Super Super Bowl

 

Let’s talk sports for a minute, since this Super Bowl thing is first and foremost a sports event (we’re told): yesterday’s proceeding were historic for a couple of reasons. First of all, this was the first win by the Los Angeles Rams, their only previous win having happened in 1999, back when the franchise was still based in St. Louis. Second, that win took place at home, in LA’s SoFi stadium, a sweet moment to be sure. Third, this was the Cincinnati Bengals’ first shot at a victory in decades, ending the longest playoff drought in NFL history. And then there was the game itself: while the Rams led the first half (before the music started), the Bengals then scored 10 straight points (the music must have helped) only to be beat in the last couple of minutes of the game…

And then… there was the music. The line up for this Super Bowl had been announced a while back, so people were justifiably excited. Not only was Dr. Dre the MC for the show, but he rounded up a bunch of amazing “support” acts, if you can call Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar that… Dre also hinted at a few surprises, so everyone was on edge: how could this line-up get any better than that? By resuscitating James Brown? The moment eventually came when we got to find that out, with Dre showing up on a custom designed stage in the shape of LA buildings, sitting behind a massive mixing deck. Fitting for the biggest producer there ever was in hip hop music…

The set started with one of Dr. Dre’s most anthemic tracks, “The Next Episode”, feat. Mr. Dogg. The duo seamlessly switched to “California Love”, that fateful 2Pac vehicle. Then came surprise #1: 50 Cent showed up hanging from the ceiling and performing his classic “In Da Club”, thus representing the West Coast, lest we forget LA is not the only place that produces iconic MC’s (although he was, of course, discovered by Eminem who, himself, was produced by Dre). Mary J. Blige followed suit with her her-two punch “Family Affair” & “No More Drama”, up-ending the New York section of the set with the only female, rnb and/or singing part of the night — something that was much appreciated. You would think that this is already a preeeetty solid set, and you’d be right, but it was still far from over.

After that came a Virgil Abloh-fitted Kendrick Lamar for a “M.A.A.D City” / “Alright” super-tight medley. As always, Lamar’s style was impeccable, and the underlying message of his material came through, even though his line “We hate po-po” wasn’t uttered (which we later got to find out was not in vain). Lamar then handed the baton to none other than Eminem with a “Forgot About Dre” interlude, before the only white performer of the night (for a change) started singing his classic “Lose Yourself”… and then kneeling for almost a minute. The significance of that gesture is obvious to anyone having watched the news in the past half-decade: NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick did just that back in 2016 to peaceful protest against police brutality, eventually losing his job over it, but sparking a national conversation that thankfully continues to this day. Note: the drumming on “Lose Yourself” was performed by Mr. Anderson .Paak, another surprise guest, who was quite visibly relishing the moment…

As Eminem was still on the floor, Dr. Dre sat at the piano to play the melody to 2Pac’s (other) classic “I Ain’t Mad at Cha”, before moving on to the closer “Still D.R.E.”, once again with Snoop Dogg’s timely help. And that song included the line “Still not loving police”, which he did sing… All of this may have been rehearsed, and the NFL must have been in the loop of these various decisions, but it still felt good to see things finally, if ever so slightly, moving in the right direction… And then there was the music.