On Sunday February 13, 2022, during the Super Bowl halftime show – where the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals (23-20) – Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, who has been recently accused of sexual assault by one of his female dancers, performed their greatest hits for about 15 minutes for this unforgettable event. Alongside with the two hip-hop icons, other rappers responded to the call: 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem joined them for a remarkable show.
1. A flood of hip-hop legends
After the release of an epic trailer sponsored by Pepsi., US rap legends met last Sunday to make the audience dance to the beat of their historical hits. The show started with The Next Episode by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, who then performed California Love as a tribute to Tupac Shakur. 50 Cent was up next as a surprise guest, starting off literally upside down for a short instant, to deliver a version of In Da Club. Mary J. Blige then kicked things off with Family Affair and No More Drama, followed by Kendrick Lamar with M.A.A.D City and Alright. Then, the audience heard the first notes of Eminem’s Love Yourself resonating in the stadium, before Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg came back to end the show with Still Dre.
2. Celebrities in the stands
If many celebrities were on stage, the stands were filled with stars from the entertainment industry. The Rock were on the field to introduce the two teams, as Charlize Theron and the duo Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck enjoyed the show. Wearing his balaclava, Kanye “Ye” West appeared with two of his children, while Drake, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg, among others, were on the side of the field. We could also notice Prince Harry and his cousin Princess Eugenie, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Kevin Hart, Ryan Reynolds, and Justin Bieber along with his wife Hailey Baldwin.
3. Eminem, down on one knee
Detroit-raised rapper Eminem hasn’t gone unnoticed. After his rendition of his Oscar-winning Lose Yourself – an anthem for the underdogs going from rags to riches – he went down on his knee as a reference to US quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick’s sign of protest against police brutality in the States. At the time, this act triggered a semi-revolution within the National Football League (NFL) and the athlete reaped Donald Trump’s insults. While it was stated that the NFL tried to talk the rapper out of doing this gesture, it has been debunked by the New York Post.
Super Bowl was played on February 13th, 2022, in Los Angeles.
