• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, July 24, 2024

The incredible story of Snoop Dogg continues with the news that he will be carrying the Olympic torch on its journey to Paris.

You are welcome to read that paragraph again in case you think you imagined it.

The paragraph is real. Snoop Dogg -- aka Calvin Broadus, 51 -- is scheduled to carry the torch for an unspecified distance later this week through the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, site of the Olympic stadium.

The torch will travel all the way to Paris, where it will be used to light the Olympic torch at the Eiffel Tower on Friday, the day of the Games’ Opening Ceremony.

For Snoop Dogg, this Olympic torch assignment is another milestone in a career arc that started with the gangster life and gangsta rap and has proceeded to the present day with movies, TV shows, side hustles and commercial endorsements that are too numerous to count.

Now, not only is he an Olympics torchbearer, but he is also a special correspondent for NBC’s coverage of the Games -- the reason why he is in France in the first place.

It really is extraordinary how he has created and nurtured an image that went from X-rated rapper to a media personality who is so family-friendly that he turns up anywhere he is wanted, which seems to be everywhere.

The list of products he has endorsed in TV commercials includes Corona, Jack in the Box, Beyond Meat, PETCO, The General (insurance), Skechers, GrubHub, and the list goes on.

His business interests over the years have included porn (in which he once dabbled) and more currently, cannabis products. 

Indeed, for a long time, he championed the smoking of weed and was well-known as one of the nation’s most prominent users of it.

Perhaps his entrance into the mainstream was made official in 2016 with the premiere of “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party” on VH-1. 

His co-host was Martha Stewart, and their banter and apparent chemistry held a certain amount of charm for some.

What’s next for Snoop Dogg? Perhaps he will be asked to rap the National Anthem at the next Super Bowl.