When did Snoop Dogg star in Law & Order? All you need to know

Snoop Dogg is a multi-hyphenate artist and a Jack of all trades. The 52-year-old public figure is credited as a pioneer of West Coast hip-hop and boasts an impressive resume of acting roles and other entrepreneurial pursuits. One of his unforgettable acting roles was as a guest actor in the award-winning NBC series Law & Order Special Victims Unit.

The Doggystyle hitmaker appeared in season 20, episode 22 (Diss) of the show, which aired in May 2019. He played the role of a hip hop artist, R.B Banks, who was involved in a diss track war with a popular rival rapper, Justin "Snake" Anderson, played by Orlando Jones.

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More details on the Diss episode of Law & Order Special Victims Unit featuring Snoop Dogg

In season 20, Episode 22 of Law & Order SVU, Snoop Dogg's character R.B Banks is the episode’s red herring suspect. The story begins as Dallas Monroe (Amber Stevens West), wife to pop star Justin “Snake” Anderson, is attacked by an unknown assailant who breaks into the house while her husband is out for a performance.

Due to the couple’s history of domestic violence dispute reports, Snake is brought in for questioning despite his alibi. However, when Dallas wakes from a coma, she states that her husband wasn't the assailant. The detectives later learn that Banks (Snoop Dogg), one of Snake’s rivals, had recently written a diss track with lyrics mentioning Dallas.

This prompts them to pay Banks a visit to his studio. Banks tells the detectives that he was home alone during the occurrence of the crime and that his doorman could confirm. His flimsy alibi doesn't add up, and he is later arrested by detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Fin (Ice-T) during an altercation with Snake, where he taunts the latter about having something to do with his wife.

Upon Banks’ arrival at the precinct, he claims that he was only referring to the lyrics he wrote about Dallas and not the attack on her. He brings up the defense of alibi, which one of his mistresses later confirms, after which he is cut loose by the police.

The detectives also inform Snake about Banks’ innocence to prevent further incidents of violence. The squad later discovers that Dallas’ attack was a revenge plot against Snake, who had committed murder years ago.

Snoop’s combination of wit, a blase attitude, and a sense of humor in the portrayal of Banks makes for a good watch and an unforgettable episode. Snoop’s cameo on Law & Order SVU was met with excitement by members of the cast, including Ice T, who shared the news on his X account.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in February 2024, Ice T, who plays detective Fin Tutuola on Law & Order SVU, talked about some of his favorite guest stars and recalled how Snoop Dogg came to be on the show. He stated that Snoop called him after binge-watching the show, and when he (Ice T) offered to bring him in for an episode, Snoop Dogg agreed.

In honor of his appearance on the popular TV series, the Gin & Juice hitmaker performed a rendition of the show’s iconic opening monologue. In a video shared on the NBC Network’s X account, Snoop Dogg can be heard saying:

“In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.”

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Snoop Dogg’s Law & Order SVU episode can be watched on NBC and Peacock.