Super Bowl LIX is in New Orleans—so why did Jay-Z pick Kendrick Lamar over Lil Wayne? (Images via Getty)
Kendrick Lamar is headlining the Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show. He’s got one of the biggest songs of the year (Not Like Us), he’s a Grammy winner, and he’s already done a Super Bowl set before. On paper, it makes sense.
But there’s one problem—Super Bowl LIX is in New Orleans. And Lil Wayne, the city’s biggest rap icon, was nowhere near the conversation.
Fans aren’t happy. Artists aren’t happy. Even Wayne himself isn’t sure what happened.
Skip Bayless, Master P, Juvenile, Nicki Minaj—everyone agrees, Wayne should’ve been in the lineup
Skip Bayless wrote on X, “Sorry, Lil Wayne should obviously be the Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans,” making his stance clear.
Master P, a legend in New Orleans rap, made his stance clear: “Lil Wayne should be a part of this celebration as well.” He called Lamar’s selection “well deserved” but questioned why the
NFL
would overlook Wayne, a hometown hero. He even tagged the league, Jay-Z, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, basically telling them to fix it.
Juvenile, Wayne’s old Hot Boys bandmate, went straight to X and asked fans how they felt about it. The responses? Angry. One fan said, “Honestly it should’ve been you, Lil Wayne, Mannie Fresh, Hot Boyz, and the Rebirth Brass Band.”
Nicki Minaj took it a step further. She flat-out accused Jay-Z of playing politics, writing, “Denying a young Black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego.” Then she threw in, “LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!!” for good measure.
Even Cam’ron had thoughts. On his podcast, he asked, “It’s in New Orleans, and you don’t get Lil Wayne? …There’s no reason why Lil Wayne should not be performing at the Super Bowl.”
And Boosie? He didn’t hold back. “IT’S A SMACK N THE FACE TO EVERY HIP HOP LEGEND FROM LOUISIANA,” he posted on X.
The argument is simple: When Super Bowl LVI was in California, the halftime show featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick. West Coast legends for a West Coast Super Bowl. So why isn’t New Orleans getting the same treatment?
Wayne isn’t mad at Kendrick, but he’s not over it either
Wayne’s not blaming Kendrick. He’s rooting for him. He told Skip Bayless, “I’ve spoken to him, and I wish him all the best and I told him he better kill it.”
But, well, he’s still pissed.
Wayne admitted the snub hurt. “It hurt. It hurt a lot,” he said in an Instagram post. He never got a call. He thought it was his time. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown.”
On Undisputed, he tried to explain his way through it. “For whatever reason, I believe it’s over my head. I don’t know why, period.” Bayless didn’t buy it. He pushed harder, saying it made no sense for the NFL to pass on a rap legend in his own city.
Wayne finally admitted the obvious: “That’s another part of it, there’s things I can’t control.” Then he made his real point—he never wants to be in this position again. “I want to get to the point where I’m undeniable. I want them to walk in there and have 10 other choices and whoever’s in charge says, ‘no, you have to go with him!’”
Then there’s Kendrick’s new song wacced out murals, where he raps, “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.” Wayne had no idea about the lyrics. But when Bayless read them out loud, he shrugged. “I think he’s a fan like I’m a fan of his music.”
That’s Wayne. He’s not bitter. But he knows what’s up. And he’s using it as fuel.
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