Whenever the Super Bowl comes around, attention always turns to the half-time show as fans eagerly await the performance.
So, when the artists were announced for Super Bowl LVI, it’s fair to say fans were excited for the half-time spectacular with a line up including some of the biggest names in hip hop history – Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent.
In years gone by, Super Bowl half-time performances have attracted attention and controversy for all the wrong reasons. Who could ever forget the 2004 half-time performance of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake when the infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’ occurred, creating the ‘Nipplegate’ scandal?
During his performance of ‘Rock Your Body’ Timberlake sung the last line of the song which included the lyrics ‘Cause I gotta have you naked by the end of this song’. He then pulled off part of Jackson’s clothing and briefly exposed her right breast in front of a TV audience of 140 million viewers. Viewers were left stunned and shocked by the incident.
There would be no such drama at this year’s Super-Bowl performance as fans lucky enough to be at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles were treated to a trip down memory lane by some of hip-hop’s greatest ever artists.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg started the half-time performance by singing the old school smash hit ‘The Next Episode’ with Snoop Dogg decked out in the blue and yellow colours of the LA Rams, who were featuring in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The two rap legends then paid tribute to the late, great 2Pac as they launched into ‘California Love’ as the crowd went wild.
Next up was special guest 50 Cent who was hanging upside down from the ceiling as he performed his 2003 smash hit ‘In Da Club’.
R&B superstar Mary J. Blige continued the show when she performed ‘No More Drama’, followed by Kendrick Lamar singing ‘Alright’.
Eminem then joined the party and belted out his hit ‘Lose Yourself’, which got the crowd pumped up. At the end of the performance, Eminem decided to take a knee – ‘Colin Kaepernick-style’ – as all the performers came together on stage for the final time.
Before the half-time spectacular, Dr. Dre said he hopes the performance can inspire future hip-hop artists and excite the fans.
“We’re gonna open more doors for hip-hop artists in the future and making sure that the NFL understands this is what it should have been a long time ago,” Dr. Dre said at a press conference before the show.
“We’re gonna show exactly how professional we can be, how dope we can be on stage and how exciting we are going to be to the fans.”
The half-time show will go down as one of the best in history. Fans online couldn’t get enough with comments such as ‘the single best half-time show in Super Bowl history’, ‘this halftime show already giving me massive goosebumps!!’ and ‘this half-time show is epic’.
Judging by the fans reactions, it’s clear to see the NFL made the right choices with their artists for the half-time show at Super Bowl LVI. Old-school hip-hop is here to stay.
