Feb 10

Feb 10 California Love

Beats from The Street Will Reign On Prime Time

By Old Man Cali

On February 13 in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams will be playing the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s gonna be historic. Bigger history will be made if the Bengals win.

History will already be made at the Super Bowl halftime show. Jay Z and Roc Nation collaborated with the NFL to put together a Hip-Hop first for the league. The first Hip-Hop headliners at the Super Bowl.

“The opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, And do it in my backyard, will be one of the biggest thrills of my career,'' Dre said.

Dr. Dre will be sharing the stage with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. For Dre, Snoop, and Kendrick, it's a homecoming. It's been over a decade since Los Angeles hosted the Super Bowl.

Some would ask questions on why it took 56 years? The first 30 years get a pass. The last 26 years there is no question from Run DMC, Queen Latifah, Jay Z to Nas. Drake should have done three Superbowls by now.

That’s why this Hip-Hop Halftime show is historic. Look at the names of hip hop royalty attached: Jay, Dre, Snoop, Eminem, Mary and Kendrick. Just to make the 12 minutes happen. The only unusual part about it is if it was "Billie Eilish'' who in my opinion would headline the halftime show.

Maybe this opens doors for Kanye West to get his long overdue Super Bowl halftime show? As always Hip-Hop opened doors and accepted all. From the Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass to Vanilla Ice. We accept all with open arms.

This Super Bowl halftime show is not different. Sean Forbes, a deaf rapper from Detroit is set to perform with the group. He got a call from the NFL, they wanted to open the door for him. He and fellow deaf rapper Warren (WaWa) Snipe will perform sign-language interpretations of the headliner’s music.

Pepsi made an excellent trailer for the event. It was directed by F. Gary Gray. I can’t say I’ve seen a better opening than this: Eminem battling Slim Shady. Slim won.

Snoop Dogg in the low rider felt fun. It felt right. When Snoop made the abrupt U-turn. In small white letters it read (please don't try this).

Snoop’s Algorithm is a classic. He hooked up with Def Jam and dropped it. From the first song to the last, it was very soulful.

The showstopper was Mary J. Bilge. Kendrick was at a table writing and throwing each page out the window after he was done writing.

Hip-Hop’s foray into halftime the big show is special for me. I was born in a hospital in Inglewood, Ca. My dad is from Harlem, NY. That is around Brooklyn, at least closer than what California is.

Let's give all props to Jay Z, remember how far we came from the east and the west were not getting along. I can tell you when I became a Jay Z fan. He said in a rap "I do this for my culture." He didn't have to say any more.

Jay Z showed with his actions how to move. R.I.P Easy Z. I wish he could have lived to see what his contribution has made. Mary J. Blige is who I want to see the most. Mary can sing one song and inspire every person who hears her voice.

All this big money, you know who is responsible for these rappers getting paid like athletes? Eminem, in my opinion. You had white rappers before Eminem. The white people were not messing with white rappers because those rappers would be rapping about a black life, super goofy, mad corny.

Eminem rapped about what it was like to be white. Not only that, he was so good. My point is, I was around white people then. Rockers, country, all of them had Eminem.

I hope Dr.Dre performs Dre Day, I hope Spoop do Gin & Juice, I hope Mary J. Performs Doubt. I'm listening to it right now. I know it's not her most popular but it picks me up at my lowest. I hope Eminem perform Lose Yourself. I hope Kendrick performs DNA.

The wild card is Eminem. There’s a 50/50 chance Eminem is saying something political. He might disrespect the NFL itself. I hope he doesn't, no matter what it will be a night to remember, a night history was made.