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Lil Wayne isn’t holding back after being passed up for this year’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show in his own hometown, per RollingStone. Despite being a fixture in rap for decades and publicly campaigning for the coveted slot at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, the NFL gave the stage to Kendrick Lamar—who used it to throw lyrical jabs at longtime rival Drake. But Wayne? He swears he wasn’t even tuned in.
In a new Rolling Stone interview, Wayne recounted the strange build-up to the big game, where he says the NFL strongly encouraged him to start making more public appearances, seemingly in preparation for the show. Suddenly, Wayne—who prefers the studio and a blunt over red carpets—was rubbing elbows with Tom Brady and hitting exclusive bashes hosted by Michael Rubin. “That was all for that,” Wayne explained. “You ain’t never seen me in them types of venues.”
The shift in energy threw him off. But he stayed the course, only for the NFL to ultimately backpedal. According to Wayne, someone within the league eventually hit him up and said flatly, “We ain’t in charge.” The rapper, who had believed the halftime performance was a lock, found himself blindsided.
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Clearing the Air with Kendrick and Jay-Z
Wayne made it clear that he doesn’t blame Kendrick for taking the gig. In fact, he called Lamar ahead of the performance to show support. Despite online rumors—fueled by Wayne’s cryptic post warning “let this giant sleep” and a GNX lyric from Lamar referencing Wayne—there’s no animosity. “I didn’t even know it was Kendrick,” he laughed, recalling a moment on stage where he accidentally rapped “Not Like Us,” Lamar’s infamous Drake diss. “I ain’t want my dude to be mad at me.”
Lil Wayne’s not salty toward Jay-Z either, despite Roc Nation holding the reins over the halftime selection process. He still considers Hov a mentor and insists the situation didn’t change that. “All of a sudden, according to them, they got curved,” he shrugged. “So I’ma settle with whatever they say.”
