The NFL is gearing up for its biggest day of the year with Super Bowl LV on Sunday (February 7). Although this year’s festivities will be different thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic altering many of the plans, the halftime show remains one of the day’s marquee events.
This year, The Weeknd will be headlining the show weeks after the Recording Academy snubbed him at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Artists usually use a show or song to express their feelings towards something, and with that notion, fans expect something big from The Weeknd.
The NFL has a history of missing the mark when it comes to racism and representing Black culture. So how did they manage to score one of the most prominent Black artists today at the Recording Academy’s expense, who also struggles with racism in their industry?
Let’s turn back the clock to four years ago when Hip Hop legend JAY-Z sided with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick who spoke out against racial injustices in the United States. While the former quarterback protested and was ostracized by many, Hov shouted him out on several occasions, even wearing Kaepernick’s jersey during a performance on Saturday Night Live in 2017.
The “God MC” strengthened his allegiance to Kaepernick when he seemingly confirmed reports he turned down the 2018 halftime show when he took a shot at the NFL on “Apeshit” off his collaborative album with his wife, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, titled Everything Is Love.
“I said no to the Super Bowl, you need me, I don’t need you/Every night we in the end zone, tell the NFL we in stadiums too,” Hov rapped in the second verse. In the visual to the song, several Black men knelt in front of the Louvre Museum to bring the matter home while the Brooklyn rapper took the slight jab at the NFL.
Hov felt he had the answers and the NFL proved he was right when they announced a partnership deal with Roc Nation in August 2019 that turned a lot of heads. The union allowed Hov and his team to produce and consult bookings for the Super Bowl halftime show and other live music performances.
It also let Hov’s company influence the leagues’ new social justice initiative, Inspire Change, in which Meek Mill and Rapsody became advocates. No time was wasted either as one of Hov’s first moves was having the league set aside $100 million towards criminal justice reform over the next 10 years.
During a press conference, Hov reminded the critics that the root of Kaepernick’s protest was not to get his job back but bring attention to social and racial injustice. The NFL is aiming to achieve that awareness through its entertainment sector, and they’re getting assistance from two important forms of expression in Black culture, Hip Hop and R&B.
As Murs said during HipHopDX’s The Breakdown, “While many in the community support Colin Kaepernick, you have to admit that taking a knee is a little bit past it for the Hip Hop generation.”
Hov said those same sentiments during the press conference, “I think we’ve moved past kneeling, and I think it’s time to go into actionable items.”
Since the partnership’s announcement, the league has brought to life those “actionable items” and made several efforts in recognizing the racial and social injustices that plague the country through its media channels.
Roc Nation clients Jennifer Lopez and Shakira used their 2020 halftime performance to make powerful statements against the country’s torrid immigration policy and treatment of Puerto Rico following the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. It was the first time the NFL showed support to this degree on its programming and it was just the beginning.
For its 2019 season, the NFL launched Songs of the Season, a series that showcases musicians who created a song that touches on social and racial injustice, and artists like Royce Da 5’9, Lecrae and SASH have already contributed to the series. The league took an even bigger step when up-and-coming artist Blackway recorded “Heavyweight” as the first single for the 2020 edition.
In September, Alicia Keys, who Roc Nation manages, teamed up with the NFL to launch a $1 billion endowment fund for Black-owned businesses and communities. Weeks later, Roc Nation and the NFL announced the hiring of Jesse Collins, the league’s first Black executive producer for the 2021 halftime show.
Collins, who has produced for the BET Hip Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards, makes a statement having The Weeknd headline this year’s halftime show. The Toronto superstar will be the first Black artist to grab the reins since the NFL and Roc Nation announced their deal in 2019. It’s also important to note The Weeknd is no stranger to using his platform with donations and calling out big companies to aid in the fight for racial and social injustice.
JAY-Z Addresses NFL Controversy On Jay Electronica's 'Flux Capacitor'
Football is America’s favorite sport and the Super Bowl is the most-watched program almost every year. The halftime show always has viewers in the millions and those numbers will seemingly rise with everyone forced to stay home this year. So what better way to make a statement than using the platform of one of America’s most beloved forms of entertainment?
JAY-Z called out the NFL and soon found his way into the league offices to help implement the changes it desperately needs. It may not be the way everyone wanted, but it’s certainly having an impact.
So what you are saying is, the coke pusher, murderer, stabber that made his career glorifying his street violence and drug pushing, that is now almost a billionaire, that later supports BLM and claims the US has systematic racism (again, multi Grammy winning, almost a billionaire)… Youre saying he is a HYPOCRITE? Hahahahaha. “Artists can’t perform at the Super Bowl, but it’s OK for the players?” Kanye West.
But I bet u love watching Scarface. FOH u bitch
What? Someone can call Jay Z a hypocrite, who is a real person, and like a fictional film about a Cuban in Miami, dipshit. What does one thing have to do with another? Do you think Jay-Z didn’t really sell come and all of that is made up? Hahaha. Do you think he didn’t stab dude in that bar? You’re delusional dummy!
Yeah him and sound like an white hater@DUH.. &we’re both frm inner city definitely frm inner city Projects.. I’m proud of wht Shawn Carter did to his career.. His way ??
Yeah. I guarantee you wouldn’t last 2 seconds where I’m from bitch. BRAZIL. LOL. Your real dad was white. Ho. I’m a Latino. The point your dumb, illiterate ass didn’t understand was… he is a hypocrite. The article is stating the obvious. Also, with all this boycott the Super Bowl halftime show, why are PLAYERS allowed to perform? It’s ridiculous. I get it, you have a double digit IQ and can barely speak English, let alone multiple languages. Instead of just getting upset at FACTS maybe just shut your stupid ass up next time. Little kid. You obviously don’t have anything intelligent to say. You’re white. I’m from the projects. Hahaha. Dumb ass loser.
