Snoop Dogg has upgraded his name to "Snoop Lion". The rapper says he underwent a spiritual and artistic rebirth while in Jamaica where he was given the new moniker by Rastafarian priests.

His real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. "I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion," Mr Broadus Jr told journalists at a news conference in New York.

"I didn't know that until I went to the temple, where the High Priest asked me what my name was, and I said, 'Snoop Dogg.' And he looked me in my eyes and said, 'No more. You are the light; you are the lion.' From that moment on, it's like I had started to understand why I was there."

The 40-year-old said as a result of his reincarnation, his new album will be a reggae record as he finds rap no longer "a challenge."

“There comes a point where you say I done it all, or there isn’t much more to do,” he said. “This was like a rebirth for me. "With no disrespect to other rappers, but they can't f--- with me in rap ... I've won every accolade you can get in rap, they call me 'Uncle Snoop' in rap. When you're an uncle, it's time to find something new ... I want to feel like a kid again."

“I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated. I feel I have always been a Rastafari. I just didn’t have my third eye open, but its wide open right now.” Broadus Jr is currently working on his fifth album, Reincarnated, which is strictly a reggae project.