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What's My Name?
July 31, 2012 6:13 AM Subscribe

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., aka Snoop Dogg, is furthermore to be referred to as Snoop Lion, after having a spiritual awakening in Jamaica. His next album will be reggae, as rap is no longer challenging to him.
posted by swift (170 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite

That must have been one hell of a rutabega.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:15 AM on July 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

Too late. I already upgraded to Snoop Mountain Lion last week.
posted by phong3d at 6:16 AM on July 31, 2012 [129 favorites]

L I O double N Y L I O N doesn't have the same catchy ring to it.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:19 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm still waiting for him to do a follow-up to Hood of Horror.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:22 AM on July 31, 2012

The Lionn Pound just doesn't have the same cache, in my opinion.

Also, I'm mostly amused at spiritual awakenings that are announced by one's publicist.
posted by Mooski at 6:23 AM on July 31, 2012 [12 favorites]

Heh, he's at almost the exact same age as Dylan was when Dylan did his born-again thing. I'm looking forward to the releases.
posted by griphus at 6:24 AM on July 31, 2012 [9 favorites]

i think "Lion Dog" would have been the better choice.
posted by HuronBob at 6:24 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

I'm not really terribly familiar with the works of Mr. Dogg, but from what I have seen of him, I can see this as being a good fit for him. I'd be interested to see what he produces, hopefully something in the old skool Lee Perry/Fatman vein.
posted by carter at 6:24 AM on July 31, 2012

I'm looking forward to the release of Snoop Mountain Lion next year.
posted by GameDesignerBen at 6:25 AM on July 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

Snoop is the best actor ever!
posted by cjorgensen at 6:25 AM on July 31, 2012

Also, one of Snoop Dogg's last recordings seems to be this Tekken Tag Tournament 2 commercial. Also, he appears in the game. What a way to say goodbye.
posted by griphus at 6:26 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Snoop has always been a master self-promoter. This move is hilarious but also brilliant.

No, I don't believe that people have fucking self-revelations on spiritual retreats that lead them to make reggae music...
posted by gagglezoomer at 6:27 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'd love to see what would happen if he drifted more into soca music.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:29 AM on July 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm mostly amused at spiritual awakenings that are announced by one's publicist.

It's called business, which is why I am a bit surprised to see Mr. Broadus messing with the successful "Snoop Dogg" brand. I don't think he has his mind on his money.

Sure, no man wants to be singing Lodi Dodi at 50, I get that, but brand loyalty is a hard-earned currency that a smart businessman doesn't just toss away because of a "spiritual awakening".
posted by three blind mice at 6:29 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

s/furthermore/henceforth/

?
posted by DU at 6:29 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

one of Snoop Dogg's last recordings seems to be this Tekken Tag Tournament 2 commercial

If washed-up pop singers can go country, washed-up rappers can go reggae.
posted by Egg Shen at 6:30 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Obsytl: Snoop Dogg biking in Amsterdam.
posted by MartinWisse at 6:31 AM on July 31, 2012

It's called business, which is why I am a bit surprised to see Mr. Broadus messing with the successful "Snoop Dogg" brand. I don't think he has his mind on his money.

Actually, by changing his artistic name for this new musical style choice, he's actually doing the opposite of messing with his old brand. He's creating a separate identity for his reggae music, allowing Snoop Dogg to be solely rap, and now Snoop Lion will be reggae.

As far as people having spiritual awakenings go, everyone has their own path and experiences. I, for one, will take what he says about this at face value, because I'd want others to take things I might say in a similar vein the same way, were I to find myself in a position of wanting to say such things.
posted by hippybear at 6:33 AM on July 31, 2012 [32 favorites]

No, I don't believe that people have fucking self-revelations on spiritual retreats that lead them to make reggae music...

If I smoked as much as he does, I'd have fucking self-revelations and renamings, too.
posted by Forktine at 6:33 AM on July 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

I look forward to the following genre experiments from Mr. Broadus, as rap and reggae become no longer challenging to him:

Snoop Cakewalk: Ragtime
Snoop, Lake, Palmer, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe: Prog Rock
Snoop Urungus: Costumed Heavy Metal Sci-Fi Parody
Well Tempered Dogg: Classical in the Baroque style
Blind Lemon Dogg: Blues
Blind Melon Dogg: Alternative rock
My Snoopy Valentine: Shoegazer
Vanilla Snoop: White Hip Hop
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:35 AM on July 31, 2012 [94 favorites]

I just announced this news to my coworkers. Everyone's pretty distraught.

