Snoop Dogg defends Jay-Z picking Kendrick Lamar for Super Bowl
Kendrick Lamar was chosen as the headliner for Super Bowl LIX, but the decision caused plenty of controversy within the hip-hop community. Many, including the ‘Lollipop’ rapper himself, thought Lil Wayne should be performing because the event is taking place in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.
During a live episode of Drink Champs at ComplexCon 2024, Snoop Dogg defended Jay-Z, who decides on the halftime show performer. The Long Beach rapper praised Hov for giving hip-hop artists the opportunity to perform on one of the biggest stages and stated that those who deserve a slot would be given the chance in due time.
“What we need to think about is that before Jay-Z got control of the Super Bowl wasn’t no n-ggas performing,” he said. “So let’s go back to the essence of the beginning of bridge. He’s creating a wave of artists to have an opportunity to perform. If you are a good artist and you are a great artist, your time will come.”
Snoop went on to say that he wasn’t upset when Dr. Dre was chosen to perform in 2022 instead of him. Instead, he embraced the opportunity to join him as a guest alongside 50 Cent, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige.
“I was never crying about it or mad about it when Dr. Dre called me and asked me to get his back,” he said. “I was there for him, but I didn’t feel like I was supposed to be there, I was in demand to be there. This is a big event. People looking at everything when they picked the person to perform, you should just be honoured that hip-hop is being able to be seen on that platform for all of us and not hate on the next.”
Leading up to the announcement of the 2025 Super Bowl, Lil Wayne had been vocal about wanting to put on the show, claiming he “earned that moment.” Shortly after news filtered in about Kendrick being picked, Weezy took to social media to reveal his disappointment about not only missing out on the opportunity but not preparing himself for an outcome that wasn’t in his favour.
“That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” he said. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown, and for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that.”
He added, “But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot. But y’all are fucking amazing. It made me feel like shit not getting this opportunity and when I felt like shit, you guys reminded me that I ain’t shit without y’all… and that’s an amazing reality.”
Lil Wayne admitted the news “broke him” and that he was trying to recover from the shock. He also hanked everyone for their support during a tough time.