Dr. Dre has promised some “big surprises” during the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show, but whatever does happen won’t be done without the approval of the NFL. As Eriq Gardner of Puck reports, the league has already nixed several elements of the show, including plans by Eminem to take a knee in solidarity of Colin Kaepernick.
The NFL also rejected an outfit that Snoop Dogg was set to wear due to possible gang ties, and flagged Dr. Dre’s lyric from “Still D.R.E.,” which includes the line “still not loving police.”
According to Gardner, the NFL wants to avoid the Super Bowl becoming a “divisive culture war moment,” but a source close to Dre told Gardner that he was being “disgustingly censored.”
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Dr. Dre is putting up his own money — upwards of $7 millions worth — to put on this year’s NFL Halftime Show. He’ll be joined on stage by close associates Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Dre said a hip-hop halftime show “should’ve happened a long time ago.” He added, “Hip-hop is the biggest genre of music on the planet right now, so it’s crazy that it took all of this time for us to be recognized. I think we’re going to go on and do a fantastic show and we’re going to do it so big that they can’t deny us any more in the future.”