.
posted by phunniemee at 6:36 AM on July 31, 2012 [13 favorites]

I'll have some of what he's smoking.
posted by Splunge at 6:36 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Aw man. I love Snoop, but I haaaaate reggae. My whole worldview is being challenged.
posted by padraigin at 6:38 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

You know, I no longer find rap challenging either. With no disrespect to other rappers, but they can't fuck with me in rap. I've won every accolade you can get in rap, they call me 'Uncle Bartfast' in rap. When you're an uncle, it's time to find something new. I want to feel like a kid again.

I have always said I was Vince Neil reincarnated. I feel I have always been in a hair metal band. I just didn’t have the right conditioner, but right now I'm conditionin' the fuck out of my hair.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:38 AM on July 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

The rapper said he then set out to make a traditional album of what he called “true Reggae music,” gritty and unpolished

...produced by Diplo.
posted by nathancaswell at 6:38 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

For verification, I recently heard from the "inside" that he denied Nardwuar the Human Serviette an interview the last time he was traveling through Vancouver ...
posted by philip-random at 6:41 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

As a cat person, I can't help but be pleased by the notion that a spiritual awakening will upgrade someone from a dog to a cat.
posted by Kurichina at 6:43 AM on July 31, 2012 [31 favorites]

Huh. Reggae? That's not too much of a stretch. If he really wanted a challenge, he should've gone with Jamaica's other sound, ska. Snoop Ska would be amazing.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:43 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nyabinghi!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:44 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Some of his reggae tracks are in the first link, if you are so inclined.
posted by swift at 6:44 AM on July 31, 2012

Snoop Lion – "La La La"
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:44 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'de be more excited if R Kelly announced a new reggae direction due his earnestness, Snoop is too self aware. Would be much more impressed if he decided to try a country album.
posted by Damienmce at 6:45 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

(not Nyablingy)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:45 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Snoop, Lake, Palmer, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe

Yes, please.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:45 AM on July 31, 2012 [10 favorites]

I look forward to listening to Gin and Jah...
posted by slimepuppy at 6:48 AM on July 31, 2012 [12 favorites]

"I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated."

Careful there, kitten.
posted by clvrmnky at 6:50 AM on July 31, 2012 [11 favorites]

What do you get if you mix an agnostic dyslexic insomniac and a rap enthusiast?
Someone who lies awake in bed all night wondering if there’s still a Dogg.
posted by iamkimiam at 6:50 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

Would be much more impressed if he decided to try a country album.

Well, he did do this and this with ol' Willie...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:50 AM on July 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

"Rastafari called me." - Bob Dylan
posted by vozworth at 6:52 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

If washed-up pop singers can go country, washed-up rappers can go reggae.

IIRC, he sang a country duet with Willy Nelson.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:52 AM on July 31, 2012

From the article: Wearing a Rasta knit cap, sunglasses and a Kobe Bryant jersey, Snoop held forth about positivity, good vibrations and being “called by the spirit” to begin singing Reggae. Now that he had reached the midpoint of his life – he turned 40 last year– he said he wanted to renounce violence and write in the Reggae genre, which he called “music of love.” The new songs, he said, might give him “a chance to perform for kids and grandkids,” something he felt his work as a rapper would not let him do.

Renouncing violence is a good thing. Looking forward to his new album.
posted by zarq at 6:55 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

Bob Marley reincarnated my ass.
posted by dbiedny at 6:56 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hope I'll still be able to tell one of my favorite jokes:

"Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella?

.

.

.

Fo' drizzle!"
posted by etherist at 6:58 AM on July 31, 2012 [14 favorites]

Bob Marley reincarnated my ass.

Guess he was even more talented that we thought.
posted by Egg Shen at 6:59 AM on July 31, 2012 [17 favorites]

This is the best headline to wake up to, you guys.
posted by HostBryan at 7:03 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I feel like there's got to be a joke here involving the thread one post down, but I can't quite figure it.
posted by kmz at 7:04 AM on July 31, 2012

@etherist: What does Snoop Dogg use to get his clothes extra clean?

.

.

.

