SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW: Eminem takes a knee, Blige shines brightest

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Well, apparently two of the most contentious issues leading up to Sunday night’s Super Bowl halftime show happened and nobody got in trouble.

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At least as far as we know.

Featuring an all-star rap lineup for the first time, Eminem took a knee at the end of his stand-out performance of Lose Yourself in a shout-out to Colin Kaepernick, which apparently was frowned upon by the NFL leading up to Sunday night in Inglewood, Calif. (Still, league reps told the New York Post that players have been taking the knee since 2016 without sanctions so it wasn’t a big deal.)

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Meanwhile, Dr. Dre of nearby Compton didn’t change his specific lyrics (“still not loving the police”) from his show ending, 1999 hit, Still D.R.E, which was also apparently against the NFL’s wishes.

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Sharing the stage — essentially a big white rig featuring five all-white double-decker mini-stages were Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar plus special guests 50 Cent and Anderson Paak on drums.

It was an idea that had been a long time coming after rappers had been featured guests for other halftime show performers previously but never as headliners.

Dre added two deaf rappers, Sean Forbes and Warren “WaWa” Snipe, marking the first time sign language interpreters will be included in the halftime show.

Seated behind a large white sound board, Dre first appeared joined by Snoop Dog for The Next Episode with the production set acknowledging such Compton landmarks as Tam’s Burgers and Eve’s After Dark and the Martin Luther King memorial.

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Dre and Snoop Dogg also performed Tupac’s California Love before 50 Cent took over on his own for In Da Club.

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But it was Blige, resplendent in a long blond wig, huge hoop diamond earrings, and a silver sequined body suit and thigh-high boots, who sang the hell out of Family Affair and No More Drama, finally crashing to her back after some deep knee bends during the second song.

Lamar was up next on the stadium floor that appeared to be a map of Compton’s streets (from where he also hails), as he emerged from a group of black boxes that said “Dre Day,” filled with male dancers with matching dyed blond hair, black attire and green sashes that said, “Dre Day,” performing M.A.D.D. City and Alright.

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Eminem’s Lose Yourself followed, with Paak on drums and a lively horn section, and you could see Blige and 50 Cent grooving along to the song on a couch on the set.

The high mark, in terms of Super Bowl halftime shows, has long been Prince’s 2007 thrilling guitar-shredding performance in the rain and the low mark, most recently anyway, was Maroon 5 in 2019.

This year’s lineup ranked somewhere in between with not much flash, but a lot of song integrity, and the not-so-secret weapon in the form of Blige, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, who called the appearance “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

I might have used more of the shiny new SoFi Stadium, with a retractable roof and the so-called Infinity Screen and those three vintage convertibles parked on the floor for maybe a fun entrance or exit.

Still, there were actual fans in seats, including stars given the proximity to Hollywood including Charlize Theron, LeBron James, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck after many cutouts had to be used for The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime performance last year in Tampa due to COVID-19 restrictions.