According to Snoop Dogg, JAY-Z threatened to end the partnership of Roc Nation and the NFL if Snoop, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and Eminem were not allowed to perform at this year’s Halftime Show.
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For those of you unaware, as part of her partnership established in 2019 with the National Football League, JAY-Z helps advise on social justice initiatives and in the selection of artists for major performances, the biggest of course being the Super Bowl. During a recent interview for Tidal, Snoop reflected on the show-stopping performance, telling Chief Content Officer Elliott Wilson, that Hov had to smooth things over with the league to allow that moment to happen and made sure the show remained as authentic as possible, or else.
Directly after the performance, an experience Snoop referred to as feeling like “the greatest s*** ever,” JAY was the first one that went to the dressing room after the set, a moment that was actually captured and shared by Angie Martinez on Instagram (see below).
Reflecting on that moment and how much JAY’s support meant to him, Snoop said, “JAY-Z came down, and soon as he came in he hugged me. We hug each other tight. It was as if we won a championship. Like, you know when you’re genuinely happy for each other? People don’t understand, me and him are the ones. He’s the one on the East. I’m the one from the West. We love each other. Like, not secretly, like publicly, we love each other. It is what it is, so it’s like for him to go to bat for us and tell the NFL, ‘F*** that. They perform or I quit,’ that was the most gangster s*** out of everything.”
At another point in the interview Snoop also reflected on the whole experience, how it felt to be the one to start the show, and what it was like to watch it afterwards. “When I got home and watched it on playback, I thought it was the greatest s*** ever,” he said. “Being there, it felt like the greatest concert of all time. When I first came out, that meant a lot to me that Dre would let me come out first. The first vocal was me."
“To let me kick that off and have enough confidence in the D-O Double to say, ‘OK. The biggest moment of my career, I trust the D-O Double. He’s going to lead off, and then he’s going to come back at the end of the ninth inning.’ You’ve got to walk the dog back out … boom boom boom, and have all the Crip Walkin’. You know what I’m saying? It’s the West.”
As for those concerns, while Hip Hop artists have graced the Super Bowl halftime show stage at various points across its 55-year history, some viewers were apparently shocked in regards to what the League did and didn’t allow. One of those things being Snoop performing the Crip Walk in a blue bandana-style jumpsuit, both of which the NFL considered “gang-related.” Also confusing to some was Dre reciting his line about police in “Still D.R.E.,” but Kendrick needing to remove his the “po-po” line from “Alright.”
When it came to Snoop’s fit, JAY once again shared his thoughts, and apparently told the West Coast rapper not to worry about it. “Then with attire and kneeling and all this … you can’t wear your gang bang s***,” said Snoop. “JAY-Z hit me like, ‘Wear what the f*** you want to wear. Peace to the Gods.’”
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