer is calm and quiet, his voice just above a murmur. "Yeah, man. I'm real happy."
Reincarnated (Vice Films and Snoopadelic Films) comes out March 15 in select U.S. theaters (Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta). For listings, visit SnoopLion.com. The film will hit DVD, iTunes and Amazon in April 2013. The album comes out April 23rd.
