In 2019, the NFL and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation announced a partnership that made Jay the producer of the most coveted entertainment slot on television: the Super Bowl Halftime show. The deal called for Roc Nation to be the NFL’s “life music entertainment strategist,” according to The New York Times.

Part of the reason for the deal, of course, was that the NFL was interested in having Jay’s cultural cache: he’s been considered cool ever since he dropped his first single, 1995’s “In My Lifetime.” And, of course, over the years, Jay extended his brand into entrepreneurism. As he rapped on the remix of Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.” His businesses over the years have included Roc Nation, Rocawear, alcohol brands including Armand de Brignac (premium champagne), D’Usse (luxury cognac), the 40/40 Club and music streaming service Tidal.

Of course, in 2019, the NFL had another good reason for courting Jay-Z. He had been a vocal critic of the National Football League. The NFL had been mired in a particular controversy since 2016. You’ll recall that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem before a preseason game as a protest against police brutality against Black people. As Kaepernick told NFL Media at the time, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” This issue dominated the media cycle and was dividing football fans. Clearly having Jay-Z’s involvement with the league would be helpful.

At one point, such a partnership seemed unlikely. On the 2018 song “Apes—,” Jay rapped, “I said no to the Super Bowl/You need me, I don’t need you/Every night we in the endzone/Tell the NFL we in stadiums too.” He felt that the NFL was looking at hip-hop as a fad, when it had been at the center of culture for two decades or more. But the NFL got the message and reached out and a deal was made. Jay-Z took some criticism for the deal, but as he later told the New York Times in a 2020 interview, “No one is saying [Kaepernick] hasn’t been done wrong. He was done wrong. I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago and someone needs to say, ‘What do we do now — because people are still dying?’”

Did Jay-Z help to change anything (other than the NFL’s entertainment booking)? Many would say no, although, per Billboard, Roc Nation has “helped out” the league’s social justice program, Inspire Change (see their 2024 impact report here).

But the shows that Jay has produced have definitely brought a lot of excitement and given us lots of viral moments. Here’s our ranking of the Halftime shows since Jay-Z and Roc Nation have taken over production of the Super Bowl Halftime show.

• 5. Usher - Super Bowl LVIII (2024)

  The performance started out with a disclaimer: “The Apple Music Administration advises the following performance is ‘Rated U’: may cause singing, dancing, sweating, gyrating, possible relationship issues.” That was a fun reference to Usher’s Las Vegas shows, where he would frequently serenade attractive (and often famous) attendees of his shows, usually in front of their male dates. And Usher did it again with his Halftime Show! He had moment when he was dancing with his guest Alicia Keys, and it looked a bit steamy. It got people talking moments after it happened, wondering if there’s something up between the two of them. Keys’ husband, Swizz Beatz, quickly posted to Instagram that he had no issues with it, writing, “Tonight’s performance was nothing but amazing with 2 amazing Giants ! Congrats @usher and my love @aliciakeys that song is a classic. We don’t do negative vibes on this side we make history!” And Halftime shows are as much about the viral moments as they are about the actual performances. 

  Usher’s performance was good, and it really picked up in the final third when the roller skates came out: “O.M.G.,” Lil’ Jon’s “Turn Down For What” and, of course, “Yeah!” with Lil Jon and Ludacris, was the perfect ending. Usher is one of our best performers, but we’d note that too many ballads don’t really work for a Halftime show.

• 4. Rihanna - Super Bowl LVII (2023)

  If we were ranking “Best Pregnancy Reveals,” Rinanna’s Halftime Show at Super Bowl LVII would certainly take the crown. And while her performance is all the more impressive in retrospect — doing such a high-pressure gig is challenging without being pregnant — it’s not our favorite of the Roc Nation era. It was one of the few in recent years that didn’t have any guests. It was visually stunning, though: the floating platforms were cool and the choreography was amazing. And it’s tough to complain about a performance that included bits of so many classics: “Bitch Better Have My Money,” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Work” and “Diamonds” among them. She also did “Run This Town” and “Umbrella,” which would have been a good opportunity to have a Jay-Z guest appearance. We’re sure Jay is going to actually play the Halftime show one of these days, but clearly he wants to do it as the main event.

• 3. The Weeknd - Super Bowl LV (2021)

  Believe it or not, performers don’t get paid much to play the Super Bowl Halftime show. According to USA Today, they just get union scale. That’s nothing compared to their usual fees, but the exposure and prestige of playing on the most watched entertainment event, obviously makes up for that. The production costs are usually covered by the NFL, the sponsors and the record label. But that wasn’t enough for The Weeknd: according to Billboard, he put $7 million of his own money into the production costs for his show. Like Rihanna, two years later, The Weeknd passed on the opportunity to have guest performances, carrying the weight of the entire show himself, using an elaborately designed house of mirrors that gave us the “Looking Around” meme. And of course, there were a lot of classics: “Starboy,” “The Hills,” “I Feeling Coming,” “House Of Balloons,” “Blinding Lights” and “Can’t Feel My Face” among them. 

• 2. Shakira and Jennifer Lopez - Super Bowl LIV (2020)

  The first Halftime show of the Roc Nation era pulled out all the stops and gave the NFL something they’d not seen before: two of the most popular and famous women in music, both Latinas, co-headlining, collaborating.  They invited some high profile guests, Bad Bunny and J Balvin, two of the hugest stars in Latin music. While this was clearly a forward-looking halftime show, there were nods to classic rock and roll, with quotes from Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” included. The latter also seemed to make a subtle political point. In fact, there were a few moments during the show that addressed that moment in time. At one point, Lopez’s then-11-year-old daughter Emme and other children sang from glowing cage-like structures, which was widely interpreted as a dig at the then-current administration, which was widely criticized for its treatment of migrant children. Apparently, the NFL wanted Lopez to remove the cages but she refused and got her way. At another moment, Shakira also looked into the camera and flicked her tongue, which became a meme before Halftime even ended. Most fans didn’t understand that this was a “Zaghrouta,” a sort of Arabic celebratory gesture; it was likely a reference to her Lebanese father (the show had many references to her Columbian heritage and Jennifer Lopez’s Puerto Rican heritage). While Lopez was annoyed at having to co-headline, watching these two powerhouses perform together was an amazing and unforgettable moment. 

• 1. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem. Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar - Super Bowl LVI (2022)

  On one hand, Dr. Dre is popular enough to headline on his own. But one of his strengths is seeing the talent in others, and it was a huge flex to have him joined by some of the biggest and most enduring names in music, all of whom he produced classics for, or signed to his record labels, or both. He’s a boss but also a team player: most of his hits are collaborations with other artists; he always seems cool with sharing the spotlight.

  This show celebrated Dre and his influence (and it took place in his hometown of Los Angeles) but it was a big moment for hip-hop in general. Rap artists had been at the Halftime show over the years, starting with Queen Latifah appearing as part of a Motown salute in 1998. Since then, Nelly had been part of two Halftimes, and other artists including P. Diddy, the Black Eyed Peas, Missy Elliott, Big Boi and Travis Scott had all performed, but this felt different. it was all hip-hop, led by a hip-hop mogul and icon (Dre) and produced by another (Jay-Z).

  Dre and crew rocked the crowed with banger after banger: we heard “The Next Episode,” “California Love,” “In Da Club” (courtesy of special guest 50 Cent), “Family Affair,” “No More Drama,” “M.A.A.D. City,” “Alright,” “Forgot about Dre,” “Lose Yourself,” Dre playing a bit of Tupac’s “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” on piano and then “Still D.R.E.” It’s not hyperbole to say that the world was blown away by the show, and it’s still the one to beat.

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