Snoop Dogg may be one of the most well-known musicians in the world, but his work has gotten him into trouble more than once, and ten years ago it even resulted in him being ‘barred’ from becoming a Rastafarian.
Snoop Lion just got banned
The musician, who is now 51, became a follower of the faith while working on his debut reggae album, Reincarnated, which was published in 2013 and with a companion documentary.
However, some Rastafarians took offense to this and accused the artist of exploiting their faith for personal gain in order to sell his music.
Legendary musician Bunny Wailer led the detractors in believing that Snoop, who wanted to go by Snoop Lion, was not sincere about his interest in Rastafarianism and reggae.
In a 2013 Facebook post, Wailer took it upon himself to demand the rapper be “ex-communicated” from the Jamaican Rastafari Millennium Council, writing: “The word ex-communication means putting [someone] out of fellowship.
Spiritual condemnation of the individual or community is a component of ex-communication in certain faiths. Depending on the religion, the offense that led to ex-communication, or the laws or norms of the religious group, ex-communication may involve expulsion, shunning, and shame.
Wailer, a devoted Rastafarian, merely made the revelation on social media, but he may have had some influence because it was he who gave Snoop Dogg the name “Lion” in the first place.
Later, Wailer told TMZ that Snoop had “outrightly fraudulently used the characters and symbolism of the Rastafari Community.”
The Rastafari Millennium Council, also known as the Ethio-Africa Diaspora Union Millennium Council, wrote the rapper a seven-page letter requesting that he stop misappropriating their religion.
Before choosing to excommunicate the rapper, they stated that they wanted him to formally apologize and stop using the name “Lion.” They even threatened to file a lawsuit.
The criticism had a significant impact on Snoop, who later revealed to NME that he was having second thoughts about his decision to enter the reggae genre.
I definitely feel like I’m going to do more music, but I don’t know if I’m going to travel to Jamaica; I may want to go somewhere else, he added, adding that the change was a precious event.
He said, “I may want to venture into another region of the world. Some things you let them be what they are,” acknowledging that things hadn’t exactly gone as intended.
I’m simply saying that I’m unsure of whether I want to go to Jamaica and create a reggae album again, he continued. “I don’t know. I could want to go to another nation and record a reggae album or a rap album.”
We can only assume that Snoop Dogg took the “ban” seriously since he has returned to social media in a big way.