Dr. Dre led a crew of star rappers in a nostalgic Super Bowl halftime show that represented a return to their community’s hip-hop roots.
NWA co-founder Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar joined forces for the event, which also featured 50 Cent as a surprise guest.
The 56th edition of the NFL’s showpiece took place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the home team Los Angeles Rams taking on the Cincinnati Bengals.
The show was also a home game for Lamar, Dre and his protégé Snoop, all of whom hail from Southern California.
The couple opened the show with a performance of their collaborative song “The Next Episode,” performed on the roof of a white public housing set, complete with lowrider cars.
This was followed by a performance of the West Coast rap anthem “California Love,” with Dre singing the lyrics to a song by the late Tupac Shakur, another of his rap students, while dozens of dancers performed in front of the stage.
In an unexpected twist, rapper 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, appeared hanging upside down before joining the party with a performance of his hit “In Da Club.”
Next up was R&B queen Mary J Blige, who showed off her incredible vocal range as she performed alongside intricately choreographed dancers in glittering one-piece costumes above the rooftops of the stage.
Lamar followed with his own group of dancers, all dressed in black suits and wearing sashes that read “Dre Day.”
Finally, Eminem appeared and delighted the crowd in the 70,000-seat stadium with a rendition of “Lose Yourself.”
The crew gathered again on the roof for one last performance of Still Dre.
The Super Bowl, one of the biggest cultural events in the USA, featured, as always, a Hollywood star-studded cast. During the numerous commercial breaks, trailers for blockbuster films and commercials featuring celebrities were shown.
A 30-second slot at this year’s Super Bowl is reported to cost around $7 million (£5 million).
This year, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd teamed up for a humorous potato chip commercial, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek became Greek gods to sell BMWs, and members of the original cast of The Sopranos recreated their famous opening credits for Chevrolet.
Mike Myers also reprised his role as the devious comic book villain Dr. Evil for an Austin Powers-themed sketch promoting electric vehicles.
The Super Bowl was opened by actor Dwayne Johnson, who welcomed the world to the game in his role as former professional wrestler “The Rock”.
