What’s his name? “Snoop Doggy Dogg!”

Thousands joined the king of West Coast hip-hop Snoop Lion, formerly Snoop Dogg, at Olympic Park on Saturday night for his first-ever live concert in Korea.

The iconic American rapper has been in the music game for more than 20 years and expressed his thoughts on finally making his way to Korea for the first time, at a press conference at the Ritz Carlton in Seoul before his concert. 

“It feels good to actually be in South Korea for the first time. I have early memories of watching the Olympics in 1988,” said Snoop. “I’ve always wanted to come here and meet the people and do what I do, and to finally be able to come here is a great feeling right now.”

After returning from a trip to Jamaica last year, the hip-hop legend announced his conversion to the Rastafari Movement and his rebirth as Snoop Lion. Under his new identity, the artist made his debut in the reggae music scene with the release of his latest album and documentary “Reincarnated” earlier this year.

“It’s (new album and documentary) an actual journey of me going to Jamaica and finding myself engulfed in reggae music; finding a new name, a new sound, a new style, in a way making music that represents peace, love, positive vibrations and struggles,” said Snoop.

“Snoop Dogg is Snoop Lion, it’s all the same,” he explained. “Snoop Lion is more of who I am personally today and Snoop Dogg was more who I was yesterday.”

During his concert at the Velodrome Stadium, the 41-year-old proved that he still knows how to keep the crowd feeling young and alive by bringing back a little of the old-school Dogg and a little of the new-school Lion.

The rapper came out, commanded the stage and took the audience back more than a decade with some of his classic hits such as “Gin and Juice,” “Snoop’s Upside Ya Head” and “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”

The wildly upbeat and energetic K-pop ladies of 2NE1 also performed at the show as a special guest act and even joined the hip-hop legend onstage in a collaboration of Snoop’s hit track, “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” 

“Me and 2NE1, I feel like we have a lot of energy, we both represent fun in a young generation,” he said and went on stating his hopes of collaborating with group again in the near future.

Although one of the most influential figures in the American rap music industry has decided to take a break from his hip-hop roots and move on to a life of reggae as a Rastafarian, Snoop revealed that despite his rebirth from Dogg to Lion, hip-hop music will always remain a part of him and his music in both the past and the future.

“My plans are just to make good music…whether it’s reggae, rap, as long as it’s good that’s all that matters,” said Snoop. “I don’t feel like I’ll ever stop making hip-hop music. I just needed a break; I’ve been doing it since I was 11, 12 years old.

“I wanted to try something different that felt good to my spirit, my soul and my livelihood as far as the persona that I keep and the reality between what I used to be and what I am.”

Snoop Lion bade farewell to his Korean fans and concluded his first concert here by singing his 2011 collaborative single, reminding the audience members to live “Young, Wild and Free.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)