NFL vows to make Super Bowl halftime show changes after regrettable Kendrick Lamar choice

In a bit of a controversial decision, the NFL chose rapper Kendrick Lamar to perform the Super Bowl halftime show this year. It’s not just his beef with rapper Drake and explicit lyrics that made it so, but rather the fact that Lamar was chosen over Lil Wayne.

Why Lil Wayne made sense for Super Bowl LIX halftime

This year’s Super Bowl was hosted at the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. While all the artists who performed ahead of Super Bowl LIX (Jon Batiste, Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle, Ledisi) have roots in Louisiana, Kendrick Lamar does not. Lil Wayne, on the other hand, was born in New Orleans and has deep roots in Louisiana. Lamar is from Compton, California.

The NFL’s decision to select Lamar over Lil Wayne drew criticism especially from fans in New Orleans and the league has since expressed regret over the decision and issued a formal apology to the city’s iconic rapper.

Lil Wayne himself also expressed his disappointment during an Instagram Live, saying it “hurt a whole lot” to not be able to perform in front of his fans in his hometown and that he wasn’t expecting the rejection.

“Lil Wayne should have been the first option,” an NFL insider told The U.S. Sun. “It would have taken a couple of minutes to finalize, and Lil Wayne would have been thrilled to perform in his hometown.”

NFL to make changes in how they choose Super Bowl halftime performers

The same insider said that the NFL will ensure that they take into account an artist’s connection to the city that hosts the Super Bowl when selecting the halftime performer from now on.

“New Orleans is the city of Lil Wayne. It would have been fantastic to have him perform and feel the love from his hometown,” the insider said.

While Lamar’s performance wasn’t short on controversies, it wasn’t those which caused the NFL to regret the decision. Rather, they now recognize the importance of selecting an artist with deep roots in the game’s host city.

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