WES ORSHOSKI
Snoop Dogg at the Freedom & Fireworks Festival in Jersey City, July 4.
Jersey City’s fifth annual all-day Freedom & Fireworks Festival at Exchange Place saw an increase in attendance this year, from 100,000 to 150,000, in part because of the presence of a high-profile headliner, Snoop Dogg, who performed immediately before the fireworks were launched. Check out some photos of him by Wes Orshoski, below.
The rap hit-maker welcomed a surprise guest, former Jersey City resident Akon, who joined him for their collaboration “I Wanna Love You,” and also performed part of “Soul Survivor” (a Young Jeezy single that he was featured on).
The fireworks had been scheduled to begin at 9:20 p.m., but didn’t actually start until 10:15, as Snoop Dogg began late, and went long.
On his Twitter account, Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop tweet out a photo of himself and a sheepish-looking Snoop Dogg, with the message: “What can we say…. hope you enjoyed #JerseyCity for the 4th. Every year we will continue to raise the bar for our city. Happy #July4th.”
Here are Wes’ photos and, below them, some videos from the event.
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