Nicki Minaj Went Off On Jay-Z For Snubbing Lil Wayne Out Of This Year's Super Bowl Halftime Show In New Orleans, And I Am Being Roasted Online For Saying That As Phenomenal A Rapper Kendrick Lamar Is, He Is NOT A Good Choice For The Gig
Look, it's not like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne are openly feuding or anything. They've even worked together on some killer tracks, and they've both said positive things about each other's talent at different times. But, you know, there's definitely a bit of an edge there. They're both giants in the rap game, and it's only natural that there's some competition between them.
Think about it - they've both been at the top of their game for years, vying for that number one spot. It's bound to create a little friction, right? Plus, there have been a few instances where things got a bit spicy. Birdman, Lil Wayne's mentor, once claimed Wayne was a better rapper than Jay-Z. That probably didn't go over too well. And then there were those subtle disses in some of their songs, like on the 2011 track "H.A.M." by Jay-Z and Kanye West, there's a line perceived as a diss towards Birdman, which could be interpreted as indirectly targeting Lil Wayne due to their close association.
Advertisement
Lil Wayne seemingly responded on his 2011 song "It's Good" with lyrics aimed at Jay-Z.
And yah, they've collaborated on several massive songs, like"Hello Brooklyn 2.0," "Mr. Carter," and "Swagga Like Us." But you know the saying, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" right? There's always been whispers that Jay Z has always seen Lil Wayne as more of a threat to his legacy than as a friend.
Basically, Jay-Z got this gig picking the Super Bowl halftime acts 'cause the NFL was in hot water a few years back. People were pissed about how they handled the whole Kaepernick thing and all those protests, and the halftime show was getting kinda stale.
The partnership between Roc Nation and the NFL as a PR move, a way for the league to deflect attention from its ongoing issues with racial inequality and player protests.
Critics argue that the NFL is essentially pandering to Jay-Z, using his influence and celebrity to improve its image without addressing the underlying problems. It's seen as a superficial attempt to appear "woke" while avoiding real change.
So, they bring in Jay-Z and his company, Roc Nation, to make things cool again. And yeah, he's brought in some huge names - J.Lo, Shakira, even freaking Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg two years ago in LA. The halftime show's definitely more exciting now. But it still got there because they were kissing up to Jay Z and the rap community to begin with.
And this entire move of tabbing Kendrick Lamar to perform this year in New Orleans kind of wreaks of pettiness when all things are considered.
So for Nicki Minaj to go nuts on twitter today and call out that giant elephant in the room was pretty shocking.
This comes after the NFL announced their decision yesterday.
I tweeted the following.
Advertisement
So yesterday morning about 90 minutes before the season kicked off the NFL dropped this announcement, which Nate covered.
CBS Sports - Five months before we knew who will be competing in Super Bowl LIX, we learned who will be performing the halftime show between all the action -- Kendrick Lamar. The 17-time Grammy winner will take the stage on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music announced the news ahead of the Sunday's Week 1 slate, with a video on social media. Here is a look at Kendrick Lamar telling us all where we can meet him in February.
Roc Nation founder Jay-Z said, via Variety, "Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick's work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come."
This is the second time Lamar will be taking the Super Bowl stage. He also made an appearance in 2022 alongside Eminem, Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige.
Lamar has the third-most Grammy wins by a rapper, has 29 BET Hip Hop Awards, the most by any artist, and was listed as one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.
(Sidebar - the tidbit I liked the most in this press release was regarding the New Orleans Superdome. "The Superdome is undergoing $500 million in renovations ahead of their big hosting gig, including new escalators, bathrooms and walkways. New Orleans was originally awarded the 2024 Super Bowl, but when the season expanded to 17 games, the timing conflicted with Mardi Gras celebrations and they were instead given the 2025 championship." That is a ton of money for a building that was pretty recently renovated. That place is hopefully going to be looking and feeling pretty snazzy from February.)
