Edmonds said that some Rasta theology bears the influence of Hinduism, in which reincarnation is a core belief. Speaking of Marley, Snoop Lion also said that he considers himself a reincarnation of the late musician. Bob Marley, the reggae star and most famous Rasta, sang often of the "lion of Zion," referring to Selassie. The lion was the symbol of Solomon's Tribe of Judah (Christians see Jesus as the lion of Judah). According to the biblical Book of 1 Kings, the two rulers met briefly and seemed to hit it off. Rastafarianism holds that the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie was not only the messiah, he also descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
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Unlike dogs, lions hold a place of pride in Rasta theology, explained Edmonds, author of a forthcoming history of the religious movement. The new documentary, "Reincarnated," captures the rapper's conversion in Jamaica last February. The priest, a member of the most traditional branch of Rastafarianism, Nyabingi, rechristened the rapper Snoop Lion. Little surprise, then, that a Rasta priest in Jamaica shook his head and said "no more" when the man born as Calvin Broadus introduced himself as Snoop Dogg. It expresses how the corrupt world - Babylon, in Rasta theology - had distorted the rapper's true spiritual nature. "Rastas would probably see calling yourself a dog as an indication of lack of self-knowledge," Edmonds said. But the faith was born in Jamaica, where calling someone a dog is deeply insulting, Edmonds said.
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The religious movement doesn't require converts to change their names.
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So, did the onetime gangsta rapper have to drop the "d-o-double-g" when he became a Rasta? Yes, and no, said Ennis Edmonds, a scholar at Kenyon College and an expert on Rastafarianism. "I want to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion," he said at a press conference. Announcing his conversion to Rastafarianism on Monday (July 30), the rapper unveiled a new answer to that lyrical question. (RNS) Snoop Dogg scored a huge hit with the hip-hop anthem "What's My Name?" back in 1993.