Alright, I’ll admit it… I’m confused.
We all heard the reports that the NFL told Eminem NOT to take a knee during the Super Bowl halftime performance, and he did it anyways.
However, the NFL later commented that they didn’t tell the rapper ‘no,’ and were more than aware of the fact that he was planning to kneel. Some folks said it was in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, some think it was for Tupac, we still don’t know…
There was also reports that Kendrick Lamar wasn’t allowed to say some lines, Snoop wasn’t allowed to wear a blue flag, Dre wasn’t allowed to say “still not loving police,” it was widely reported that the NFL has a number of issues with the halftime performance.
And according to Dr. Dre himself… it’s all bullshit.
He opened up in a sit-down with TMZ, talking about everything the league told them they had a problem with:
“There were a few things we had to change, but it was like, really minor things. Em taking a knee, that was Em doing that on his own, and there was no problem with that.
I think, the beginning of Kendrick’s set, he says ‘if Piru’s and Crips all got along,’ they had a problem with that, so we had to take that out. No big deal, we get it.
But all in all, everybody came in, we were professional, everybody was on time, and everybody really felt the magnitude of what this thing was and what we able to accomplish and it was a fantastic experience.”
There you have it… nothing about kneeling, nothing about saying police, they told Kendrick not to refer to well-known Los Angeles gangs and he seemed to be cool with it.
There was also a line missing from Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright,” which says “and we hate popo,” however the “popo” part was omitted. It’s unclear if the NFL removed that, NBC, or if Kendrick just didn’t say it. Dr. Dre said “still not loving police” however.
Either way, it sounds like the internet made it a much, much bigger deal than the people actually on stage.
Needless to say, it’s one of the most talked about halftime shows we’ve seen in recent years.
Throwback To Shania Twain’s 2003 Super Bowl Halftime Show
The year was 2003.
The Oakland Raiders were set to take on their former head coach Jon Gruden and the stout defense of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.
The game was a blow out, with the Bucs jumping out to a 20-3 lead by halftime and never looking back.
And speaking of halftime, 2003 was the last time a country music act got to perform the show… we’re talking about the great Shania Twain.
Singing her 1999 hit single “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” and 2003’s “Up,” which was released shortly before the Super Bowl, Shania eventually hopped up on a lift and flew out over the audience to end her performance. You know, some real Garth Brooks kind of shit.
Shortly thereafter, No Doubt and Sting took the stage to bring the Super Bowl halftime show to its conclusion.
Unfortunately, we haven’t see a country act since, however Eric Church performed the national anthem alongside Jazmine Sullivan at last year’s Super Bowl LV, and Mickey Guyton will handle the anthem this year as Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals take on Matt Stafford and the Los Angels Rams.
Stafford Kupp ’22 – Get the shirt HERE.
