Not only are we a few hours away from a Super Bowl matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams, but we’re also almost moments away from what’s lining up to be an awesome halftime show. Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige are all going to take the stage later tonight. Dre has promised some surprises for the halftime show, but whatever’s about to happen won’t occur without approval from the NFL.
One thing they shot down was this: Eminem reportedly wanted to take a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. According to Consequence and Puck, the NFL denied Eminem’s request. The league has also allegedly denied one of Snoop Dogg’s outfits due to possible gang ties and it flagged Dr. Dre’s lyric from “Still D.R.E.” as it includes lyrics like “still not loving police.” It’s reported that the league doesn’t want the Super Bowl to be perceived as a “divisive culture war moment.”
Nonetheless, Dre is very excited about the halftime show, which he spent upwards of $7 million worth to put together. “Hip-hop is the biggest genre of music on the planet right now, so it’s crazy that it took all of this time for us to be recognized,” he said. “I think we’re going to go on and do a fantastic show and we’re going to do it so big that they can’t deny us any more in the future.”