Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg performs ahead of B.C. Lions home opener

Snoop Dogg performs before the Edmonton Elks and the B.C. Lions play a CFL football game in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER — Snoop Dogg was a B.C. Lions fan on Saturday — if only for one night.

The legendary rapper donned a Lions jersey with the number 20 and his name emblazoned on the back as he took the stage for a concert at B.C. Place before the Lions hosted the Edmonton Elks in their first game of the CFL season.

Over the course of a 35-minute set, Snoop Dogg sang several of his hits, including “P.I.M.P.,” “Gin and Juice,” and “Drop it Like it’s Hot,” plus abbreviated versions of songs he has featured on, such as Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and the explicit version of Akon’s “I Wanna Love You.”

His dancers and backup singers also donned Lions gear for the show.

B.C. previously announced more than 50,000 fans were expected to take in the show. Several hundred danced and sang in the end zone below the elevated stage, while thousands more stood in their seats.

A few Lions players and staff — including kicker Sean Whyte and defensive back Patrice Rene — took in parts of the show from the sidelines.

Snoop Dogg has been making music for more than three decades and has seven platinum records, 20 Grammy Award nominations, and multiple BET Awards and MTV Movie Awards.

He has become a pop culture icon known for working with a variety of entertainers from rapper-producer Dr. Dre to television personality Martha Stewart, and was a roving correspondent for NBC at last summer’s Paris Olympics.

The 53-year-old musician closed his set Saturday by signing several footballs and handing them out to kids in the end zone.

“You’ve got to promise to grow up to be a B.C. Lion,” he said to one.

“You getting good grades in school?” he asked another.

Before leaving the stage, Snoop Dogg signed yet another football, removed his trademark sunglasses and the gold, bejewelled Wu-Tang Clan ring on his pinky, and handed off his gold microphone. He then launched the ball into the upper deck of the stands.

He formed his hands into a heart and clapped for the crowd, then left before the game got underway.

Big concerts have become an annual tradition for the Lions. Last year, the team launched its season with a performance by rapper 50 Cent that drew an announced crowd of 53,788.

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published June 7, 2025.