Snoop Dogg Discusses His 2024 Paris Olympics Hosting Gig

Snoop Dogg is preparing to add another dimension to his extensive portfolio by joining as a special correspondent. NBCUniversal at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Recently, it was revealed that the Doggystyle artist would bring his characteristic flair and unique style to the prime-time broadcasts, starting July 26 and running through August 11. The news pairs surprisingly well with Snoop’s most recent film, the sports comedy The Underdoggs.

Snoop Dogg’s affection for the Olympics is not new. He expressed his excitement about the Paris games, acknowledging the athletes’ commitment to excellence and hinting at the thrilling competitions ahead. He promises to infuse the broadcasts with “Snoop style,” aiming to make the Paris Olympics the most memorable yet. His message to fans: get ready for an unprecedented celebration of sports, filled with enthusiasm, style, and, undoubtedly, a touch of Snoop’s laid-back charm.

It’s worth mentioning that Snoop has previously been involved with the Olympics. He previously collaborated with comedian Kevin Hart for the Tokyo 2021 Games, offering a fresh and humorous perspective to the event’s coverage. The duo enchanted viewers with their clever commentary and cheerful chatter, racking up millions of views. This success has undoubtedly paved the way for Snoop’s solo correspondent role in the upcoming Paris Olympics. It’s anticipated that his participation will bring a unique blend of approachable, unpretentious entertainment, bridging the Olympic spectacle with the audience in a distinctively Snoop Doggian manner.

Having emerged as not only a hip-hop luminary but also a figure known for his diverse partnerships and ventures, Snoop Dogg’s latest undertaking might seem unconventional, yet it aligns perfectly with his track record of unexpected yet successful collaborations. From music to culinary arts with Martha Stewart, and now to sports broadcasting, the rapper continues to surprise and engage audiences worldwide. He recently joined executive producer and president of Olympics Productions Molly Solomon and three-time Olympics Gold Medal winner and swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines to discuss the upcoming Paris Olympics at NBC’s TCA Press Tour.

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Snoop Dogg: ‘The OG’ Olympics Correspondent

NBC Universal

Molly Solomon: So you and I met about a year ago to start talking about this. And what I was so struck by was the passion, the genuine passion, that you have for the athletes. So I’d love for you to tell everybody, you know, why you think the Olympics is so special in America?

Snoop Dogg: I think it’s very special because it’s a time where the whole world can come together and cheer for their countries, cheer for certain athletes. And then at the same time, we come together as one as America. And a lot of times in the world, it’s always division and separation, but this is a chance for the world to be one page, for everybody to be together, to cheer for each other, to root for each other. So it’s actually a peace offering that I feel like. I’m honored to be here because I always represent peace, I love sports, I love the Olympics. And for me to be a part of it is only going to make it more peaceful and more passionate.

Molly Solomon: And we should tell everybody you’re going to be in Paris. Last time, you weren’t in Tokyo. So you are — we’re trying to figure out the right title, primetime correspondent, primetime reporter.

Snoop Dogg: Yeah. Just OG. Just call me OG.

Molly Solomon: So you’re going to be going around the city. Why don’t you kind of describe this role, rather than me? What do you think?

Snoop Dogg: I think what it’s going to be, it’s going to be me actually in the field at events hosting, getting with the athletes, moving through the city. Just doing the things that Snoop Dogg does with the help of Mike Tirico, and another great side guest, swimmer, he’s gonna teach me how to swim so to speak.

Rowdy Gaines: I’m trying to talk him into coming in the booth with us.

Snoop Dogg: But I’m going to get underwater, I like to underwater boogie. We’re going to take our time, we’re going to go slow. And I’m going to show you something too […] And that’s what we plan on doing at the Olympics, we’re planning on shaking it up in many different ways, bringing my flavor. And then at the same time, just having fun. Because it’s the Olympics, y’all, this is the biggest sporting event every four years. We only get it once every four years, so we’re going to make the most of it.

A Snoop Dogg and Dolly Parton Collab?

Question: A question over here for Molly, but potentially for Snoop. This is a about the marketing campaign. Dolly Parton kicked it off with her cover of “We Are the Champions” and I believe that press release implied that she would continue to have a presence in the marketing going forward. So can you share any details on what that might look like and could we get a Dolly Parton-Snoop Dogg —

Snoop Dogg: I would love to do a song with Dolly Parton. Can you hook that up? Since you bringing it up, can you hook that up?

Molly Solomon: Her newest album of covers is amazing and we are talking to Dolly, but I’m not ready to break any news right now.

Snoop Dogg: Yes, we’ll tell you about that a bit later. Molly and Dolly will talk later.