Blee-otch!
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:07 AM on July 31, 2012 [9 favorites]

Imagine, if you will, the history of the world had there been Instagram & Twitter at the time of Jesus (or any other major world religion's central figure).

Rite. Away. #snooplion #reincarnated (Taken with Instagram)
posted by chavenet at 7:10 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, Cookiebastard. You so crazy.
posted by grubi at 7:11 AM on July 31, 2012

If he really wanted a challenge, he should've gone with Jamaica's other sound, ska.

I can only hope that Americans are now immune to ska after having (barely) survived a serious bout with it in the '90s.
posted by hermitosis at 7:12 AM on July 31, 2012 [4 favorites]

Snoop Dogg was 9 years old when Bob Marley died.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:12 AM on July 31, 2012 [9 favorites]

"I'll pretend I'm Jamaican, man! Yeah!!!"

"...you have smoked yourself retarded."
posted by DecemberBoy at 7:13 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Actually, by changing his artistic name for this new musical style choice, he's actually doing the opposite of messing with his old brand. He's creating a separate identity for his reggae music, allowing Snoop Dogg to be solely rap, and now Snoop Lion will be reggae.

Good point, I didn't think about it that way hippybear. It's an ambitious gamble. Snoop Dogg is to West Coast rap what Bob Marley is to reggae. Snoop Lion sounds like he's gonna be another pothead channeling Bob Marley and where is the cool in that?

I don't get it - maybe it is a genuine change of heart - but I always thought Broadus too much of a businessman to get caught up with something so sanguinary.
posted by three blind mice at 7:15 AM on July 31, 2012

I feel like there's got to be a joke here involving the thread one post down, but I can't quite figure it.

Got a chuckle from me, but the rest of the reaches for humor in this thread are only leaving me with a frown. Please stop and maybe read one of the links ...
posted by philip-random at 7:16 AM on July 31, 2012

I'de be more excited if R Kelly announced a new reggae direction due his earnestness, Snoop is too self aware.

R. Kelly's reggae song
posted by Copronymus at 7:17 AM on July 31, 2012

Well, slap my ass and call me Jehovah
posted by thelonius at 7:22 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Doesn't someone normally have to die before being reincarnated?
posted by edd at 7:22 AM on July 31, 2012

Curse ropey connection, should have repreviewed.
posted by edd at 7:22 AM on July 31, 2012

In other news: Garth Brooks announces his new musical persona, Snoop Dogg.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:24 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

Snoop, Lake, Palmer, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe

That would be a helluva law firm name
posted by pointystick at 7:24 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

"I'de be more excited if R Kelly announced a new reggae direction due his earnestness"

He's doing a cover of "Rain on Me" last I checked.
posted by jaduncan at 7:25 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Later on, after some beetroot, he's going to attempt to cover Purple Rain.
posted by jaduncan at 7:25 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

clvrmnky: ""I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated."

Careful there, kitten."

Yeah that's like... just... not even close.
posted by symbioid at 7:25 AM on July 31, 2012

Does this mean hologram Bob Marley will play the next Coachella?
posted by orme at 7:26 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I can only hope that Americans are now immune to ska after having (barely) survived a serious bout with it in the '90s.

That is the impression that I get.

*horns*
posted by Mezentian at 7:35 AM on July 31, 2012 [29 favorites]

Now I have to spend the day listening to Propaghandi. Thanks.
posted by jeffamaphone at 7:38 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

In related news, Yasiin Bey would like you to stop calling him Mos Def.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:40 AM on July 31, 2012

I'll have some of what he's smoking.

My first thought was that the weed in Jamaica must be fucking amazing.
posted by gauche at 7:41 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

S N double O P L I and I and I and I....
posted by sourwookie at 7:42 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

That worked so well for Cat Stevens.
posted by Mezentian at 7:42 AM on July 31, 2012

That worked so well for Cat Stevens.

Hey, not everything's business. For all you know, Cat Stevens is a hella lot happier being Yusuf Islam. So it might have worked very well for him indeed.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:44 AM on July 31, 2012 [10 favorites]

He's playing at Osheaga on Saturday; look forward to seeing which incarnation presents itself. Pretty sure that, unlike Norway, he's got a Canadian hookup that will avoid any unwanted attention at the border...
posted by swillis at 7:44 AM on July 31, 2012

Does this mean hologram Bob Marley will play the next Coachella?

