Rapper’s Delight: Who Knew NBC's Brian Williams Could Rap?

Jimmy Fallon’s debut on The Tonight Show has been producing high ratings and Wednesday’s show was no exception. The former Late Night host showed a hilarious clip featuring a smooth-rapping Brian Williams – thanks to the painstaking editing job done by Fallon’s producers. Multiple news clips of Williams’ reporting were cleverly stitched together to the tune of Rapper’s Delight, the classic 1979 rap song by The Sugarhill Gang.

Halfway through the music video, Williams’ rap solo turned into a duet as fellow Nightly News anchor Lester Holt showcased his own rapping “skills”. A split-second cameo courtesy of The Today Show co-host Kathie Lee Gifford is also shown, so watch the video carefully if you don’t want to miss it.

Brian Williams And Lester Holt Rap

Jimmy Fallon officially took over the reins of The Tonight Show on February 17, 2014. The show’s premiere episode garnered impressive ratings as it dominated over CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. The appearance of several high-profile guests like Robert de Niro, Will Smith, Tina Fey, and U2 certainly helped pull in the numbers.

During his stint on The Late Show, Fallon was known for showing funny sketches and viral video clips on his shows, owing to his experience on Saturday Night Live. The Brian Williams “Rapper’s Delight” remix might be an indication that Fallon and his team will be continuing the tradition on The Tonight Show.

This is not the first time that Fallon has created videos of a rapping Brian Williams. Some of the mashups shown on Late Night featured hits from popular hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg, Warren G, and N.W.A. The contrast of Williams’ charismatic and proper demeanor coupled with the lyrics of “Rapper’s Delight” provides the comedic gold in the video mashup. Williams recently discussed these videos with Fallon, and self-effacingly implied that younger audiences watch them as a form of punishment.