The American rapper Lil Wayne says he is “broken” over being snubbed for the Super Bowl halftime show.
This comes a week after the National Football League (NFL) announced that Kendrick Lamar would headline the performance, which is set to take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9.
Being a New Orleans native, the A Milli rapper expressed disappointment that he will not be center stage while the whole world has eyes on his city, per entertainment website TMZ.
The rapper took to his Instagram account to address fans directly. He started off by thanking them for rallying behind him after the snub, before opening up.
“That hurt a lot,” he said, “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a let-down… and for just automatically, mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me it was my position.”
He added: “I thought there was nothing better than that spot, and that stage in my city, so it hurt.”
Lil Wayne said that missing out on the opportunity put him in a low place, but that the outpouring of support from fans and colleagues has been uplifting.
“It broke me, and I’m just trying to put me back together, but, my God, have you all helped me. Thanks to all my peers, my friends, family, and everybody representing me.”
The 41-year-old rapper added that missing out on the opportunity left him feeling like he had let everybody down, although he is working on himself.
Fans and friends swarmed his post with messages of sympathy and comfort, with many expressing that the snub doesn’t take away from his legacy.
“This too shall pass. But what you have done for the Hip-Hop culture will remain. It will stand the test of time,” rapper Nicki Minaj wrote.
“You are the greatest and I literally don’t know where I would be without you,” Chance The Rapper wrote.
Business magazine The Hustle describes the Super Bowl halftime show as the most important commercial on TV.
The report reflects back on Rihanna’s performance last year, when she grabbed the opportunity to promote her Fenty Beauty line.
“Google search traffic for Fenty skyrocketed compared to the previous week, and the company was ready for it, adding a special Super Bowl section to its website. AdWeek reported the performance earned Fenty $5.6m (over Sh700million) in media value over the next 12 hours.”
The report adds: “The Super Bowl’s primary purpose may be to crown the top team in professional football (and prop up the American chicken wing industry). But artists who perform at halftime are the biggest winners. In a fragmented cultural landscape, they’re granted the single-largest advertising stage in the world — for free.”
There has been uproar online since the announcement of Kendrick, a Los Angeles native, as the headliner.
Variety Magazine notes: “While Lamar is arguably the greatest and most influential rapper in the world at the moment, Wayne’s legacy in music is enormous and began much earlier — back in the ‘90s when he emerged as a precocious teenaged rapper with the Hot Boyz.
