Blige was next to appear, resplendent in all-white. Things then jumped up with 50 Cent who tried to recreate the music video for “In Da Club” by hanging upside down from the top of one of the house sets-it didn’t particularly look comfortable for him. They opened things up with “The Next Episode” before going into “California Love,” complete with some pristine Crip walking from Snoop. rap insignia, with a line of Cadillac cars across the way. Dre and Snoop Dogg stood atop a row of White Houses full of L.A. The setlist of nostalgic hits felt like a final coronation for rap, which has never taken center stage at the Super Bowl before, as the dominant force in pop music. Blige, plus a surprise appearance from 50 Cent–delivered a G-Funk homecoming at the Super Bowl 56 halftime show, with a dash of controversy: Eminem took a knee (one report claimed he was told not to by the NFL, although a league spokesperson said after the show that they aware it would happen, because officials “ watched it during rehearsals”), Kendrick left out a key line about the police from the Black Lives Matter anthem “Alright” (while Dre kept one in “Still D.R.E”), and the camera zoomed away every time Snoop looked like he might Crip walk.
Dre and his crew of all-stars-Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J.
