Snoop Dogg joins other rappers who found religion
Snoop Doggin the press room during MTV's “TRL Total Finale Live” at the MTV Times Square Studios in Manhattan. (Nov. 16, 2008) Credit: AP
Snoop Dogg, now known as Snoop Lion, has changed his name and found religion. The West Coast rapper once known for lyrics including “I’m a gangsta, but ya’ll knew that. Da big boss Dogg, yeah I had to do that,” is turning to the mellow sounds of reggae. It seems the rapper has joined the Rastafari movement.
But Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus, won’t be the first to change his ways for religion. Here’s are 10 other rappers who have converted.
1. DJ Run, one of the members of Run-D. M. C, converted to Pentecostalism in the '90s. After becoming a minister, he dropped the DJ and added Rev in front of his name.
2. Loon, who once rapped about needing a girl with P. Diddy, while signed to Bad Boy Entertainment, converted to Islam. “Bad Boy days are over, now I’m what you call a good boy,” Loon said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
3. Busta Rhymes is another rapper to turn to Islam. “I live my life by Islam,” the rapper told Hollywood TV. “At the end of the day I think that’s pretty much what grounds me,” he added.
4. Rapper Mos Def converted to Islam at the age of 19. He proudly defended his religion on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” in 2010.
5. Mase, who was once part of Bad Boy Records, became a pastor in Atlanta after turning to Christianity in 1999.
6. Rapper Kurtis Blow, the first rapper to be signed to a major label, turned to Christianity in the ’90s. He went from rapping the famous words “Throw your hands up in the sky and wave 'em 'round from side to side,” to releasing an album called “Kurtis Blow Presents: Hip Hop Ministry.”
7. Beastie Boy’s Adam Yauch became a Buddhist in 1993.
8. Rapper Shyne, who spent nine years in jail for a club shooting that P. Diddy was questioned about in 1999, converted to Judaism in 2006.
9. Ice Cube, a hard-core West Coast rapper, converted to Islam in 1992.
10. Chinese-American rapper Jin was a champ on “106 & Park’s: Freestyle Friday,” and was once signed to Ruff Ryders Entertainment. In 2008, he got baptized and began releasing songs that spread a Christian message. “Jesus is the truth, with Him freedom can be achieved,” he rapped on the song “Welcome to the Light Club.”