Shut the fuck up, cocksucker, FOH with all that BS bitch !
I still don’t believe they tried to get Jay-Z to do a Superbowl halftime performance. I haven’t seen any quotes or sources from the NFL to confirm it. And Jay-Z is a rap star… not a pop star.
Jay-Z only working for his own interests. Nothing’s changed. And we all know Weeknd only f*cks with white girls.
See, this is why King HOV is the GOAT. Only he can make the Super Bowl step their halftime show game up. If broke ass Nas complained about the same thing, he would’ve just been ignored and they would’ve kept bringing the same old sleepy boring rock groups to perform. It’s the ROC in here!
dude that’s dedication right there, are you on this comments shit since their thing at 2001?
Yo you need a medal for this. You been hating on Nas on this comments section since Ether dropped!!! That’s some real dedication. You wrong but your loyalty is commendable.
90’s groupie, move on no one cares, cheerleader, find where j z lives and go camp out & beg him to give you the opportunity to suck him off !!
It was bad until he got paid
Black people in the US are the biggest crybabies in the world. As a black man from the UK which also had slaves it’s so odd to see millionaires and billionaires say there is systemic racism. Nobody takes “African Americans” seriously throughout the world. Bunch of whiny babies.
I bet your family didn’t get to England through slavery they immagrated there and compared to the amount of rich whites even jay z himself said we got alot of catching up to do. Even white people in america agree you just finally got your ass out the jungle now your gonna debate american race relations stop
Folk…that’s such a off based argument. Millionaire and billionaires sound like cry babies. I want call you uneducated or misguided but like everyone me not excluded racism has affected us in more ways we can imagine. It’s not odd that a minority population is the majority force in the world. And here in America I won’t blame you for your view. Cause you know what’s projected to over the t.v. and trough the media. Like for a while or when I was growing up, the projection of Africa and africans where poor run down. Then you grow to learn for yourself the developed countries and places like Dubia where there’s a thriving economy. But you know what you know till you learn better. So if the majority talent invention and the back bone of the American economy came off the backs of blacks here. Why is there not more wealth shown. You have to know using your own self as an example… You would take advantage of every opportunity given why would you expect different for those over here… meaning we would have taken advantage of growth opportunities here as well. But when your left with the bottom you find yourself scrapping the ground for change. Not by accident those who try to do it the right way are killed brutalized to keep others from trying. While those more willing to exploit are allowed to succeed cause it’s still a controlled system which we are fighting against. But the biggest difference. Is White folk will fight hand tooth and nail to stay on power, and back each other regardless of country or nationality. To where people of color have been shown there unity will be meet with starch oppression so it’s harder to be on the same page cause survival is the most important. So where surviving not thriving…While there thriving not surviving. Most folk didn’t think black people exist in england either cause you never saw it projected on t.v. then you learn the lies they tell about you so you learn to find the truth yourself. Never expect your oppressor to bring you truth.
Yet your family let a few white colonizers make u flee your country? And they are over there still smaking up your women, being worshipped like gods and stealing your resources while you are hiding in the UK. And you think that’s respected?
beyonce can sing the national anthem.
hip hop / rap whatever they want to call it sold all the people completely out. the more exposed the music is the more worthless. When Jay Z was up and coming as a rapper he had a nice hip edge to it. but he became another buffoon hugging on a scarface DVD talking nonsense and stupidity knowing young kids are listening and want to be exactly like him. Amos Wilson discusses these USA issues in his videos on YouTube
the image of black people as predators and drug dealers and criminals is perpetuated by Hollywood and pop culture. the sad part if it wasn’t Jay Z they want to use as their mascot there’s a line up of black folks down the block eager to get ran through for their shot at the big time. Dudes like Jay Z get paid millions by the system to convince black youth that in a difficult situation crime can be a career choice, and only “nerds” look out for their own self interest and their community interest by getting an education and focusing on life beyond a few blocks in one part of a small city. very sad because it’s clearly a work.
Jay z employees 10% black people at roc nation but always say he for the people no he for poc which isn’t black people and lesbians cause his mother a bisexual.
That image was perpetrated looong before Jay-Z, and really ramped up after the civil war and during the feminist movement of the 1970s. Nice try tho
Who cares?..the NFL is rigged anyways dummies…lmaoooo
That show was not hip hop in any way.
mnmn
coming up guys like Jay Z and Snoop were PPV and marketed to young ADULTS. Not kids. Of course teenagers heard thug rap as youngsters but it wasn’t marketed directly to kids. now they want to change the game and say this nonsense is suitable for all ages. Not when it’s being marketed directly at youth. If dudes figure out they like a certain kind of music at 16 that’s one thing. Marketing to kids is another and that’s why a lot of folks have turned against rap. not any other reason.
The NFL still doesn’t think black people are smart enough to be head coaches or general managers.
And the rule changes over the last 10 years have made playing defense a joke.
Why do people still watch the NFL?
Who the f**k is Mark Elibert? Why does he call Jay-Z The “God MC”. Did he ever heard about someone called Rakim?
Ra.kim is the Goat However can you name a MC. thats been in the game 30 yrs& still stopping hot tracks currently & working towards ending racism Nationwide The R is top 5 MC He Changed the Way We eat !! Fish favorite dish &No Pork. Jay got brothers bldging Empires in every Area NFL Tidal Bldging all types of Aves
Ugh..because it’s a line from Takeover. Plus Jay-Z also goes by Hova or Jay Hova as in Jehovah. Try listening to the Blueprint will you it’s one of the albums in hip hop history.
Chris brown
Its called growth.
Chris brown