Possibly. But in any case, hologram Lee "Scratch" Perry will continue to advise Lee "Scratch" Perry in the production booth.
posted by gompa at 7:45 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

Stay away from AfroBeat, Snoop.
posted by symbioid at 7:47 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fela Snoopy.
posted by symbioid at 7:47 AM on July 31, 2012 [4 favorites]

In other hip-hop hologram news, HolODB is still on the lam.
posted by griphus at 7:48 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

.izzle
posted by bhayes82 at 7:49 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fela Snoopy.

Not that far-fetched.
posted by Egg Shen at 7:49 AM on July 31, 2012

Snoop Dogg is pretty much the best person ever.
posted by ph00dz at 7:49 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

-1
posted by rossmeissl at 7:51 AM on July 31, 2012

I saw some Yusuf Islam interviews when he toured last year, and I was impressed. Really impressed.
But he was still Yusuf Islam-that-was-Cat Stevens.

And he had sings that we remember.
Snoop? Er... he was in Katy Perry's song... and... a pron film.

/My lawm. Step off it.
posted by Mezentian at 7:51 AM on July 31, 2012

I can only hope that Americans are now immune to ska after having (barely) survived a serious bout with it in the '90s.

My favorite Onion headline is still "Ska Band Has 12 Members, 8 People In Audience"

Also, if Mr. Lion is serious about Rastafari, he's going to have to start smoking way more than he is currently accustomed, and his shit will need to get seriously heavy.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:52 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm a little puzzled by the negative response. Yes, okay, reggae is uncool right now, and has been for a couple decades. And Snoop isn't likely to be as good at it as he was at his prime as a rapper. (Honestly, his rap albums haven't been great for a while either.)

But what happened to the idea that artists should make what they feel personally moved to make, whether or not there's money or fame in it?

People pay a lot of lip service to that idea. And often what they really seem to mean is "Artists should stay ahead of the curve, and jump on trends just before they break." Though of course if you put it that way it sounds less inspirational and more crass.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:54 AM on July 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

I think you might be coming at Snoop's role in pop culture from maybe a different cultural frame of reference than you do Yusuf Islam, and would probably be well served to remember that not everyone interacts with the same pop culture that you do.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:54 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've been following Snoop on Instagram for a while. Dude sure loves to photograph his huuuuuuuge piles of weed.

I feel like reggae was a natural choice for him.
posted by palomar at 7:55 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

His reggae tracks sound pretty much like I thought they would: slick, overproduced dreck that sounds like 95% of the commercial reggae produced in the past 20 years, complete with clichéd lyrics sung in a fake Jamaican accent. It sounds like it was created entirely with computers, which it probably was. Sampled guitars, sampled drums, sampled organ - in other words, a typical Snoop track. Sticking a bit of a VST echo effect in the last few bars of a song does not an interesting song make. The few tracks I've listened to have sounded like what I imagine a reggae preset in Garageband could produce - maybe not one that came with the program, but ones that were created and uploaded by a user called iowa_rastaman420.

I do admit I've never really been a fan of the guy's. For the last decade - since maybe around the time he started up with that shizzle stuff - he's reminded me of a creepy uncle (or waaaay older brother) that a friend might've had when we were teenagers: the kind of guy who'd always have a sack of weak pot, could always be counted on to buy everyone's booze for the weekend (for a price), and would always try to fuck all your female friends. He might live on your friend's mom's couch/garage/basement and would always have a (very) little money yet never have a job.
posted by item at 7:59 AM on July 31, 2012 [11 favorites]

he's reminded me of a creepy uncle (or waaaay older brother) that a friend might've had when we were teenagers: the kind of guy who'd always have a sack of weak pot, could always be counted on to buy everyone's booze for the weekend (for a price), and would always try to fuck all your female friends. He might live on your friend's mom's couch/garage/basement and would always have a (very) little money yet never have a job.

This is brilliant - except that I'm sure the quality of Snoop's pot is above reproach.

In related news, Yasiin Bey would like you to stop calling him Mos Def.

Sorry, no. From now on, any performer wanting to be known by a completely different name can only choose, depending on gender, either Chris Gaines or Sasha Fierce.
posted by Egg Shen at 8:06 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am (almost) half a hundred years old, a Deadhead, and I love Snoop Doggy Lion. The man has found a way to make a good living making music and smoking weed. He has found a way to reach an eclectic audience of inner city and suburban listeners. My kids make fun of me for listening to Snoop (especially on a playlist with a slow Jerry song), but I persist.

