When the NFL hosts Super Bowl LVI in the Los Angeles area in February of 2022, it'll do so with one of its biggest halftime shows to date, at least in terms of combined star power on the stage. The league announced last week along with Pepsi and Jay-Z's Roc Nation that this year's Super Bowl halftime show, set for Inglewood's SoFi Stadium, will be headlined by five different legends of the hip-hop scene: Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg.
"On February 13, 2022, at the Super Bowl," Jay-Z said in a statement, "Dr. Dre, a musical visionary from Compton; Snoop Dogg, an icon from Long Beach; and Kendrick Lamar, a young musical pioneer in his own right, also from Compton; will take center field for a performance of a lifetime. They will be joined by the lyrical genius, Eminem; and the timeless Queen, Mary J. Blige ... This is history in the making."
The NFL entered a partnership with Jay-Z's Roc Nation entertainment company in 2019, and this marks their most star-studded collaboration yet. Along with Pepsi, the partners featured The Weeknd during halftime of the Buccaneers' 2020 Super Bowl win, with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez sharing the stage the year prior. This year's lineup boasts a combined 43 Grammy wins, plus hundreds of millions of album sales worldwide, not to mention several Los Angeles connections.
"The opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, and to do it in my own backyard, will be one of the biggest thrills of my career," Dr. Dre in a statement. "I'm grateful to Jay-Z, Roc Nation, the NFL, and Pepsi as well as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar for joining me in what will be an unforgettable cultural moment."
Dr. Dre, who co-founded the Death Row Records label that spawned both Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, has six Grammys to his name. Eminem, with 15 Grammy Awards from 11 studio albums, is one of the best-selling rappers of all time. Kendrick Lamar, with 13 Grammys and an Academy Award nomination for his contribution to the "Black Panther" soundtrack, is considered one of the most influential artists of his generation. Mary J. Blige has nine Grammy wins and is a recent nominee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the top female R&B and hip-hop artists of all time. Snoop Dogg is a 17-time Grammy nominee.