Snoop Dogg live at the AFL grand final: Hip-hop superstar rises to the occasion

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He had promised a set that was “classic Snoop Dogg”, and the American hip-hop star and merchandising magnet (or is that magnate?) delivered in spades at the AFL grand final pre-game show.

In a 15-minute set, the 53-year-old played snippets of 10 songs from a catalogue that stretches back to 1992, commanding a stage that looked from certain angles like a giant boombox, while several dozen dancers turned the centre square into a riot of colour and movement a little reminiscent of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Mr Dogg has become such a master of commercial tie-ups – Menulog, 19 Crimes wines, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, mobile phone plans, you name it – that he often seems more brand than musician these days. But on the biggest platform in this country – with an audience of 100,000 in the stadium and something north of 4 million watching at home (a number that doesn’t include those watching in pubs or clubs) – he proved that he remains a pop superstar with serious staying power.

He started up on the video screens, saying “it’s grand final time, baby. Greatness is on the line”, then urged the fans of both teams to give it up, and then give it up a little more.

“It’s showtime, baby,” screen Snoop said, and then the real Snoop emerged from the tunnel, resplendent in a white tracksuit with gold military-style brocade, surrounded by dancers mimicking a marching band, all wildly swaying brass and silently thwacking drums.

He opened with The Next Episode, segued to Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang, and then moved seamlessly into Drop It Like It’s Hot. The dancers may have been miming, but he wasn’t, and his vocal stylings were crisp and confident, and totally Californian cool.

But Dogg had promised to bring some Australian culture to his set too, and he made good on that front.

We had known beforehand to expect Tash Sultana, who told us during the week that when Snoop reached out to ask them to deliver some guitar riffs they responded with a no-nonsense “sure thing, mate”. Sultana had three lead breaks across the set, and sounded terrific on each.

For Beautiful, Jessica Mauboy emerged to sing the Pharrell Williams parts, a little wobblingly at times. Baker Boy, who had kicked off proceedings by performing his single Thick Skin 20 minutes earlier, came on stage with his didgeridoo, and delivered a stirring solo as the set swung into full dance-club mode with Sweat.

Snoop mostly slunk around with his customary air of a very relaxed man, but occasionally began to cut it up, looking rather like that favourite uncle who got a bit liberal with the party juice at the family barbecue.

All around Snoop, the massed ranks of dancers suggested various aspects of black American culture: the black colleges and their dancing bands referenced in Beyoncé’s 2019 concert film, Homecoming; the guys in their flannel check shirts and bandanas – red on this side, blue on that – suggesting the Crips and Bloods gangs of Dogg’s Los Angeles home town; the women in their skimpy outfits sitting somewhere between cheerleaders and flight attendants.

“From Los Angeles to Melbourne” a sign behind the stage read at one point, and though the trade wasn’t all one way, it definitely favoured the visiting side.

There had been some disgruntled chatter in the weeks leading up to the game about the wisdom of picking an American hip-hop artist to headline the entertainment. And there were no doubt many watching for whom this was a first encounter with Snoop. The haters gonna hate, but on the strength of this showing, many should find the AFL vindicated in its choice.

The rock fans will no doubt gripe, the parochialists will whinge that it should have been an Aussie artist at the top of the bill, but hip-hop is one of the most popular genres in Western music. Its presence on this stage was well overdue.

Thankfully, Snoop Dogg didn’t just appreciate the significance of the moment, he lived up to it too. He finished with a truncated version of his 1992 song Who Am I (What’s My Name?). By the time he exited, there can’t have been too many unable to answer that question: Snoop Doggy Dogg, master of the big occasion.

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