Fat Joe, Fabolous, And More Defend JAY-Z In Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Controversy

Armon Sadler
·4 min read
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Kendrick Lamar being selected to perform at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show has drawn the ire of Drake fans and Lil Wayne fans, and JAY-Z has been caught in the crossfire. Fat Joe, Fabolous, and more have stepped up to defend the 54-year-old rapper.

“Years ago, the beef with the NFL was that Black people weren’t represented and they were doing us wrong, even though we were the talent and whatever the case,” Joe said in an Instagram Live video. “But then they brought in JAY-Z and Roc Nation to do the shows and they brought out Dr. Dre, Eminem, Rihanna, number one ratings — they killing it.” He reminded viewers that Hov isn’t the sole person picking halftime performers and he has to work alongside the NFL.

“If he wasn’t doing the halftime [with] Roc Nation, there’d be no Hip Hop!” the “Lean Back” artist exclaimed. “‘Cause there never was Hip-Hop [before 2022]. You’d be listening to, ‘Don’t go messin’ with a cotton-eyed boy/ Cotton-eyed Joe/ Cotton-eyed Joe.’ You’d be listening to that sh*t at halftime.”

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Fabolous admitted that he would have loved to see Lil Wayne perform at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans, but agreed that JAY-Z shouldn’t be blamed for Kendrick Lamar being picked instead. “I do see people blaming it solely on JAY-Z when I don’t think that’s the truth. 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,” he said.

“I do think it would’ve been great for Lil Wayne to [headline the Super Bowl halftime show], just because of how much he’s done in the game and how much he’s meant to New Orleans. That would’ve been a great opportunity. You never know if he’s going to be included, if that’s something that was [discussed] behind the scenes.”

The Brooklyn rapper also acknowledged that K. Dot’s selection following his feud with Drake was worth mentioning. “I think it was interesting that Kendrick got it after the Drake battle, too,” he said. “I think that’s more something that should be talked about. His relevance is really up from that, so that could be something that tipped the scale.”

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Funk Flex, who has historically been at odds with JAY-Z, also spoke up on his behalf. “WE GOTTA STOP BLAMING JAYZ FOR EVERYTHING… THE NFL HAS NEVER CARED ABOUT PEOPLE OF COLOR. (BEFORE JAYZ) (BEFORE COLLIN),” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “THE NFL HAS ACCOMPLISHED TURNING US AGAINST EACH OTHER! THIS WOULDNT OF HAPPENED IN TAYLOR SWIFT’S HOME TOWN! LIL WAYNE LEGACY ALREADY WRITTEN IN STONE!”

Charlamagne Tha God spoke about the situation on The Breakfast Club and reminded people that Hov helped Lil Wayne with his tax debt several years ago. “I’m shocked that so many people are running with the ‘JAY-Z is hating on Lil Wayne’ narrative because JAY-Z has done nothing but show Wayne the utmost love,” he said. “JAY-Z literally helped this man with his tax debt. I don’t know what the actual number was, but USA Today said back in 2018 it was over $14 million in taxes. Jay helped him get out of debt, Jay helped him keep his house, so that doesn’t sound like hate to me. Jay wanted to sign Lil Wayne.”

The controversial radio host also said that a Kendrick Lamar halftime show was a better business move than selecting Lil Wayne. “If I’m making a business decision in 2024 and I look at the monster year Kendrick just had and I’m looking forward to February 2025 — maybe Kendrick got an album coming out,” he said. “Who’s gonna garner us the most eyeballs, the most streams, the most social media engagement?”

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