But back to the Super Bowl, Kendrick, and the blog.
I tweeted what I said up top after the announcement, and have been hearing about it heavy ever since.
Being told I'm a fucking moron and don't know anything about music is nothing new, but I'm legitimately surprised at not only how hardcore the Kendrick fanbse is, but how vast it is.
I think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest rappers alive.
I saw him play the south stage at Lollapalooza in 2013 with a full band and it was one of the better rap performance sets I have ever seen or heard at a festival.
I think his "Backseat" freestyle is better than 90% of today's generation of rappers official album cuts.
Advertisement
I acknowledge that he absolutely destroyed Drake this year and have even gone so far as to praise J Cole and call him a genius for recognizing how foolish it was to step to Kendrick and quickly apologize and scrub his diss-track off the internet. It probably saved his career.
Kendrick is a genius. He blew through school with straight A's, is noteably a voracious reader, and has a vocabulary that is pretty unheard of in today's day and age.
The man won a fucking pulitzer prize in 2018 for his album DAMN., making him the first non-classical or jazz musician to receive it.
He has won a total of 17 Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album multiple times.
So I write all that to reiterate that I am a fan of the guy. A big fan.
But I still feel like the NFL got this one wrong.
Here is why.
1- as BIG an artist Kendrick Lamar is, he is just not "Super Bowl Halftime Performer" big. If that makes sense.
As long as I can remember, the half time show has always been safe.
Especially since the whole Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson thing.
Not just in terms of the performances themselves. But safe in terms of the performers.
They've been mega famous, household names and international superstars.
Can you argue Kendrick Lamar fits that category?
Not really.
Have your parents ever heard of him? Could they name even 1 song of his? Will they have any clue who that person is on stage this February?
Regardless of that criteria, let's say none of that matters.
If you insist on overlooking the clear no-brainer choices that have yet to play a Super Bowl - The Killers, The Foo Fighters, Guns n Roses, Metallica, Taylor Swift, etc, how and you insist on going with hip-hop this year, how the fuck do you not make it a "Dirty South Showcase" or something of that sort?
ESPECIALLY after Jay Z and the NFL made it a big deal to name Masta P as the "entertainment ambassador" for this whole thing.
His appointment was announced recently, aiming to leverage his connections and experience to enhance the entertainment offerings and cultural impact of the event when it comes to his hometown.
How are we not having Cash Money, Young Money, No Limit, and even DTP headlining this thing? Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Masta P and the Cash Money Soldiers should be on this bill. Outkast should be headlining it. And you should throw Ludacris and even Nelly in while you're at it.
The next TWO Super Bowls are scheduled for California-
- Super Bowl LX: Feb. 8, 2026 - Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, CA), home of the San Francisco 49ers
- Super Bowl LXI: Feb. 14, 2027 - SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA), home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
why not go with Kendrick at one of those instead?
This whole thing makes no sense to me but again, what do I know?
All I know is we better see Silk Da Shocka, and we better get this song at the show somehow, someway.
Advertisement
p.s. - for everybody who thinks and is telling me Kendrick Lamar is going to bring out Lil Wayne at this show I think you are crazy. Lil Wayne "discovered" Drake and is the only reason the world knows who he is. He not only signed him to his label, but as Nicki said, he did features on his debut mixtape, brought him on tour, and effectively blew him up. You can't get a much bigger co-sign or mentor in the rap game than that. There is no chance he turns around and stabs Drake in the back like that and comes out in New Orleans unless something major happens between now and February. ESPECIALLY when you consider Kendrick's probably going to close his set with "Not Like Us".
p.p.s. - for the people telling me this is all a play for them to finally get Taylor Swift to perform and that she is going to come out and sing "Bad Blood", the track Kendrick was featured on the remix to, you have rocks in your head. You really think she turned down being the headlining act last year in Las Vegas but is going to come out as a guest in New Orleans? Cmon man.