By Ben Smith

Copyright thewest

Snoop Dogg has lived up to his pre-game promise to wow fans, captivating the MCG with an Americanised but stand-out AFL grand final pre-game show.

Marching bands, cheerleaders and backing dancers joined the hip-hop icon on stage for a 15-minute melody of his greatest hits to get the ball rolling on the last Saturday of September.

At times, it may have felt more like the Super Bowl than an AFL grand final, but the panache, style and cameos all added together to create one of the more memorable pre-game shows in recent times.

Before he appeared on stage, the Californian brought a flair of American pre-game showmanship to the MCG, with marching bands decked out in Brisbane and Geelong colours hyping up his arrival in scenes reminiscent of college football in the USA.

Emerging on the hallowed turf in a white tracksuit ensemble, Snoop launched into The Next Episode, his 1999 hit co-recorded with Dr Dre, the marching band hung around as Australian artist Tash Sultana added a different element all set-long with her trademark virtuoso guitar.

While the family-friendly time slot may have censored some of the rapper’s more explicit lyrics, but that did not prevent the notoriously marijuana-friendly Snoop from dropping a “smoke weed every day” before rolling seamlessly into Nuthin’ but a G’thang.

Next up was a elongated version of Drop It Like It’s Hot and while there was no Pharell Williams in the house, the backing band had the crowd bouncing along.

Shortened versions of Sweat and Signs followed, before Snoop brought out Jessica Mauboy for another Pharrell Williams collaboration, the 2003 track Beautiful.

Australian rapper Baker Boy jumped on stage for a quick didgeridoo snippet of Still D.R.E., before it was time for a trip down memory lane to the 90s as Snoop launched into classics Gin and Juice and Who Am I? (What’s My Name?) to end the show.

Social media feedback was largely positive, with X user @neilsherwin calling the use of a didgeridoo in Still D.R.E. “an all timer”.

“Snoop Dogg has killed this AFL grand final entertainment. Best one of all time!” said X user @hierohero1.

Earlier, local rap sensation Baker Boy opened proceedings and despite a substantially-smaller stage than the headline act, made the most of his brief time in the limelight, bringing a didgeridoo on stage for a different flavour.

The ever-dependable Mike Brady cemented himself as the entertainment industry’s Mr September, with footy fan classic Up There Cazaly.

77 year-old Brady brought about the first sing-along of the day, with the crowd providing a more-than-adequate backing chorus.