A Dogg By Any Name

The story going around is that Snoop Dogg, the famous Long Beach rapper, is now called "Snoop Lion".  He went to Jamaica and an old rasta man asked him his name.  When he said "Snoop Dogg", the old guy looked at him and said, "You aren't a dog, you are a lion."  Hence the name change.

It kind of makes people giggle to call him Snoop Lion.  "Dogg" is a LB nickname.  Even our parakeet Fitzwilliam is called "Bird Dogg."  The kid across the street calls his little sister "Bone Dogg," if their mother is out of earshot.

When Jacob wrestled with the angel/man/Esau/G-d (depending which version you ascribe to), he was told that his name was no longer Jacob, but Israel- which means "wrestles with G-d."  I think we can see a parallel here with Snoop's story.  Snoop started out as a very angry young man but as he has aged he has mellowed.  He has paid his dues and wrestled with his demons.  The rasta man was right: Snoop's no one's dog, he has earned recognition as a lion.  However, just as we still refer to Jacob as Jacob, we will probably continue to call the lion Snoop Dogg.