So he is almost my age and wants to try to sing reggae? Good on him for having the motivation. I know if it were me and I smoked as much as him, I would be on my couch asking to have the bag of Doritos passed over and when my roommate said there were just crumbs left, I would say to pass it along anyway.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:08 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm sure the quality of Snoop's pot is above reproach.

Snoop's weed would be excellent, yeah, but my friend's creep uncle (or waaaaay older brother)'s? Ditchweed.
posted by item at 8:09 AM on July 31, 2012

I can only hope that Americans are now immune to ska after having (barely) survived a serious bout with it in the '90s.

Heathen.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:12 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

The man has found a way to make a good living making music

So has Justin Bieber.

The real trick is making a living making good music.
posted by Egg Shen at 8:12 AM on July 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

I mean, if the issue is just that you were a fan in the 90s and now he's making bad music, then okay, that sucks. But seriously, he was already making bad music.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:16 AM on July 31, 2012

I can only hope that Americans are now immune to ska after having (barely) survived a serious bout with it in the '90s.

I'll confess I experimented with ska a little in college. I mean, that's what college is for, right? Besides, it was the early '90s and I was pretty wasted most of the time. Ultimately, I blame my strict small-town classic rock upbringing. In that first heady rush of total freedom, you'll try anything.
posted by gompa at 8:18 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

(Er, by which I mean, he was already past his prime, not "ZOMG rap more like CRAP amirite?")
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:21 AM on July 31, 2012

I'm so pleased to find out that reggae hasn't been 'cool', for a couple of decades!
posted by littlejohnnyjewel at 8:30 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'll confess I experimented with ska a little in college. I mean, that's what college is for, right? Besides, it was the early '90s and I was pretty wasted most of the time. Ultimately, I blame my strict small-town classic rock upbringing. In that first heady rush of total freedom, you'll try anything.

In my head I was reading this as "I'll skanfess I skaxperimented with a little ska in skallege..." because I will never stop loving that time in the 90s where there was a boom of bad ska bands with "ska" in the name. Never ever. I didn't even care for third wave ska, I just loved the constant stream of flyers with like three bands with "ska" in the name, who titled their show something with "ska" in the name, playing in a little popup venue with "ska" in the name.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:33 AM on July 31, 2012 [4 favorites]

The plural of sca is scum.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 8:39 AM on July 31, 2012

I will listen to anything with low brass. Ska is awesome in that regard.

Something about the beat in reggae drives me into a mindless fury. I hate it so much just playing it in my head makes me seethe. SEETHE.
posted by winna at 8:42 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

You know that ska is a type of reggae, yes?
posted by item at 8:46 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

ska's good party music -- when it's good anyway (there's crap music in all genres, of course).

But to just listen to? I just find ska depressing. Like, here's a recording of some people partying, having a blast -- why aren't you with them? I feel the same about disco. But not funk for some reason. Funk seems to be it's own argument much of the time (again, assuming it's good). Hell, I can listening to stuff like this any time, any zone.
posted by philip-random at 8:48 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

You know that ska is a type of reggae, yes?

I assume that's your trumpet right there because you just blew my mind.
posted by gompa at 8:48 AM on July 31, 2012

... and as for reggae, once it's stripped down, dubbed out, it just becomes eternal. I suspect I've listened to more so-called dub (and it's many variants) over the years than any other musical form. Here's hoping that Snoop Lion allows for all kinds of that ...
posted by philip-random at 8:51 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

The other thing I liked about ska was that, for a brief moment, my friends who were brass playing band nerds got to be in the coolest bands in town.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:53 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I suspect I've listened to more so-called dub (and it's many variants) over the years than any other musical form.

This comment will serve as an Official Request, then, philip-random, for you to make a Comprehensive Dub FPP here at Mefi. CHALLENGE!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:56 AM on July 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

Ska freed Nelson Mandela.
posted by Egg Shen at 9:02 AM on July 31, 2012

Ska might best be called proto-Reggae
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:06 AM on July 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

I'm torn between putting ten bucks on three months or three years it'll last.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 9:08 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

This comment will serve as an Official Request, then, philip-random, for you to make a Comprehensive Dub FPP here at Mefi. CHALLENGE!

