Snoop Dogg changes his name like he changes clothes — and he almost has enough to use a different one for every day of the week. Back in July, the famed 41-year-old West Coast rapper, whose birth name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., declared that he was the reincarnation of Bob Marley and therefore wanted to change his name to Snoop Lion. “I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion,” he said at the time. But when Hollywood.com spoke with Snoop Lion/Snoop Dogg/Snoop Doggy Dog/DJ Snoopadelic recently, he told us he’ll always be Dogg.
“I’m still Snoop Dogg,” he tells Hollywood.com. “It’s not like Clark Kent isn’t Superman. It’s not like Bruce Wayne isn’t Batman.” In fact, Snoop says that when his new documentary, Reincarnated (which chronicles his Jamaican revelation and evolution from Snoop Dogg to Lion), comes out in February, everyone will “better understand” the reason he became Lion. “It’s kind of hard to try to explain to people without them seeing the movie,” he says.
Snoop explains to us that each of his names correlates with a specific job or persona. For example, in September he released a compilation of electronic music called Loose Joints under the pseudonym DJ Snoopadelic. “That’s always been my name as a DJ,” he explains. “I’ve been DJ-ing for about 11-12 years now, [and] that’s what I go by when I’m DJ-ing.” His name also changes for other situations. “If I’m coaching football, I’m not Snoop Dogg — I’m Coach Snoop,” he says. “If I’m doing reggae music, I’m Snoop Lion. If I’m doing rap music, I’m Snoop Dogg. It’s certain hats that I wear that fit the scenario better.”
But for a man with so many talents, Snoop names a less glamorous activity as the most fulfilling: coaching football. “I get a chance to teach young men how to be responsible, how to communicate, how to organize, how to work with other people, how to be defensive and offensive,” he says. “I teach them how to be able to live and be men in society. I get more of a thrill out of that. To see a kid I was coaching from age six or seven years, and seven-eight years later he’s in high school and he calls me and says, ‘Coach Snoop. I just want to thank you for what you did. I’m on my way to college.’ That, to me, means more than rapping, singing, videos, TV.” He adds, “I love to be able to give back, to know I contributed to giving him some stability.”
Snoop also likes to kick back and have fun. That’s what his DJ-ing gigs are all about. “When I put out compilations where I mix and DJ, that’s just me having fun doing something I always wanted to do,” he says. “I love being a DJ.”
Speaking of having fun, make sure you check out Snoop’s most recent work with Hot Pockets in the video, “Pocket Like It’s Hot.” Watch it below.
Follow Lindsey on Twitter @LDiMat.
[Photo Credit: Jeff Daly/WENN]
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