The rapper has decided on a new moniker as he changes musical direction and launches a reggae album and will now be known as Snoop Lion.

Braff, of Scrubs fame, appears to have poked fun at Snoop in a message on his Twitter account.

He joked: "People changing their name just to get press. So lame. Incidentally, my new name is Zach Lion Metta World Peace Dirty Money Cher."

Snoop revealed he wanted to "bury" Snoop Dogg and fully embrace his new name.

He said: "I didn't want to be Snoop Dogg on a reggae track. I wanted to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion, but I didn't know that until I went to the temple and received the name Snoop Lion from the Nyabinghi priest.

From that moment on, I started to understand why I was there and was able to create something magical in this project, something I haven't done before in my career."

He added to the New York Times: "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 it's wide open right now."

Fans have also taken to Twitter to poke fun at the rapper.

@RealSkipBayliss said: “#UpgradedRapperNames 5pac 75 Cent Kanye East Snoop lion Surgeon Dre Frank Sea Trey Albumz Busta Poems Honey Meth Lay Z Big Wayne Old Jeezy”

@14_yr_old_Etard said: “Snoop Dogg changes his name to Snoop Lion. Now there are about 22,000 lions, 300 white lions.. and 1 black lion left in the world.”

Overheard to the Times LIVE team this morning was: “Shouldn’t he have changed his name to Snoop Leopard? That’s the one that changes its spots, right?"