Jay-Z continues to face criticism for his part in picking Kendrick Lamar to perform at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, but is Hov or the NFL really to blame for the decision? The Roc Nation leader has been receiving hate online from some rappers and fans who disagree with K-Dot as the choice. Many people think Lil Wayne should perform at the Super Bowl instead.
Kendrick Lamar was announced as the 2025 Super Bowl halftime performer on Sunday (Sept. 8), and it’s been pandemonium since then. Fans and rappers alike have pushed back on the choice, arguing that Lil Wayne deserves to be the pick this year considering the Big Game is in his hometown of New Orleans.
Soon after the announcement, some rappers seemed to throw shade at and blame Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation company has served as the NFL’s live music entertainment strategist since 2019. They didn’t appear to be pleased that Kendrick was chosen over Wayne. Nicki Minaj was particularly upset and appeared to volley insults at Hov for hating on Wayne and his achievements.
“Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!!” questioned Nicki. “Nola what’s good?!!!!!! Eminem stood firm on having 50 Cent come out. A white man. Sh*t sad. House NI***R TINGZ. but it’s GOOD FI DEM!!!!!!! No loyalty? Welp. then ni**az will keep son’ing you!!!!!”
Roc Nation does indeed have some sway in this matter. Following the deal in 2019, Roc Nation wrote on its website that the company would “spearhead and advise on the selection of artists for NFL tentpole performances, including the Super Bowl, and will assist in the production and promotion of new music as well as culture-and cause-focused initiatives.”
Still, the truth is Jay-Z doesn’t get the final say when it comes to who performs at the Super Bowl, and it’s unclear if he gets much of a say at all. According to a report from SportsCasting, the League and presumably Roc Nation comb through a wide-ranging list of artists who appeal to the widest audiences. The Super Bowl usually draws in over 100 million viewers each year.
However, the NFL itself also doesn’t solely decide who performs at the Super Bowl. Roc Nation and the NFL merely narrow down the list, and then the host cities reportedly choose who they want to step out on stage. While the League still has to discuss the options with corporate sponsors to see if the chosen act will work, the host cities have significant sway in deciding the fate of the chosen performer.
Regardless, that hasn’t stopped people from pointing fingers at Hov and airing their frustrations. Birdman, Juvenile, Master P, Cam’ron, Ma$e, Boosie BadAzz and Wayne’s longtime engineer are just a few of the notable figures speaking out in protest. Cam, Ma$e and Nicki all implied that beef was involved and that Jay not picking Wayne was an intentional act done out of spite.
“It’s one person who’s stopping this,” Cam said on his sports podcast It Is What It Is on Sept. 9. “It’s not really a secret. Lil Wayne had a problem with somebody before who’s kinda part of the organization running it. This is payback. Who’s Lil Wayne’s artist? Drake. This is crazy, bro. It’s ridiculous.”
No one has called out Jay directly by name, but Nicki’s outburst definitely fanned the flames of some anti-Hov sentiment on social media. Rap fans have come out in droves to sound off on what they think is Jay-Z selecting K-Dot over Weezy.
“Jay-Z really mad cause Wayne and Drake out rapped him multiple times,” one person tweeted. “Been saying jay-z ain do sh*t,” another wrote.
Some rappers have also come to Hov’s defense, such as Jay Electronica, Fabolous and Fat Joe. The latter argued on Instagram Live on Tuesday (Sept. 10) that the mogul has gifted hip-hop with a massive platform at the Super Bowl since partnering with the NFL in 2019.
“Yeah, Jay-Z’s a big voice but, you know, he gotta go through the NFL ranks, the Roger Goodell’s and everything like that, so they can come up with who’s performing at halftime,” Joey Crack said. “It ain’t just one man’s decision, that I know of. So to just blame one man…”
Fabolous echoed this sentiment, saying on Instagram Live on Tuesday (Sept. 10) that not all the blame should rest on Jay’s shoulders.
“I do see people blaming it solely on Jay-Z when I don’t think that’s the truth,” he said. “I think it’s a committee, it’s a board, it’s different people who come in to play when decisions like that are made.”
Jay Electronica additionally defended Jay-Z on X. “Ni**as got all this smoke for Hov but they ain’t got no smoke for David Geffen, jimmy iovine, lucían grange, lyor cohen…” Elec tweets on Wednesday (Sept. 11). “I DO NOT RESPECT YOUR GANGSTER. You p**sy… And I’lI never let my city down and be a p**sy a*s ni**a for nobody…”
So where does Jay-Z the man actually fit into all of this? Since he is merely one piece of the puzzle when it comes to choosing an act, it’s unclear how much sway he actually has on the final decision despite what critics might think. Still, Hov appeared satisfied with this year’s selection and celebrated Kendrick Lamar after the announcement.
“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” Hov wrote in a statement. “His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Not to mention, Kendrick Lamar is fully deserving of this moment. Despite not dropping an album in 2024, K-Dot’s 2024 run has been legendary. His rap battle with Drake consumed the summer and was one of the biggest moments in rap history. The feud also gave Kendrick two No. 1 songs: Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” which he was featured on, and the Drake diss “Not Like Us.”
The latter song also broke some serious streaming records. It dethroned Drake’s “Girls Wants Girls” for the biggest single-day streams of a hip-hop song, and surpassed “God’s Plan” to become the fastest hip-hop song in history to achieve 100 million streams. K-Dot then capped off the “Not Like Us” mania by playing it five times during his Pop Out celebration concert in Compton, Calif. on June 19, and dropped off the single’s music video on July 5. The music video currently has over 129 million views.
While Lil Wayne hasn’t yet shared his thoughts on the whole ordeal of not being selecting to headline the Super Bowl in his hometown, he’s likely a bit disheartened by the news. Weezy has adamantly spoke about wanting to perform at the event, especially if it was in N.O.
“I will not lie to you, I have not got a call,” Wayne said in an interview with YG’s 4HUNNID podcast in February. “But we all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed. I’m working hard. I’m going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I’m going make it very hard for them to…I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy.”
Not all hope is lost. Wayne could still be brought out on stage for a guest appearance. Still, it’s likely the Big Easy itself had more of an impact on the halftime show than Hov, Roc Nation or the NFL, and that has to sting a bit for Wayne. Not to mention Jay-Z has never faced this level of criticism before. Considering Hov helped Weezy pay off his unpaid taxes back in 2018, and was just spotted chilling with him at Fanatics Fest earlier in September, it’s odd how many people are assuming beef is involved.
Read More: A Kendrick Lamar Mural in Compton Gets Vandalized With Spray Paint
See rappers’ reactions to Jay-Z choosing Kendrick Lamar over Lil Wayne for the Super Bowl performance below.
See Rappers’ Reactions to Jay-Z Picking Kendrick Lamar to Perform at Super Bowl
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