Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar headlined the 2022 annual Super Bowl Pepsi Halftime Show for the first time, delivering an unforgettable performance. Many were very apprehensive about how the performance would turn out but the group would not disappoint.

The show kicked off with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performing their song, “The Next Episode,” together while dancers entertain the crowd. The vibe of the performance kept on as the two transitioned to a tribute to the late rapper, Tupac, by rapping his song “California Love.” It was a somewhat heartfelt moment for many Tupac fans around the country and world.

The crowd was shocked and excited to see, special guest and rapper, 50 Cent. The artist performed his hit song “In Da Club” surrounded by dancers to add excitement. He popped in upside down, which was somewhat confusing but ended up being a fairly good performance from the rapper.

Singer and rapper, Mary J. Blige, proved to everyone that age has no bounds when she performed her song “Family Affair” and then “No More Drama.” Wearing a gorgeous silver and white sparkly outfit, she stunned the crowd. Many loved her performance, but many others didn’t enjoy it quite as much. It wasn’t my favorite part of the entire performance, but I’m not the biggest Mary J. Blige fan to begin with.

Kendrick Lamar brings the vibe back to the current decade by performing his songs “m.A.A.d city” and “Alright”. People jumped out of boxes and danced around him. He ended his act by starting to rap one on Eminem and Dr. Dre’s song “Forget About Dre.” Many, including myself, believe that Lamar’s performance was underwhelming compared to the others but it was entertaining.

The transition from Lamar to Eminem was nothing but legendary. The rapper came in from an exploding building while continuing where Lamar left off in “Forget About Dre”. He then began to perform a fan favorite, “Lose Yourself” and everyone, including myself, lost their minds. He ended his section of the performance by going against the NFL’s wishes and kneeling as what CNN describes as “an act of protest against police brutality and racial discrimination.”

This somewhat controversial act has some right-leaning republicans, such as Rudy Giuliani upset.

“Why doesn’t he go to another country? I mean, go take a knee someplace else,” Giuliani said in response to the rapper’s act of protest.

The show came to a close with all the artists performing Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s song “Still D.R.E”, closing the show with an absolutely amazing song. Seeing all these artists that paved the road for many of the rappers of this generation was a chilling experience. The 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show will go down in the history books as one of the best halftime show performances ever.