It’s official: Jay-Z is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Monday night that Hov will perform at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Feb. 14, as first reported by The Associated Press.
The timing couldn’t be better. Jay just wrapped his “Jay-Z 30” run at SoFi over the weekend, a celebration that opened with three shows at Yankee Stadium and stopped in London before landing in L.A.
The IAHHM Take
This moment has been seven years in the making. Roc Nation has partnered with the NFL since 2019, advising on and helping produce the league’s entertainment, halftime show included. Back then, Jay was clear that he wasn’t angling for the stage himself. He told Roger Goodell, “If this is about me performing at the Super Bowl, then we can just end this conversation now.”
Now the man behind the show is the show. And the résumé is ridiculous. “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).” “99 Problems.” “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys. Classic albums like Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and The Black Album. Reasonable Doubt went into the Grammy Hall of Fame last year. He has 25 Grammys, became the first rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
After Bad Bunny’s set last February sent his songs climbing across streaming charts, Jay has the biggest stage in America to give a new generation a crash course in Roc-A-Fella history. If you need a refresher on that era, revisit our look back at “Paid in Full,” the Roc-A-Fella Films classic.
The real debate starts now: who comes out with him? Beyoncé, who has already done two Super Bowls? Alicia Keys for “Empire State of Mind”? A Roc-A-Fella reunion? And Carolina wants to know if longtime Roc Nation signee J. Cole gets the call. Give us your dream guest list.
Source: The Associated Press via ABC7
