Reincarnated

Reincarnated (2012) directed by Andy Capper

Snoop Dogg's documentary Reincarnated is all about his journey from poor ghetto kid to superstar rapper but it primarily focuses on his further travels on to Jamaica where he finds redemption with reggae and Rastafarianism.  It's especially entertaining if you're a fan of Snoop or have an interest in the roots of reggae, but it's the redemptive elements of the flick that will have a universal appeal.

It starts with him going off to Jamaica and gives the back story on why he goes there. It details his road to success and continues on to show the construction of his new identity and his latest album too.


Once he lands in Jamaica he hooks up with some Rasta dudes and takes a trip into the Blue Moutains for a tour and a cultural introduction to their rituals. Later on he visits the infamous birthplace of reggae and rocksteady music, Trench Town, a poor but culturally dynamic neighbourhood in Kingston and mingles with the folk there.  He ends up jamming with musicians there too.  Snoop was all, come with me,  I got a studio down the road, everything we need to get going, but they were all woah dude, check yourself, we got our own studio here - don't be dissing us on our turf."  One man was especially skeptical and confrontational with Snoop, but Snoop charmed the disagreeable local with some  California bud as a peace offering.  Then after a big smoking session, they all made some music together in the little DIY studio.  Snoop was praising them, gave props to their abilities and asked them to collaborate with him on his album.

I really liked this part because Snoop was going there with the expectation that he'd be supplying them with the means to make music, and that they were impoverished and deprived. While that may be true on the grander wealth scale, these men were not without means, and especially not musically.  He couldn't buy them; Snoop's wealth and fame didn't have much sway with them.  He had to earn their respect, and this encounter of mutuality and give and take, is definitely something the usually deferred to powerfully rich and famous, don't tend to experience.

I dunno if the Trench Town folk ended up working on Snoop's album,  but he did get Bunny Wailer on side at least for the movie.  There is a ton of great behind the scenes music making, demonstrating the creative process and nuts and bolts negations too. That and mucho sessions of greens smokings,  naturally ;)  It was great when Bunny got real with Snoop: before he'd sit in and lend his talent to Snoop's project,  Bunny had a serious conversation about whether or not Snoop was changing up his musical style for the right reasons or if he was just wanting to exploit reggae and the Marley/Wailers reputation for commercial gain.  Bunny did sing for the film and for Snoop, but I'm wondering if Bunny's voice will make one of the tracks on Reincarnated as he's since condemned Snoop's appropriation of Rastafarianism and reggae music.  I can understand that some, since Snoop is going in as an outlander and carrying away reggae, saying it's his now.  He's also been quoted as saying he's the reincarnation of Bob Marley, though I think that's taken out of context some.  Still sounds crazy egotistical though.

In fact, as entertaining and educational the musical elements were, I thought the film was best when it touched on real issues like how poor people are in Jamaica.  When they went to Trench Town, it was explained how while weed is freely used as a sacrament, and it's a vital cash crop that sustains the poor, it's still illegal. In 2010, the extradition of a drug dealer named Christopher Dudas Coke was a contentious story.  He was situated in one of poorest neighbourhoods in Kingston and his arrest was considered a devastating blow for some of the people of his community, since Dudas was known as a Robin Hood redeemer, who redistributed drug profits back into the community.  Apparently he was known for paying for the local children's schooling and such.

Another great part is when Snoop visits The Alpha Boys school, which is famous for providing musical training for some of Jamaica's most important musicians.

He checks in on a practice session/music class and this was one of the more charming parts of the film, as the boys were so so stoked to be performing for him.  When Snoop sits in on their jam and starts in on singing their praises?  Those kids were just beaming.

Really sweet too, was the collaboration he does with his daughters, No Guns Allowed, a song about how he's choosing love and time with his daughter instead of the violence associated with money making gangster rap. He explains more in this interview.

Another good scene was with another relative?  She might not be related, but she wrote a song after Snoop and his cousin find out one of their cousins died.  She's inspired after seeing an ashtray filled to the brim - she says people deal with grief in various ways and that night Snoop and his cousin smoked a lot and puffed to the sky.  This reminded me of the ritual of pouring out liquor for a lost loved one, and she used a phrase I can't recall describing that smoking in commemoration and contemplation of a death - light up the sky or summat.

Anyhow, It's a very positive film.

