When Kendrick Lamar takes to the Super Bowl stage in New Orleans on Sunday night (February 9), he will become the first rapper to headline the halftime show by himself in the event’s 58-year history.
It’s a remarkable (if not long overdue) feat given Hip Hop’s cultural dominance over the last few decades, as well as its popularity among NFL players. Despite the criticism he’s faced since partnering with the league in 2019, JAY-Z is largely to thank for Hip Hop finally getting its shine on the planet’s biggest stage.
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On its own, Kendrick’s performance represents a historic moment for the culture. But within the context of the last year, his Super Bowl halftime show is the most anticipated live Hip Hop performance since Hov walked on to the Main Stage at Glastonbury in 2008 holding a bright white electric guitar.
Rewind 12 months and there would have already been high hopes for Kendrick’s show given he has been the pound-for-pound best rapper in the game for a decade and puts on a meticulously crafted and theatrical live show. But following his demolition of Drake, K.Dot performing at the Super Bowl is a must-watch event for every man, nan and dog in America.
With Drizzy suing Universal Music Group over “Not Like Us” and its defamatory content, the question on everybody’s lips is: will Kendrick Lamar perform the song? The stadium-status anthem is his biggest hit to date, one that just scored him five Grammys and one that over 100 million people will be tuning in to see. But the NFL are nothing if not conservative and Kendrick did censor himself the last time he performed at the Super Bowl.
In any case, there is no better representative for Hip Hop than Kendrick Lamar Duckworth. He is the apex of skill, possesses a fervently creative mind and at heart, is a showman. He is going to be on a stage that has historically overlooked Hip Hop in favor of (sometimes aging) pop and rock acts, something it is hard to see him not referencing given how much the genre means to him.
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There is also the topic of special guests. We already know SZA will be there ahead of their Grand National Tour later this year, but who else? Tyler, The Creator has said he is otherwise engaged. ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul could join him for another Black Hippy reunion. A Lil Wayne cameo would be the ultimate jab at Drake, although the New Orleans native will also be out of town (perhaps deliberately).
Hell, Taylor Swift is guaranteed to be in attendance to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, as his Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles. And as last weekend’s Grammys proved, the “Bad Blood” collaborators have nothing but love for each other.
With the big game just days away, HipHopDX takes a look at Hip Hop’s biggest moments at the Super Bowl thus far.
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1998: Queen Latifah Becomes the First Rapper to Perform at the Super Bowl
Nothing sums up the NFL’s complicated relationship with Hip Hop than the fact that no rapper appeared in the Super Bowl halftime show until 1998. That was Queen Latifah in a 40th anniversary tribute to Motown alongside Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves and The Temptations, which meant that she wasn’t even rapping.
Instead, she performed her song “Paper,” which is essentially a cover of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Not exactly an auspicious beginning for Hip Hop on the big stage, but everybody and everything has to start somewhere, right?
Latifah later returned to the Super Bowl in 2010 and 2014, singing “America the Beautiful” before both games.
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2001: Nelly “Walks This Way” with Aerosmith & NSYNC
It’s early 2001: 9/11 has not yet happened, George W. Bush has just been inaugurated and Nelly is the commercial king of Hip Hop. Back in the days when the Super Bowl halftime show was closer to a variety performance and featured a selection of big names, the St. Lunatic was called on to hold it down for Hip Hop, replacing Run-DMC for a rendition of their hit Aerosmith collaboration “Walk This Way.” It’s the kind of artistic mish-mash that could only happen on the most American stages of them all.
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2004: Nelly Returns to the Super Bowl Alongside Diddy
The 2004 Super Bowl will forever live in infamy thanks to Justin Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson’s boob to the world, but it was also the first year that the NFL appeared to truly embrace Hip Hop. Before the nip slip seen ’round the world, the show saw Diddy perform (the now aptly-titled) “Bad Boy For Life” and “Mo Money Mo Problems,” as well as a brief, Diddy-fied remix of Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” which is exactly as surreal as it sounds.
Nelly also returned from three years earlier and cranked up the temperature inside Houston’s Reliant Stadium with a rendition of “Hot In Herre.” Future Super Bowl halftime show organizer JAY-Z even appeared alongside other celebrities in a video package urging the American public to vote in that year’s president election, but the only thing that people seem to remember is the wardrobe malfunction.
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2012: Nicki Minaj & CeeLo Green Join Madonna’s Marching Band, But M.I.A. Steps Out of Line
The Queen of Pop is no stranger to controversy, but for a change, she was not at the center of it during her Super Bowl halftime performance in 2012. Madonna was joined by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. for “Give Me All Your Luvin,'” during which the latter decided to give the camera the middle finger.
The audacious move led to the NFL filing a lawsuit and likely costing the British rapper millions. Madonna also criticized M.I.A. for the headline-grabbing moment, which overshadowed an otherwise excellent show that also featured a cameo from CeeLo Green.
2015: Missy Elliott Steals the Super Bowl Spotlight From Katy Perry
Best remembered for a rogue dancing shark, Katy Perry’s big Super Bowl moment was almost stolen entirely from her by an on-form Missy Elliott. Appearing midway through the set for a three-track salvo, the pioneering female MC immediately improved the atmosphere, dialed up the energy and ripped through a trifecta of classics — “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It” and “Lose Control” — to leave us wondering how good a solo Missy Elliott Super Bowl would be.
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2019: Big Boi & Travis Scott Inject Southern Rap Energy into Maroon 5’s Atlanta Show
Despite having collaborated with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Future and Cardi B, Maroon 5 are not exactly the first band that come to mind when you think of Hip Hop. But with the 2019 Super Bowl being held in the Black mecca of Atlanta, pressure was on for Hip Hop to be represented in some way during the halftime show, especially given this was at the height of the Colin Kaepernick controversy and Rihanna had already turned it down.
Enter the past and present of Southern rap in Big Boi and Travis Scott. La Flame brought his signature rage to the big stage with a fiery performance of “Sicko Mode,” while Daddy Fat Sax put on for the A with a medley of “Kryptonite (I’m On It)” and the OutKast classic “The Way You Move” alongside Sleepy Brown.
However, it was not enough to save what is considered one of the worst shows in Super Bowl history. On the bright side, it directly led to the NFL partnering with Roc Nation to improve their halftime offerings.
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2022: Dr. Dre Rounds Up Hip Hop Royalty For An All-Star Spectacle
The first ever truly Hip Hop Super Bowl halftime show, Dr. Dre and his merry band of all-time greats did not disappoint. Across 15 historic minutes, Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and surprise guest 50 Cent put on a flawless, hits-filled spectacle that gave off house party vibes while also paying tribute to its host city of Los Angeles.
Perhaps best known for Em’s kneeling tribute to Colin Kaepernick and 50 hanging upside down just like he did in the “In Da Club” video, the performance was also a perfect celebration of Hip Hop’s versatility, diversity and ability to rise to the moment.
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2024: Usher, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupri & will.i.am Make Sin City Say “Yeah!”
Usher always likes to put on a show and between 2021 and 2023, he made Las Vegas his second home through an acclaimed, 100-show residency. The following year, he returned for the city’s first Super Bowl and brought more than a few friends with him.
While Super Bowl halftime shows are often quickfire medleys, a shirtless Usher dedicated a special amount of time to his iconic hit “Yeah!,” with Ludacris and Lil Jon performing their parts in full. Jermaine Dupri and will.i.am also joined the party for “Confessions Part II” and “OMG,” respectively. Special shout out to JD’s shorts and socks combo.
