The Super Bowl Of Reconciliation
Could Kendrick Lamar's halftime show feature Drake in a moment of unity? Jay-Z, the event's producer, knows a thing or two about epic truces—and big moments.
Earlier this week, Kendrick Lamar was revealed as the halftime headliner at the upcoming Super Bowl in New Orleans. The news followed Lamar’s largely undisputed victory in a ferocious back-and-forth lyrical battle with Drake. Though some observers had hoped to see hometown hero Lil Wayne onstage at the big game, many lauded the pick—including, unsurprisingly, the person likely most responsible for making it.
“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” said Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation entertainment company co-produces the halftime show. “His deep love for Hip-Hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Jay-Z knows a thing or two about epic moments, which is one of the reasons the NFL picked Roc Nation years ago to run such an important part of football’s biggest night on an ongoing basis. He’s also quite familiar with rap beefs—not only participating in them, but resolving them.
I’ve spent years studying Jay-Z, both while counting his money as an editor at Forbes and while writing the Jay-Z biography Empire State of Mind. Call me crazy, but I think he’s going to find a way to make a Kendrick-Drake truce happen onstage at the Super Bowl. Allow me to explain.
Most hip-hop fans would tell you that the genre’s last major battle prior to Kendrick and Drake’s was Nas vs. Jay-Z. The fireworks started in 2001 with a lyrical aside from the latter: “Ask Nas, he don’t want it with Hov!” That kicked off a yearslong verbal jousting match between two artists at the top of their game, inspiring songs like the Nas classic “Ether.”
Things got so nasty on one Jay-Z release that his own mother demanded he publicly apologize for his words, which he did, though the beef continued to simmer. In 2005, Jay-Z seemed poised to reignite hostilities with an “I Declare War” concert in New Jersey. But instead of escalating, he invited his rival onto the stage in a show of unity.
“This,” said Nas, “is hip-hop history.”
“All that beef shit is wack,” Jay-Z declared. “Let’s get this money.”
Both artists have remained true to their word. On the history side, Nas has helped cement the genre’s legacy through his work with The Hip-Hop Museum, set to open next year in the South Bronx. Jay-Z has used his NFL megaphone—and his influence beyond football—to draw attention to a variety of social causes.
They’ve also both been phenomenally successful on the business side over the past two decades. Nas became one of the most prolific and respected startup investors in the entertainment world; Jay-Z became hip-hop’s first billionaire. And they’ve made their continued mutual admiration clear.
Now Jay-Z has a chance to top his own epic moment of reconciliation by orchestrating one between the next generation’s two warring stars. Only this time, hip-hop is the most-consumed genre in the country, if not the world. And the amplification offered by the Super Bowl’s stage is unparalleled—a public Kendrick-Drake truce would break the Internet.
It’s even bigger than that, though. In February, when the Super Bowl takes place, America will have just emerged from a bruising presidential election. In all likelihood, the two sides of a divided nation will be even more bitterly at odds with one another. What better way for hip-hop to show its evolution than by modeling reconciliation on the grandest scale?
This idea may seem far-fetched, given the ugliness of the personal attacks leveled over the past year, and also in the wake of Kendrick’s recent untitled release. Known to fans as “Watch the Party Die,” some have labeled it a new diss track aimed at Drake (though others saw it as de-escalation).
In any case, if a Super Bowl prop bet pops up involving a Kendrick-Drake reconciliation at the halftime show, I’ll be all over it—especially given the long odds that would likely be attached. Jay-Z is already a billionaire with 24 Grammys, but I’m sure he’d love to add the pop culture equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize to his mantel.
Zack O’Malley Greenburg is the author of five books, including A-List Angels and the Jay-Z biography Empire State of Mind. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Forbes, where he served as senior editor of media & entertainment for a decade.