It’s been 5 days since it was announced that Kendrick Lamar would be headlining the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in New Orleans in February 2025. Since then, the internet has been divided over whether the honor should have gone to the NOLA native, who had actively been campaigning for an opportunity to headline the show in his hometown – Lil Wayne. While fans, television personalities, and some of his peers in Hip-Hop have advocated for Wayne, saying he should have gotten the honor, he has been silent all week. Until now. Lil Wayne breaks silence on Super Bowl performance snub in a vulnerable video he shared on social media.
The Super Bowl has been in New Orleans several times before, with the last time being in 2013 when the show was headlined by Beyonce and featured Destiny’s Child. However, that was long before Hip-Hop and R&B have seemingly taken the forefront again during halftime, thanks to Roc Nation having a key role in the Apple Music presented halftime show. Jay-Z, being the front man for Roc Nation, having signed a partnership with the NFL, has received a majority of the credit for the headliners of the last few years, which have included Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg, Usher, and Rihanna.
Since Usher’s performance earlier this year, Lil Wayne has been campaigning for the opportunity to headline this coming Super Bowl halftime show, in large part because it is taking place in his hometown of New Orleans. The announcement of Kendrick Lamar sent shockwaves throughout the industry because for the first time in a long time, it felt like an artist had been snubbed from the opportunity. If a rapper was going to headline the show in New Orleans, Wayne seemed like the obvious choice. Instead, we’re getting the rapper from Compton, California, who was able to make an appearance during the halftime performance when the show was in California, just 3 years ago.
Lil Wayne Breaks Silence on Super Bowl Snub
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Prior to this message, which was posted in the middle of the night on the East coast, and right around midnight on the West Coast, everyone from Master P to Nicki Minaj to Juvenile and of course Birdman had all come out in defense of the Cash Money rapper, saying his influence on the New Orleans music scene and the music industry over the years alone should have gotten him the opportunity to perform in his own city.
We had even posted an explanation of why fans were mad that Lil Wayne didn’t get the opportunity to headline the show, for those that might not understand why this was even a debate, considering the year that Kendrick Lamar had. But the Super Bowl has never been about the artist with the best year or the biggest hit at the time. It’s a celebration of an artist who has had a successful career and a long list of hits.
Lil Wayne shared that the snub “broke me.” Still, he says he is working to get past it, and he’s “working.” That second part should come as no surprise as the rapper recently announced that he would be reuniting the Hot Boys officially at the WeeyAna Fest, which takes place in New Orleans in November.
Did Jay-Z Snub Lil Wayne
The have been questions about exactly who is exactly in charge of picking the Super Bowl halftime performer. While Jay-Z has gotten much of the credit the last few years, like we mentioned earlier, the internet has been trying to spread the blame for this year’s pick to others.
Some tried to say that the host city makes the final decision on who gets to perform. However, Andscape did some research and found that the city of New Orleans did not have any say in who the performer would be.
Jay Cicero, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and a Super Bowl LIX Host Committee member, offered some clarity in an email to Andscape: “It is the NFL’s decision alone for all entertainment for the Super Bowl. We found out about it at the same time everyone else did this past weekend.”
Looks like the blame is back in the Roc Nation court. Jay-z has yet to comment on this, and he likely won’t, but Lil Wayne fans will continue to feel some type of way about the perceived snub.
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