Eminem Refused to Perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show Without 50 Cent
Eminem was one of the talented artists who took the stage at the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show in Inglewood, California. The show was an ode to hip-hop from its golden age to now, complete with figures from those eras. But Eminem almost didn’t move forward with the show in the lead-up to the event because of his desire to perform on the same stage as 50 Cent.
Eminem and 50 Cent performed at the Super Bowl halftime show
Super Bowl performer Snoop Dogg stopped by Drink Champs in April 2022 and spoke with N.O.R.E. about the halftime show and much more. N.O.R.E. asked Snoop why Los Angeles rap veteran The Game and prolific New York producer Scott Storch weren’t invited to the halftime show organized by Dr. Dre.
“Let me tell you what you didn’t see that you ain’t saying anything about,” Snoop Dogg began plainly. “You didn’t hear ‘Nuthin But A ‘G Thang,’ you didn’t hear s*** from Death Row. What about that era? That didn’t mean nothing? So you got to look at Dr. Dre’s mind state. Whatever he was on, he was on. That was his show. They asked him to perform so whoever he wanted to bring to the party, he had the right to.”
Snoop Dogg continued and clarified that he was happy to support his friend in the history-making show, even if some of his desired songs didn’t make the setlist.
“And when he said ‘I don’t want to do this song, this song with this song,’ we couldn’t contest that because they didn’t ask us to come,” Snoop said honestly. “I would have loved to do’Nuthin But A ‘G Thang,’ ‘Gin and Juice,’ ‘What’s My Name,’ ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot,’ anything out of my catalog. I didn’t get to do one Snoop Dogg song. I did everything to support Dr. Dre.”
In addition to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, the show featured Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar as headline performers, as well as 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak as special guests.
Jay-Z allegedly didn’t want 50 Cent to perform at the Super Bowl
After learning about Snoop Dogg’s thoughts on the setlist, N.O.R.E. revealed that he spoke with Jay-Z — who signed a deal with the NFL in 2019 to spearhead the Super Bowl halftime shows — ahead of the show. During that conversation, he learned that 50 Cent wasn’t originally part of the plans, and was only brought in to the fold by Eminem.
“I said to JAY-Z, I have to ask this straight up,” N.O.R.E. recalled. “‘Who is gonna perform at the NFL?’ and he said to me — and I’m sorry for everybody who don’t understand — and he said, ‘the white guy called for 50 Cent. I said, ‘Who is the white guy? Jimmy Iovine?’ And he said, ‘No, Eminem called directly for Fifty and he said I can’t do it if I can’t bring 50 with me.’ That’s spiritual.”
Snoop Dogg agreed, and contended that Eminem’s friendship with 50 Cent mirrors his own with Dr. Dre. “Of course, that’s his guy! And guess who’s Dre’s guy? It’s me!”
50 Cent responded to Jay-Z
50 Cent responded to N.O.R.E.’s claims with a series of Instagram posts. “Why would he have to say that should be the question?” he asked. “N.O.R.E., your big homie [Jay-Z] is running around trying to look like a gay painter.”
In another post, he shared side-by-side photos of Jay-Z and famed painted Jean-Michel Basquiat. “Why did he say the white boy, why he didn’t say the biggest rap artist in the world?” he said in reference to Eminem.
