Hip-Hop and R&B royalty took the Super Bowl Half-Time stage to massive applause on Sunday, February 13. It was an epic celebration of some of our favorite music from some of our favorite artists, helmed by Dr. Dre. Held at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, over 112 million viewers witnessed what many have labeled as one of the most incredible Half Time shows that the Super Bowl has ever seen. But, as the saying goes, you can’t please everybody, and rapper The Game is not pleased. Why? He thinks that he should have been one of the artists to grace the stage.
One of music’s giants, Dr. Dre, took on the responsibility of entertaining the nation this year, and he did it with some Super Friends. Along with Dr. Dre came Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar to fill the bill. Dr. Dre’s career is one for the books. His extensive production and artist discography has brought forth millions in record sales while forever changing the scope of music. Each artist that shared the bill with Dr. Dre has also received production from him.
Dr. Dre’s work with Snoop Dogg dates back to the early ’90s when he featured on the producer/rapper’s first solo single, “Deep Cover.” This helped to build anticipation for his long-awaited debut studio album, Doggystyle, which would go down in music history as one of the greatest and most essential Hip-Hop albums of all time. Snoop Dogg’s success continued on for years as the entertainer remained relevant and amassed a total of almost 40 million albums worldwide.
Mary J. Blige, long hailed as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, has kept her foot on the music industry’s neck since her 1992 debut. Blige is no stranger to the top of Billboard’s many charts, with fifteen studio albums under her belt. In 2001, the singer and Dr. Dre created one of her many classics, “Family Affair,” and got the nation “crunk” and “having fun in this dancery.” The single sky-rocketed to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 charts and remained there for six weeks.
Detroit-bred rapper Eminem found extensive success with Dr. Dre, starting with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. Then, signing with Dre’s Aftermath imprint, Eminem’s albums soared at the top of the charts. The two achieved massive album sales together, and Eminem is considered to be the best-selling Hip-Hop artist of all time.
Finally, Kendrick Lamar may be the baby of the legendary group, but his career path is on a similar trajectory. First, the critically-acclaimed rapper began to release mixtapes and albums independently, starting at the age of 16. Then, things took off when he secured a major label deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment. Soon enough, the rapper gained a massive following with stellar record sales to boot and has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon.
All five artists combined and special guest 50 Cent set the stage and social media on fire on Sunday night. Also seen on stage was Aftermath Entertainment recording artist, and Grammy Award-winner Anderson.Paak. However, some folks felt there should have been some minor additions made to the show. For instance, Compton-born rapper The Game shared multiple fan opinions that he should have been a part of the legendary line-up, which he seemed to agree with.
The Game was first introduced to many in the mainstream with his chart-topping debut album as an Aftermath artist. Following the Super Bowl Half-Time show, the “Hate It Or Love It” rapper took to his Instagram Stories with reposts from his supporters that intimated he should have been a part. “FYI: [The Game] Should’ve been on stage at the Super Bowl I’ll be the first to say it,” one fan wrote. Appearing to agree with the supporter, the rapper captioned his Story with, “S**t brazy [for real].”
The Game believes he should’ve been apart of the super bowl halftime show this year. pic.twitter.com/WrVXf7Jd3p
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) February 14, 2022
Other examples, captured by The Neighborhood Talk, showed similar sentiments from various fans that he reposted. But with 50 Cent’s involvement and their history, it seems unlikely that The Game would have been invited to perform.
Some other fans voiced their opinions that fellow Los Angeles native and N.W.A. member Ice Cube should have been involved in some capacity. One fan wrote that Ice Cube’s presence would have been “epic” and should have been in place of Eminem. Another chimed in that Ice Cube’s presence would have solidified a more “All the way West Coast” show. What are your thoughts? Are you satisfied with the show as it happened, or do you agree that these artists should have been invited?
