Steve Stoute Says Drake Turned Down Super Bowl Halftime Show Gig, Twice
Written by djfrosty on September 23, 2024
Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
When it was announced that Kendrick Lamar would be headlining the next Super Bowl Halftime show in New Orleans, much of the Hip-Hop community was up in arms over the snub of Lil Wayne as many felt that the rap icon deserved to provide the entertainment segment of the big game in his hometown.
Interestingly enough, many of those screaming bloody murder turned out to be Drake fans who were still salty that the 6 Gawd took the massive L in his classic rap battle with Kung Fu Kenny and felt that Jay-Z was hating on Young Money artists in general with his choice. As it turns out it seems like Drake was actually given the opportunity to perform at a couple of Super Bowls over the years but turned the offer down each time.
In a recent interview on The Pivot Podcast, Steve Stoute touched on the topic of the artists chosen to perform at the Super Bowl during Jay-Z’s tenure with the NFL and revealed that though Hova and Drizzy have a small rivalry going on, Jay did offer the King of the North the opportunity to headline the big game not once, but twice, but Drake didn’t have any interest in taking on the task.
“I will confirm Drake was offered the Super Bowl twice. Drake did turn down the Super Bowl twice. And I’m sure if Drake would have said yes, he would have brought Lil Wayne out at some point,” Stoute said. “He probably would have brought out Nicki. Which is probably why she’s upset ’cause she’s not onstage. But Drake turned it down twice… He turned it down twice, which is fine. He didn’t want to do it. But nobody’s going to say, ‘Damn, why’d you turn it down? You could’ve got Lil Wayne on.’ Nobody’s going to connect that dot.”
Well, so much for that.
Drake headlining the Super Bowl would’ve been huge especially before the entire Kendrick Lamar rap battle that left him licking his wounds North of the border. Still, we’re sure he had his reasons as to why he didn’t want to accept the gig, and that’s his business.
As for people trying to slander Jay-Z for the acts he’s chosen over the years such as Rihanna and Usher, Steve Stoute isn’t here for the criticism Jay has to put up with as he feels that the rap legend is doing what someone in his position is supposed to do when having that much say-so in a board room.
“As far as I’m concerned, these artists are getting their flowers, and are getting their chance to perform on this stage — these Black artists, Hip-Hop and R&B artists — if it wasn’t for [Jay-Z], this wouldn’t be happening. So how could you come down and criticize this man like that?”
In the age of social media, nothing is ever good enough for everyone anymore. Just sayin’.
Check out Steve Stoute talk about the Super Bowl situation below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.