INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Dr. Dre & Co. took the burden of the hip-hop tradition on the Tremendous Bowl stage, shouldered the strain from skeptics and delivered a powerful halftime present to show that edgy rap can work on the world’s greatest sporting occasions.
All it took was hip-hop’s most controversial figures — and one knee taken by music’s most distinguished white rapper.
Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar had been headliners together with 50 Cent as a particular visitor on the Tremendous Bowl halftime present on Sunday. Their collective efficiency is without doubt one of the greatest since Beyoncé and Bruno Mars’ halftime set in 2016.
Every performer provided their very own ingredient: Dre, Snoop Dogg and Lamar introduced their West Coast taste. Blige — referred to as the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” — sang and danced her coronary heart out. 50 Cent hit the musical rewind button with “In Da Membership.”
When Eminem’s flip got here, he carried out a few his hits beginning with “Forgot About Dre” with Anderson .Paak taking part in the drums. However he seemingly defied the NFL by kneeling after performing “One Shot.”
Eminem stayed down on one knee for a second whereas Dre sat in entrance of a piano and performed Tupac’s “I Ain’t Mad at Cha.”
Dre, a prolific producer, kicked off the efficiency standing behind a sound desk on prime of a makeshift white home. He launched Snoop Dogg — sporting a blue bandana outfit — who carried out just a few classics corresponding to “The Subsequent Episode” and “California Love.”
Afterward, Snoop Dogg yelled out “West Coast make some noise.” The rapper’s assertion confirmed their unabashedly try to ship a exceptional view of Southern California music — particularly the lowrider vehicles posted on stage.
Like in his “In Da Membership” music video, 50 Cent started his set upside draw back sporting a white tank prime.
Blige appeared on a rooftop with a slew of dancers jamming to her traditional melodies “Household Affair” then carried out “No Extra Ache.” Her set seamlessly went to the black suit-wearing Lamar who was joined by different Black males sporting identical outfits as him.
After Eminem’s efficiency, all six joined collectively as Dre rapped “Nonetheless Dre.” Their closing act had an array of dancers wearing khaki outfits.
The six legendary performers – notably Dre and Snoop Dogg – carried out the clear variations of their songs for the PG crowd. It initially felt sort of bizarre at first, as a result of there have been a number of cases when a expletive phrase was changed by a safer one.
On the NFL nationwide stage, that labored to their benefit. Why? It reveals that hip-hop might be carried out in varied variations and nonetheless be interesting to the ears.