Back in February, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige performed at the NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. The performance was put together by Jay-Z, who is in his second year as the NFL’s Live Music Entertainment Strategist. In addition to the aforementioned artists, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak also made surprise appearances during the halftime show. During a recent episode of Drink Champs with Snoop Dogg, N.O.R.E., who co-hosts the show with DJ EFN, revealed that Jay-Z told him that Eminem said he would not perform without 50 Cent’s participation in the halftime show.
“I said to Jay-Z, I have to ask this straight up. ‘Who is gonna perform at the NFL?’ and he [Jay] said to me—and I’m sorry for everybody who don’t understand—and he [Jay] said, ‘the White guy called for 50 Cent,’” N.O.R.E. said on the show. “I said, ‘Who is the White guy? Jimmy Iovine?’ And he said, ‘No, Eminem called directly for Fifty and he said I can’t do it if I can’t bring 50 with me.’”
50 Cent took issue with Jay-Z referring to Eminem as “the white guy,” and hopped on Instagram to respond. “Why would he have to say that should be the question?” 50 Cent captioned one post insinuating that he would not have performed without Eminem’s ultimatum. “NORE Your big homie is running around trying to look like a gay painter. LOL.” In a second post, which featured Jay-Z next to a picture of Jean-Michel Basquiat, 50 Cent wrote, “Why did he say the white boy, why he didn’t say the biggest rap artist in the world? Happy Easter! man enjoy the holidays.”
You can view the posts from 50 Cent and a clip from the Drink Champs episode above.