Ouch, that's way too big a challenge, like asking me to map the Milky Way. But maybe I'll see my way to taking on Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound. That's an iceberg I can begin to suck on.
posted by philip-random at 9:12 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Even Snnop Dogg did a fake patois.
posted by Nelson at 9:15 AM on July 31, 2012

> I look forward to the following genre experiments from Mr. Broadus, as rap and reggae become no longer challenging to him:

Snooping Heads: New Wave
Snoopmaus3: Dubstep
Godspeed Snoop! Black Emperor! (né Godspeed Snoop Black Emperor!): Post-rock
posted by ardgedee at 9:20 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Let's see what Lee "Scratch" Perry has to say.
posted by ardgedee at 9:21 AM on July 31, 2012 [6 favorites]

...shoulda called himself Snoop I, because that comes with a cool dance.
posted by foonly at 9:23 AM on July 31, 2012

For the longest time, I thought I hated reggae. It turns out I hated that one overproduced Bob Marley album that everyone had in college. Those marvelous Trojan comps did a lot to change my mind. So did "Heart of the Congos." Now it's a genre that I'm really enjoying exploring. Who would have guessed?
posted by .kobayashi. at 9:24 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Let's see what Lee "Scratch" Perry has to say.

---

Perry: The old fella sings a cappella and he took his umbrella and here comes the lightning flash, KNNNNNARARCARHHHH.

Interviewer: When did the lightning flash?

Perry: It flashed for the government exterminator, the high priest become low priest and then low beast, moo cow HOOOOOWARGHhhhhh.

How can we be sure that the interviewer didn't fabricate those quotes?
posted by Egg Shen at 9:29 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

What's Black and rhymes with Snoop?

Dr. Dre.
posted by JimmyJames at 9:42 AM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

How can we be sure that the interviewer didn't fabricate those quotes?

I'm skeptical of his transliteration on HOOOOOWARGHhhhhh. I suspect it was actually HOWAAAAHWARGgggggggh. The former suggests more amazement, less aggression. Of course, since Perry has mostly abandoned Standard Cosmic for Interstellar Deific Patois, it's never clear which transliteration system's dominant.
posted by gompa at 9:47 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

> How can we be sure that the interviewer didn't fabricate those quotes?

We can't, but that's how he rolls, so your average interviewer can't put words in his mouth that are half as interesting as what he can utter on his own.

(For what it's worth, when he's interviewed by music trade publications he tends to answer questions more directly; he's not as far out into space as he sometimes sounds.)
posted by ardgedee at 9:48 AM on July 31, 2012

This comment will serve as an Official Request, then, philip-random, for you to make a Comprehensive Dub FPP here at Mefi. CHALLENGE!

I would also like to see such an FPP. In the meantime could someone recommend some contemporary exemplars of today's Dub/Reggae sound for the uninitiated?
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 10:02 AM on July 31, 2012

Damn all you musicians changing your names. I'm tempted to just invent my own idiosyncratic names for them and use those around people as if they know who I'm talking about. From now on, to me Snoop Dogg is, has been and always will be Joyce Meadows.
posted by JHarris at 12:51 PM on July 31 [1 favorite −] Favorite added![!]

Start answering more "What [rap|reggae] artists will I like" askmes - that could be amusing...
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:12 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

How did the Sizzla diss get missed?

"All you do is go around and record the sacred services in the holy temple of His Majesty and try to sell it. Nothing is right bwoy nothing is cool who di ... Snoop Dogg a try fool, tell him sey a Emperor Haile Selassie I rule, him cyah even get Selassie I stool," he sang.
posted by iamck at 10:16 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

This should be great, because musicians always get much better after having a "spiritual awakening" or "finding god". Why, I can't think of a single exception to that rule.
posted by Decani at 10:18 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

What the hell, here's to trying something new.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 10:22 AM on July 31, 2012

I will never stop loving that time in the 90s where there was a boom of bad ska bands with "ska" in the name.

Not all of them were bad
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:30 AM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just find ska depressing. Like, here's a recording of some people partying, having a blast -- why aren't you with them?

... and as for reggae, once it's stripped down, dubbed out, it just becomes eternal.