And in case you're wondering, it does touch on his life of crime, He doesn't duck that aspect of his past.  The most interesting parts are in the beginning of his career with the court footagage of when he's shown getting out of a murder rap.  The details of the crime aren't explained, but 3 people were involved in the killing of Philip Woldermarian. Mckinley Lee, Snoop's bodyguard allegedly shot him while Snoop and Woldermarian were arguing in Snoop's car.  There was another man in the backseat, but he wasn't charged.  Superstar lawyer for the accused, Johnny Cochrane defended Snoop and Lee.  Read more about it here.

Creepiest was when he describes how Suge Knight was talking about the night he and Tupac were shot.  The way Suge described things, Tupac was more concerned about Suge's head wound when it was Tupac who had the critical injuries - 4 bullets found him and they were fatal wounds.  Snoop only realized how dire things were for Tupac when he got to the hospital and it was grim faces all around.  I guess Tupac and him were close. Snoop said Tupac taught him how to wear Italian suits and live large in a way he wouldn't have appreciated without Tupac's influence.  Snoop had a lot of regret for how things were messed up between them at the time of Tupac's death and how that was never resolved.  He said they had a beef over minor stuff, but Tupac was dead before it could get patched.  He seemed sad too, about the fact that when Suge was arrested, Snoop was refused entry to see him in jail. He credits that with his being pushed out of LA, as Death Row records ended up being taken over by others, and Snoop wasn't important to them anymore.  He ended up moving South and putting out 3 albums with Master P.  Snoop said this set him on his course for even bigger success with Dr Dre in 2001 with The Chronic.

They played "Still Dre" when talking about this period, and please check out the wikipedia page on the song because the interpretation/synopsis there is hilariously deadpan.

Another interesting disclosure bit,  was when he talked about the period when he was a pimp.  He said when he was growing up the ghetto superstars, the only successful role models in the hood, were the pimps and drug dealers, so of course he wanted to do that.  Apparently his job paid $80 a week, but he could make $1500 a night doing crime.  Not a very difficult choice, really eh?  He stopped when he realized it was disrespectful to the women in his life to profit that way, but he said it was a learning experience.  He had 3 actual girls, who he called predatory and they recruited about 100 "virtual" girls to work the streets for him.  He joked about how he was a loveable pimp.

I don't know when he got out of pimping, but he sure had fun with the image in the video he did with 50 Cent.

Snoop said he got out of crime by following in the footsteps of the rappers who came before him, didn't really detail that process or who he modeled himself after, or maybe he did and I just missed that.

The film had some comic relief through his cousin, Daz.  He was pretty amusing, reminded me of Ricky from Trailer Park Boys... always be smoking.  ;) When they trek up to the Blue Mountains to harvest some weed, he's so jazzed to be there, and laughs saying,  "Who could believe I'd be rolling a blunt in the jungle?"  He almost falls down the mountain, and then gets totally winded climbing around.  I doubt there's a scene in there were he isn't high.  He's educational too when he demonstrates how to bake a blunt so it smokes evenly,  all while baked on that good Jamaican ganja.

Bunny Wailer was pretty great too.  He's a wee little man but he's got an outsized regal spiritual presence, and the pipe he's constantly carrying is so appropriately made out of a carrot.

The best part for me, aside from the behind the scenes music makings, would be the Rastafarian elements, especially the ceremony where Snoop gets his Rastafarian baptism.  I dunno if that's what the ceremony was actually, but he was given the name Berhane, which means light, and he really was glowing.  After the naming ceremony, when asked how he felt, he had one word to say, "Love." It truly seemed to be a spiritual awakening for him. I don't know much about the religion other than it involves smoking weed and that it has roots in Christianity. I've also heard people diss the religion, sawing that Rastafarianism is simply a justification to smoke weed.  They actually do smoke a lot of weed all the time, but they do it with a reverence and it's done in religious ritual context.  Like any religion, there are ceremonial ritualistic and dogmatic elements, but I noticed how the principles of honouring love, respect, and positivity, are also very evident.

You can totally hear that in Reggae music too, it's all about the power of love and community connectedness.

Of course this is a rebranding of Snoop and I could go the cynical route and criticize his transformation from Gangster Rapper to Jah Love Rapper, but I think he's sincere. He was very forthcoming and spoke about his criminal past and the exploitive values he used to have, and how he's no longer about that.  I choose to believe that he is genuine about this change of heart and that he's more about promoting positivity in his music and not simply out to change his image to make a buck.

I really enjoyed the doc.  And I'm glad Snoop found his Iron like Lion in Zion.  I liked too when he said he's 40 years old now! He's wise...wiser....bud wiser.  Oh Snoop, you so punny.