It’s hard to believe the Super Bowl LVI halftime show marked the first time a hip-hop artist would headline the highest-profile 12-to-14 minutes of entertainment in the world.
Hip-hop has been the dominant commercial musical idiom on the globe for nearly two decades. Yet, a few notable cameos notwithstanding, no hip-hop artist has ever formed the core of the uber-hyped halftime gig, which is consistently viewed by as many as 100 million people.
What took so long?
It’s true that the NFL has been slow to embrace rap and hip-hop, but for Super Bowl LVI, the league dove in at the deep end with a deeply stacked bill of hardcore hip-hop legends, the majority of whom represent the form’s initial rise to prominence. Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige had all sold millions of albums by the end of the '90s. Kendrick Lamar, at 34, the youngest performer in the lineup, is widely regarded as one of the most incisive, dynamic artists in the idiom’s history, and has a number of Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize on his mantel. This was a team that came to play.
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Employing a midfield stage set that represented a collection of homes on a Los Angeles street, the hip-hop heavyweights somehow managed to offer a seamless presentation that gave a spotlight to all of the individual artists – plus the surprise inclusion of a vignette from 50 Cent – while celebrating the overriding influence of Dr. Dre.
Yes, this whole shebang came across as a tribute to the co-founder of seminal Compton-born outfit N.W.A., who went on to become one of the most influential producers in the history of popular music. All involved were granted their moment, but all offered a tribute to Dre, in one form or another.
The love-fest kicked off with Dre and Snoop melding “The Next Episode” to “California Love,” before the unannounced appearance of 50 Cent, who tore through an abbreviated version of his “In Da Club,” surrounded by a bevy of dancers.
Mary J. Blige took it all to church with her dramatic melding of “Family Affair” to “No More Drama.” Then, the spotlight landed on Kendrick Lamar, who brought a more twisted artistic sensibility to the proceedings with a too-brief set marrying “M.a.a.D. City” to the anthemic “Alright,” the latter the song that became an anthem for Black Lives Matter protests in 2016 and beyond.
Eminem followed and turned in a virtuosic “Lose Yourself,” before all of the ensemble came together and grooved to “Still Dre,” led by Dre and Snoop.
It was a rapid-fire celebration of hip-hop’s power as both an avenue for entertainment and a pathway to cultural verisimilitude, one the NFL has largely avoided in the past.
Hip-hop has morphed abundantly since its genesis in the early '80s, but the artists featured in this year’s halftime show all represented the gritty realism and deep, soulful resonance of '90s hip-hop – a time when Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” and Tupac Shakur’s “All Eyez On Me” were defining a street-wise and urgent sound that much of white mainstream America interpreted as a threat. Blige brought an R&B/Gospel edge to that sound, and Lamar brought a new, jazz-inflected dialect to the conversation. But all are rooted in hip-hop’s power as a voice of protest and realism.
"We know a lot of people didn't want hip-hop on stage, but we're here now,” Snoop Dogg said in a news conference announcing the all-star lineup. “And there ain't nothing you can do about it.”
Thank Jay-Z, whose sports and entertainment company, Roc Nation, forged a deal with the NFL in 2019, with an eye, Jay-Z said at the time, toward uniting entertainment and social justice efforts.
It would be ridiculous to deny the NFL’s treatment of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick – who found himself persona non grata within the league after he began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the country – has informed this apparent shift in the NFL’s approach to the halftime spectacle.
The common trope embraced by the media in the weeks leading up to the game suggested this year’s halftime show represented the NFL moving away from old, safe rock bands toward a more youth-centric assemblage. That’s a bit silly, since, for example, Paul McCartney was in his early 60s when he headlined in 2005, and Dr. Dre is only a few years shy of his 60s today. But the general point is accurate – the NFL has shown every indication of being scared to wholly embrace hip-hop, instead favoring largely middle-of-the-road pop and (on occasion) rock artists.
It was more than nice to see this change in 2022. We in Buffalo should all welcome this breakthrough for hip-hop. For we can now look forward to a Super Bowl featuring the Bills that boasts a halftime show headlined by Buffalo hip-hop emissaries like Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine.
I'm ready for it. Are you?