These two observations have just made my morning.
posted by jokeefe at 10:36 AM on July 31, 2012

musicians always get much better after having a "spiritual awakening" or "finding god"

John Coltrane's A Love Supreme wasn't bad.
posted by Egg Shen at 10:40 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I both love and hate ska at the same time. Often it makes my stomach hurt. But I never like reggae.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:44 AM on July 31, 2012

In the meantime could someone recommend some contemporary exemplars of today's Dub/Reggae sound for the uninitiated?

Not contemporary, but this is a rather comprehensive list of of On-U Sound's compilations. deep + mintiful ...
posted by philip-random at 10:55 AM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I do admit I've never really been a fan of the guy's. For the last decade - since maybe around the time he started up with that shizzle stuff - he's reminded me of a creepy uncle (or waaaay older brother) that a friend might've had when we were teenagers: the kind of guy who'd always have a sack of weak pot, could always be counted on to buy everyone's booze for the weekend (for a price), and would always try to fuck all your female friends. He might live on your friend's mom's couch/garage/basement and would always have a (very) little money yet never have a job.

Whaaa -- ? Except in this case, we're talking about a multimillionaire who helped forever shape the direction of American musical culture, has delighted audiences all around the world and is known for smoking weapons grade weed on a daily basis. So yeah, he's just like one of these guys you describe in every way but all of them. The paragraph above has gotta be one of the weirdest cases of celebrity projection I've ever seen. Dude owns multiple houses but strikes you as someone sleeping on their mother's couch? I'm not even sure what that means.

I'm excited to see what Snoop does with this new artistic direction - I'm glad that, if he no longer felt compelled by rap, he has found a way to keep making music that excites and inspires him. I admire Snoop quite a bit - he's been making music for a long time and yeah, not all of his experiments have been a success but the point is that he has continued to try things, continued to take his art to new places. That's far, far more admirable than playing it safe and being a human jukebox.

Though I do still kinda wish we woulda got to see the Snoop Dogg / Willie Nelson tour I've often dreamed of.
posted by EatTheWeak at 11:20 AM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

John Coltrane's A Love Supreme wasn't bad.
posted by Egg Shen at 6:40 PM on July 31

I think it was, but then I detest jazz.
posted by Decani at 11:26 AM on July 31, 2012

I'll add Pour Down Like Silver to the list of "amazing post-spiritual awakening discs".
posted by mykescipark at 11:30 AM on July 31, 2012

Rap: Snoop Diddy
posted by symbioid at 11:31 AM on July 31, 2012

I would buy a Snoop reggae album.
posted by Mister_A at 11:32 AM on July 31, 2012

Though I do still kinda wish we woulda got to see the Snoop Dogg / Willie Nelson tour I've often dreamed of.

I'll just wait for them in the tour bus.
posted by Egg Shen at 11:33 AM on July 31, 2012

Mooski: The Lionn Pound just doesn't have the same cache, in my opinion.

One hopes he'll change it to "The Lion Pride."
posted by ob1quixote at 11:39 AM on July 31, 2012

Does Bow Wow now have to retcon his name to Roar?
posted by Egg Shen at 11:42 AM on July 31, 2012

I think it was, but then I detest jazz.

I'm worried that some day you'll comment about something that you like, because it'll probably be a sign of the end times.
posted by flaterik at 11:47 AM on July 31, 2012 [5 favorites]

You know that ska is a type of reggae, yes?

Only if you consider R&B a type of rock. Ska existed before reggae. The word "reggae" was popularized by a ska song called "Do the Reggay" (sp?).
posted by Bookhouse at 12:39 PM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

In related news, Yasiin Bey would like you to stop calling him Mos Def.

I will call Yasiin Bey whatever he wants as long as he releases an album ASAP.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:46 PM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

shouldn't it be garfield lion?
posted by pyramid termite at 12:48 PM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Snoop Dogg is pretty much the best person ever.

I'm pretty sure some fairly good people have sidestepped pimping as a way to make money, and avoided glamorizing this activity afterward.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 1:18 PM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mister Rogers is the best person ever and the evidence shows this.
posted by Edison Carter at 1:36 PM on July 31, 2012 [8 favorites]

Ayahuasca is a helluva drug.
posted by LordSludge at 4:01 PM on July 31, 2012

Alternative title for this post: "What's my mane?"
posted by argonauta at 4:04 PM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mister Rogers is the best person ever and the evidence shows this.

