It would've been particularly interesting to hear more from his spouse, Shante, and child, Cori, beyond what we're shown, plus fewer empty platitudes from Louis Farrakhan. He grows closer to his wife and, surprisingly, for the man who wrote 'Serial Killa,' condemns gun crime on the tune “No Guns Allowed”, featuring his daughter singing. Smoking grass helps Snoop and his friend Daz Dillinger heal when Dillinger receives word of a death in the family, and contributes to a new peace Snoop exudes. At times it seems gratuitous, but on further reflection, it reflects how the drug plays an important social role. Whether it's in bags or plantations, whole reams of the documentary are Snoop, his cohorts or random Jamaicans getting off their mash on weed pipes. And perhaps fewer scenes featuring so much cannabis.īecause boy is there a lot of it, enough to get a buzz just from being a viewer. However, it seems unlikely that would've resulted in some of the earnest revelations from the maturing gangster. At times it seems that Reincarnated would benefit from further guided interviewing and a more detached style. The intensity with which he recounts his arrest for illegal guns in 2006, and how he feels that left his family vulnerable, is remarkable. Snoop's stony reflection on his childhood, his trial for murder and his time as a pimp make you realise that not only is Snoop a man of depth, but also as something of a moral ambiguity.

These emotional highs are complemented by the myriad lows the startlingly personal accounts of the death of Tupac Shakur and the decline of Death Row Records, for instance. We witness Snoop's elation when met with applause from a deprived community, to his affinity with the last remaining Wailer, Bunny. Reincarnated succeeds at breaking through the – ahem – smokescreen of cool and calm which pervades Snoop, far removed from the 'yah mon' artifice of Sting and his ilk. To do so, however, would ignore the essence of the enigmatic personality at the forefront: Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., 41-year old rapper, actor, family man and ex-pimp. To the casual observer, that's simply the most striking aspect, as he changes everything from religion to hairstyle. Having enjoyed Reincarnated, I set out to write a review with a heavy focus on Snoop Dogg's transformation from elder statesman of hip-hop to reinvigorator of reggae.

That said, it's a process which can chew up and spit out- just ask Amanda Bynes's cheek piercings.' So began my first draft of this piece.

' David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Madonna pop culture is no stranger to reinvention. When the public tire of a persona or an artist wishes to make a change, the old looks, personality or profession can be remade and resold in the same climate. Snoop Lion – Reincarnated (Documentary) - Vice, 2013

Snoop lion documentary