Summer Olympics Schedule and Times on NBC

NBC Universal

Question: Molly, explain more about what you meant about primetime. You called it “a blast of gold medals at 8 o’clock”. So what do you mean by that? Are you going to show all the winning stuff and then go back? And also talk a little bit more about it’s a five-hour time difference, right? So by 8 PM, it will be one in the morning in Paris. So at what point in the afternoon will it look there be a bunch of live events?

Molly Solomon: I wish I had my little clock. We use a clock as an explanation of all of this. But just to explain the total day on NBC, so you can see how it lays out and then I’ll get to primetime, but we are going to be live all day on NBC. So the “TODAY” show will be in Paris from 7:00 to 9:00, and then we will come out and go from 9:00 to 6:00 weekdays, live on NBC. And that allows us to be truly live because, like you said, the time difference, it’s six hours, so everything is happening all day long.

Molly Solomon: So from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon Eastern Time is almost like primetime live in the afternoon. You’ll have swimming, gymnastics, and track and field finals on NBC. So we’ll have the most hours ever, which is kind of crazy, right, after all these years. We’re going to be, I think, at 243 live hours on NBC, and that lets us make sure that we’re going to gain that momentum, to make sure that we’re reaching the broadest possible audience with this Olympics.

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Molly Solomon: And so then the question is 8:00, when we come to primetime where most Americans will watch their Olympics when they get back home from vacation, come home from work, they sit down as a family and watch the primetime show at 8:00. And so it is 2:00 in the morning in Paris, but I love these three hours of turnaround time. Because as a producer, I know what we can do:

“We can take those three hours and make sure it’s the best performances of the day, and we can also use that time […] We’re going to be able to mic up families, coaches, incorporate that into the coverage. I really want to make sure that we are additive in primetime, tell you the why behind the stories, and actually advance the stories. Imagine the social media reaction. Imagine that if Snoop was also at the venue, maybe he’s sitting with gymnast Fred Richard’s parents. Like, we can weave all that into the storytelling.”

From Rap to Report: Snoop Dogg’s Fresh Take on Olympic Coverage

The rapper’s appointment (as ‘the OG’) has stirred excitement among fans. A preview of his interviewing style was shared in a clip where he interacted with Team USA athletes across various sports, from gymnastics to basketball. These snippets promise a mix of respect for the sports and athletes with the laid-back, humorous style that is uniquely Snoop’s.

NBCUniversal’s executive team is as excited as the fans, with high expectations for Snoop’s contribution to the Olympic coverage. This initiative is regarded as a revitalizing approach to sports coverage, seeking to captivate a broader audience by merging athletics with entertainment creatively. Snoop’s involvement is anticipated to add an element of surprise and novelty to each day of the coverage, keeping viewers hooked and entertained. He’s also obviously passionate about the Olympics. Take this exchange at the TCA Press Conference:

Snoop Dogg: It was 1984 when I started watching the Olympics.

Molly Solomon: Were you watching Rowdy win his gold medals?

Snoop Dogg: He jumped in the water. He was backstroking, and flipping, and dipping, and doing all kinds of stuff, and he won a gold medal.

Rowdy Gaines: (Laughs.) Well, for me, it was 1976 in Montreal. I was 17. I didn’t start swimming until I was 17, so right after I started swimming, and it was the greatest men’s Olympic team in history, still is, in Montreal, so that was my earliest memory and that kind of influenced me and motivated me to really become a swimmer and I went all in after that.

NBC Universal

Molly Solomon: My first memory is 1976, Montreal as well. I think we’re about the same age. And it was Nadia Comăneci, and what I think is so magnificent about the Olympic games is that it has always, dating back into the ‘70s, put women athletes at the floor and in primetime. All of the amazing things that we’re seeing happening in women’s sports right now, really, the genesis was the Olympic games and the fact that women athletes have been part of the spotlight for so long.

Snoop Dogg: That’s a fact. I remember Edwin Moses.

Rowdy Gaines: Yeah, ’84.

Snoop Dogg: It was the whole thing. I just remember him running, winning, and we just was celebrating as if he was our uncle or something. We were so happy. That’s what the Olympics does. It makes you feel like you’re part of the win. I just remember that as far as my first moment, how my whole family was watching as if we knew this man, and we was rooting for him as if he was a family member. So that was my first impression of the Olympics, so hopefully we can do the same thing.

Molly Solomon: And that’s what’s so important about the Olympics, right, is to tell the stories of the athletes, because we have to make you care if you don’t know them, in 30 seconds, in a minute, and then you want to root for them.

With excitement mounting for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, attention is turning towards Snoop Dogg, the rapper who will now lend his distinctive flair as a correspondent to the event. Next summer, as the globe watches, it will observe not only the display of athletic talent but also the evolution of Snoop Dogg’s continually diversifying career. The Paris Olympics might just have found its most eclectic and charismatic correspondent yet, someone who puts the ‘rap’ in ‘rapport.’

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