Snoop Lion Teams Up with Miley Cyrus for Ashtrays and Heartbreaks
May 31, 2013 by Mike Siegel
Forget what you know about Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., Snoop Dogg or Snoop Doggy Dogg. The 41-year-old West Coast rapper is now to be referred to as Snoop Lion.
In an interview with HuffPost Live, Snoop Lion explained his reasoning behind the name change. The rapper claimed that he felt it was time to cut out the gangster rapping and start focusing on real world issues.
“Snoop Lion is the progression of Snoop Dogg…he is able to speak on issues that Snoop Dogg couldn’t speak on because Snoop Dogg was a part of the problem,” he said in the interview. He has also been noted lately for vocalizing his support for gun control legislation and the LGBT community.
The rapper’s new alias was made prominent last month when his album Reincarnated was released. The album has an upbeat, reggae sound to it, impacted by Snoop Lion’s visit to Jamaica prior to recording it. There are twelve songs on the album, featuring different musicians like Drake, Akon and Miley Cyrus. Yes, you heard that last bit right. The rapper’s single Ashtrays and Heartbreaks featuring Cyrus now even has a music video which was released yesterday. When Snoop said he was making some changes to his music, he wasn’t kidding. And he sure isn’t the only one going through some sort of identity crisis. Cyrus, too, is about to experience a musical metamorphosis within the year. The 20-year-old singer told the Associated Press that her next album will contain songs with “produced hip-hop beats.” She also said that she is working in tandem with Pharrell Williams for the album and various Southern hip-hop producers. Cyrus will even be releasing the album’s lead single We Can’t Stop on June 3rd.
Successfully handling more than one genre as an artist is tough, but Snoop Lion and Cyrus seem like they’re doing just fine.