But pretty much the world's worst pimp, and I can only imagine how bad of a rapper he would have been.
posted by Forktine at 4:22 PM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

guess what, forktine?
posted by pyramid termite at 4:38 PM on July 31, 2012

Mr. Dressup was a significantly better everything than Mister Rogers. Just sayin'.
posted by windykites at 5:09 PM on July 31, 2012

I just find ska depressing. Like, here's a recording of some people partying, having a blast -- why aren't you with them?

That's one way to look at it. Another way into realize that by listening to ska, wherever you are has just become the party.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:21 PM on July 31, 2012 [4 favorites]

Metafizzle: my dizzle.
posted by newdaddy at 8:04 PM on July 31, 2012

Well I'm fakin' Jamaican, and I think I'm a ray-sta
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:19 PM on July 31, 2012

I can only hope that Americans are now immune to ska after having (barely) survived a serious bout with it in the '90s.

The people that were into it before it became a trend were still into it afterwards. Up until we broke up earlier this month I was in a ska band that did shows almost every week, opening for bands like The Toasters who are still around too. And I was by far the oldest person in the band, everyone else was in their early 20s, so new fans are still being created.
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:24 PM on July 31, 2012 [3 favorites]

I never tried to pretend I had an accent that I never had.
posted by box at 8:27 PM on July 31, 2012

Also the stuff that was on the radio a lot (Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, that one Bosstones album) was pretty far from actual ska. Maybe ska-influenced. Ska isn't pop-punk with horn parts.
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:30 PM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I was kinda hoping that that Fakin Jamaican was gonna actually be good. But they're just fakin Jamaican, too. Very poorly, as it were. Guess the irony of that was lost on them.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:38 PM on July 31, 2012

guess what, forktine? yt

Huh, guess what indeed. In that spirit, may I present Garden of Your Mind: Mr Rogers Remixed?
posted by Forktine at 8:53 PM on July 31, 2012

On the reggae music front, I did see Ziggy Marley just a week or two ago, and he was amazing live.

I was expecting a straight-up reggae show, but he has this guitarist who has the ability to bend reality with his playing. Truly a fantastic mashup of reggae and psychedelic rock. Utterly compelling show, with a fantastic band all around (and sorely underused backup singers who should have been spotlighted more).

I was stoked to have bought his newest album (produced by Don Was!). And was disappointed to get it home and have it be... straight up reggae.

Still, it's a lot of songs about Love, and that feeds my little hippie soul. So it's not lost money, it's just something I'll have to listen to more to appreciate on its merits, and not what I was thinking it would be.
posted by hippybear at 8:54 PM on July 31, 2012

may I present Garden of Your Mind: Mr Rogers Remixed

What I love is that is an official PBS product.

If they're doing stuff like this, they need to do a whole fuckton more of it. Because this is really great.
posted by hippybear at 8:57 PM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

As a Rastafarian he has to revere Haile Selassie as God. "Haile
Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God
incarnate, among the Rastafari movement..."

Not that Selassie is any worse of a choice than others... just felt like adding that.
posted by fartknocker at 9:16 PM on July 31, 2012

Haile unlikely!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:31 PM on July 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

You know, when most people change their fursona, it doesn't rate this kind of news. Just sayin'.
posted by egypturnash at 9:48 PM on July 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Dear god, of all the words I had hoped never to read on MetaFilter, "fursona" ranks close to the top.
posted by hippybear at 9:49 PM on July 31, 2012 [4 favorites]

Fursona is a word I have never read anywhere, ever, until just now on MetaFilter.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:52 PM on July 31, 2012

I had a good friend for a while who is a furry... it's a word I heard far too often.
posted by hippybear at 9:57 PM on July 31, 2012

Methinks someone has had a wee bit too much weed.
posted by deborah at 11:47 PM on July 31, 2012

That article lists 'Kid A' as an unloved U-turn
*mind blown*
posted by memebake at 2:55 AM on August 1, 2012

As I mentioned to a friend of mine, this is totally going to change the way I teach people how to spell my last name.
posted by mysterpigg at 7:12 AM on August 1, 2012

OS X Snoop Lion, From Apple
posted by homunculus at 11:06 AM on August 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Of all the rappers, I liked you the best, Snoop.
posted by Splunge at 8:39 PM on August 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

‘Letter to the President’: Snoop Dogg tells the history of Hip Hop, Rap and Politics
posted by homunculus at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2012

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