Kendrick and Lil Wayne – the real Super Bowl showdown

Announcing one of the world’s hottest rap artists as the Super Bowl’s half-time headliner might seem like an obvious move.

But the choice of Kendrick Lamar has prompted comments from hip-hop royalty – and some aren’t feeling euphoric.

This year’s Super Bowl – where the American Football championship is decided – is being held in New Orleans.

The Louisiana city is also the birthplace of Lil Wayne, who’s widely considered one of the most influential rappers ever.

Nicki Minaj, Birdman, Master P and Cam’ron have all said the hometown hero should have been part of the event.

And many of them think that Jay-Z – who has been co-producing the NFL event since 2019, might have something to do with the decision.

Lil Wayne and Jay-Z are both huge figures in hip-hop, and there’s a lot of history between them.

When Jay-Z released album Kingdom Come in 2006, Lil Wayne reportedly took issue with the rapper claiming he’d stage a comeback because “hip-hop was dead”.

He’s quoted as saying: “Now he comes back and still thinks it’s his house. It’s not your house anymore, and I’m better than you.”

Speaking on his YouTube series It Is What It Is after the Super Bowl announcement, rapper Cam’ron, appearing to refer to Jay-Z, said the feud was no secret.

“Lil Wayne had a problem with somebody before who’s kind of part of the organisation running it,” he said.

“This is payback.”

Nicki Minaj also made a series of posts on X, appearing to take aim at Jay-Z.

“Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego,” she wrote.

This might have surprised some people, because it looked like the beef had been squashed by 2015 when Lil Wayne got involved with Jay-Z’s music platform Tidal and called him his “idol”.

He also described Jay-Z as “a real friend” in 2018.