Sarah Shelton – Features Editor
2000s nostalgia and hip hop’s roots were brought to life Sunday, Feb.13 during the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
This year, the Super Bowl did not just go with one or two headliners but had five headliners. These artists were Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Slim Shady himself, Eminem.
“I was excited to see Eminem and Mary J. Blige finally perform in the Super Bowl and add hip hop representation to the lineup,” English education major Tayler Cowles, a senior, said.
This set brought nostalgia to many. The only song performed that came out within the last decade was Lamar’s song “Alright.” A few days before Eminem even said Lamar was a “top tier” lyricist of all time in an interview with Sirius XM.
“Ah, so THIS is what it’s like to be old enough to have a nostalgic super bowl halftime show,” Creator and Host of “The Film Room” Brett Kollmann tweeted.
History was made at this show by being the first Halftime Performance at the Super Bowl consisting of only rap and hip hop artists.
“Who else could do this show here in LA?” Dr. Dre said at a news conference the Thursday before the performance. “Who else could perform the halftime show other than these amazing artists that we put together?”
With many, but not all, of these artists being from California, especially Dre and Eminem being a part of the famous westside hip hop group N.W.A., Dre had a point, they were performing in their home.
The field was covered with a giant white house/buildings with many different rooms, with no outside walls for viewing purposes.
The first artist to come out was Dr. Dre with a giant soundboard on the top of the building. Snoop Dogg immediately followed and they performed “The Next Episode,” which came out all the way back in 1999.
“I was hoping they would start off with ‘The Next Episode’ and they did so that was great to see. It really set the vibes for the rest of the show,” social work major Marissa Mastroianni, a senior, said.
Panning down to a room, the next to perform was a surprise guest, 50 Cent, with his most known song, “In Da Club.”
50 Cent stood from the ceiling and then came down to a bunch of dancers which made it look like a nostalgic club.
Then panning back to the top was Mary J. Blige, performing her songs “Family Affair” and “No More Drama,” with a sparkly mirror-looking outfit. Then at the end of her performance, she fell to the floor as the camera moved to the field.
On the football field, a bunch of men popped up out of, what looked to be, boxes, and Kendrick Lamar, who was in the middle, did his performance.
“I was hoping he’d [Lamar] perform DNA because that song is hype, but unfortunately he didn’t, still a great show though,” Mastroianni said.
Shortly after came Slim Shady.
Eminem had an explosive entrance, with the top of where he was coming out literally coming off, and performed his 2003 hit, “Lose Yourself.”
“[It was] so good I need to go back and relive it,” communications major Spencer Lane, a freshman, said.
While Dr. Dre was playing a piano at the end of the show, Eminem was seen taking a kneel and Anderson .Paak was seen on the set.
“I thought the show was good,” Mastroianni said. “I feel like the halftime show always gets so hyped up, and maybe people were expecting something different but I still thought all of the artists put on a good show.”
