1990s and 2000s hip-hop, meet the 2010s. Millennial-era bars, let me introduce you to Gen-X verses.
Announced on Thursday, Sept. 30, Pepsi, the NFL, and Roc Nation will officially host the greatest collection of Super Bowl halftime talent the event has ever seen. The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI halftime show (airing on NBC) will bring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022.
Together these artists have collected 43 Grammy awards and posted 22 number one Billboard albums. This concert marks the first time that these five multi-award-winning artists will perform together on stage.
“Artists like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were at the forefront of the West Coast hip hop revolution, so to be able to bring them back to L.A., where it all began, alongside Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, will prove to be an epic, unforgettable celebration of the impact hip-hop has today,” Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s vice president of marketing, said in a press release.
Dr. Dre is widely credited with being one of the most influential figures in hip-hop culture and a driving force behind its mass popularity. His 1992 album, The Chronic, helped introduce the world to Snoop’s sly, stoned lyricism. And his 2000 single, Forgot About Dre, introduced the world to Eminem’s in-your-face, rat-a-tat delivery.
“We have 11 or 12 minutes to go out and do something spectacular,” Dre said in a preview video. “We have to figure out creatively how we’re going to blow people’s minds.”
All five artists have deeply influenced music, each bringing a unique style that forever altered hip-hop. In 1992, for example, Blige released her debut album, What’s the 411?, which is credited for introducing and popularizing rap as a featured act within R&B. It was the first album by a singer to have a rapper on every song.
After two critically acclaimed hip-hop releases, Lamar continued hip-hop’s transcendence into mainstream appeal with 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly and 2017’s Damn, incorporating elements of funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word in a resounding personal plea and socio-political statement. Damn’s lead single, Humble, topped the US Billboard Hot 100, while the album became the first non-classical/non-jazz album to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
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Not only does the lineup create anticipation for music fans worldwide, it holds a special significance for the greater Los Angeles community. Dre, Snoop and Lamar native Angelinos helping the city to host its first Super Bowl in nearly 30 years.
As part of this nod to the City of Angels, Pepsi and the NFL have joined together to support Regional School #1’s launch, a South L.A. magnet school opening to students next fall. The secondary academy will offer a unique educational model focused on integrated design, technology, and entrepreneurship, based on a program founded by Jimmy Iovine and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young.
“This effort will help develop and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators,” Los Angeles Unified Interim Superintendent Megan K. Reilly said. “We are excited about the additional opportunities this partnership will bring to our students.”
With the incredible collaboration all set to go, the only question that remains is, will just over 10 minutes of music be enough?
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