‘That broke me … it hurt a lot’

Nearly a week after Kendrick Lamar was announced as the headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime show, New Orleans native Lil Wayne has admitted that not being chosen for the spot “broke me.”

“That hurt, it hurt a lot,” he said in a video statement posted on Friday morning to Instagram. “I thought there was nothing better — that spot, on that stage, on that platform.”

“It broke me, but I’m just trying to put myself back together,” Wayne said. He had expressed his desire to play the show multiple times over the years. The game is scheduled to take place at New Orleans’ Caesars Stadium on Feb. 9.

Almost immediately after Lamar, a Los Angeles native, was announced as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show, uproar began online over him being chosen instead of Wayne. Nicki Minaj, a Wayne protege, was among the first to speak out.

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. Although he essentially relocated to Miami years ago, he remains inextricably connected to New Orleans.

Lamar’s recent beef with Drake — whose early career was also mentored by Wayne — has only increased his supremacy, especially the Drake-slamming song “Not Like Us,” which is one of the biggest hits of the year.

Complicating the situation further, Super Bowl entertainment is overseen by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company, although the NFL and the city of New Orleans also played a role in the pick. Jay has been criticized by many people for his role in the decision, to the extent that rappers like Fat Joe and Fabolous have spoken out in his defense.

“First of all, I wanna say forgive me for the delay,” Wayne says in the Friday video. “I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking. I’ma say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all the love and support out there. Your words turned to arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”

“(Not being picked) hurt — it hurt a lot,” Wayne continues. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. For just automatically mentally putting myself in that position like someone told me that was my position.”

Wayne and Jay-Z are among the top elder statesmen of hip-hop, with Lamar and Drake leading the following generation. While Jay and Lamar do not have the mentorship relationship that Wayne and Drake do, they’ve had a close relationship over the years and Lamar has performed with Jay’s wife, Beyoncé — including on her song “Freedom,” which has become an anthem for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Both rappers performed with Beyonce at the New Jersey closing date of her 2016 “Lemonade” tour, although not together.

“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” Jay said of Lamar in the Super Bowl Halftime announcement on Sunday. “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.”