A Reminder: The Super Bowl Finally Welcomed Hip-Hop
By Nya Hardaway
The Super Bowl hosted its first all Hip-Hop halftime show with some of the greatest performers of all time.
The Super Bowl halftime show has been the topic of discussion and on Sunday, February 13, the legends took the stage, and Hip-Hop was officially brought to the Super Bowl. Dr. Dre and some of his most famous collaborators performed hit after hit, shocking the crowd inside the stadium. Let us relish in the day that was the first Hip-Hop halftime show.
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar with guest performer 50 Cent and a special appearance from Anderson Paak on drums, all came together to put on a show that lived up to the hype. The stage had architecture replicas of Tam’s Burgers, the Compton courthouse and Randy’s Donuts set up for the perfect groundbreaking Black-LA performance.
Dre and Snoop started it up with, “The Next Episode” which made its smooth transition into “California Love”, where Snoop filled in for Tupac Shakur, may he rest in peace. Unannounced performer 50 Cent performed “In Da Club” hanging upside down just as he does in the music video for the song. Already three hits in, the legends continued to shine as Blige took the stage. Her well-known bop, “Family Affair,” was first on the list. After that, she wrapped up her set with, “No More Drama” and lies on the floor as she successfully confirmed her place in the hall of greats.
If you were not engrossed by then, you were when Lamar took the stage performing his popular songs “m.A.A.d. city” and “Alright” with a uniform group of dancers, all with sashes worded with “Dre Day,” a subtle yet strong dedication to Dre. We then made another smooth transition to “Forgot About Dre.” Then we spotted our next performer, Eminem. The Hip Hop legend began with “Lose Yourself”, one of his most popular Grammy award winning songs. A great choice for a day of legends.
To wrap up the extraordinary halftime show, we were given a subtle piano tribute to Tupac played by Dre himself in “I Ain’t Mad At Cha.” After that, Snoop and Dre took the stage one more time with their co-performers behind them as they performed "Still D.R.E.,” relishing the milestone they had participated in.