This was the first halftime show consisting entirely of rap and hip hop artists, and only one song, Lamar's "Alright", was released in the last decade. And the millennial audience absolutely soaked it up.
Sunday's 2022 Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show was an early 2000s bonanza, with performances by Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and surprise guest stars 50 Cent and Anderson Paak.
The show kicked off with Dre and Snoop Dogg performing “The Next Episode,” which came out in the year 1999, standing on top of a LA diners and other white buildings created from shipping containers, before heading into 2Pac’s "California Love" from 1995.
Of course, both Dre and Snoop Dogg are from California, and the game was being played between Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles.
Surprise guest 50 Cent — there had been rumors he would appear after being spotted at rehearsals — appeared hanging upside down, with "In Da Club," his huge hit from 2003.
Then Mary J Blige stamped into the venue in mirrored thigh-high boots to perform "Family Affair" and "No More Drama," two of her iconic songs from 2001, with Eminem performing the 2003 classic "Lose Yourself" — complete with "mom's spaghetti" line shortly after.
The artists seemed to continually be paying tribute to the 56-year-old rapper, with Lamar's dancers dressed in suits with "Dre Day" sashes across them and the final song of the show was "Still D.R.E" with, all performers joining in for the final "it's the D R E" lyrics to end the show.
In Jan. 2021, Dre reportedly suffered from a brain aneurysm and this was the first time he has performed since.