More than two years later 50 cents surprised the world with his appearance at the Super Bowl LVI halftime showthe rapper and media mogul of “In da Club” is opening about how his unexpected appearance almost didn’t happen.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for a new cover story about his career, 50 Cent, 49, spoke the star-studded halftime showwhich featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar performing on the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13, 2022.
However, according to the successful TV producer and multi-faceted star, Roc Nation — the entertainment company founded by JAY-Z, who produced the halftime show — didn’t want 50 Cent involved.
“They wanted to leave me out… (Roc Nation) didn’t want me there,” he told the outlet. However, despite this, he was 50 Cent’s friend and fellow superstar Eminem who made this happen.
“Eminem wouldn’t do it without me,” 50 Cent shared. “That’s how I ended up on the show, because he wouldn’t have come if I didn’t. When that happens, you’re like, ‘Damn, so you lost Eminem because you didn’t bring 50? Damn. Fine. Bring 50 then.’ But if it were up to them, they wouldn’t have had me there.”
According to 50 Cent, this is why he was “the surprise” at the event and “wasn’t on the bill.”
Looking back, it’s hard to imagine 50 Cent not being part of the act, especially considering its dramatic and memorable introduction. In one of the biggest surprises of the night, he made an unexpected appearance in an even more unexpected way: hanging upside down in a recreation of a nightclub. Suspended from the ceiling of one of the white trailer stages where the show was held, the rapper brought another beloved hit to the field, performing “In Da Club” upside down. It wasn’t long before he was lowered, and his appearance was an integral part of the 15-minute spectacle.
After Super Bowl LVI, ET spoke with Jesse Collins, executive producer of the halftime show, and he reflected on what it was like to put on such a memorable event really come to life.
“We’ve been developing this since September last year, just talking every week, every moment, and we’ve been in hard rehearsals for probably the last three weeks,” Collins reflected. “I think the hardest part was getting it down to 13 minutes.”
“I mean, you have these monstrous catalogs and you’re trying to figure out how to make it work… I mean, I could think of 10 records that I wish they had made,” he added. “But we had to make the best decision possible.”
The final show was nothing short of amazing. Starting with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performing together in a series of all-white trailers/stages that were designed to represent the homes and businesses of nearby Compton and South LA, the show then welcomed the cavalcade of icons.
“We were in in under eight minutes and out in six, which was the goal,” Collins said of the elaborate caravan of trailers and set decorations. “We I had to do this, there was no choice. And this is a huge set… It was a big challenge, but we made it happen.”
Ultimately, Collins felt the show was more than just a live music event, but rather a meaningful message about the role hip hop plays in the fabric of the nation.
He noted: “We proved tonight that hip-hop is part of American culture, it’s part of our culture. Just like rock ‘n’ roll, just like country, hip-hop is here and it’s never going away and it’s American, period.”
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