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My Mixed Feelings About the Super Bowl Halftime Show
Look, it was lit…
I have to admit that, and I have to admit that I watched.
It was blackity black and I liked that. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and the incomparable Mary J Blige were the headliners, and the show was put on by Jay-Z and Roc Nation. Snoop basically crip walked during his entire performance and it was phenomenal. Mary J Blige, the soul/hip-hop Queen, belted out No More Drama then dramatically dropped to the floor and made a stage angel decked out in a Swarovski embellished bodysuit with matching thigh high boots. Mary is the queen of ghetto fabulous, and I say that with all due respect, and she delivered with her performance and wardrobe. The show was all rap/hip-hop and all Black (besides Eminem) for the first time in Superbowl history, but what does that really mean?
Does it mean that this was an accomplishment for Black entertainers and Black people as a whole?
Of course not.
While Black people collectively celebrated on social media, and in our living rooms, as we danced along to the performance, there was still the elephant in the room. Colin Kaepernick is still blackballed and there are still only two Black head coaches in the NFL. The players are 70% Black.
