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| Jay-Z appears in a promotional video announcing him as the headliner of the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show, scheduled for Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Screen grab/Roc Nation and Apple Music) |
Jay-Z has spent seven years helping decide who takes the stage at the Super Bowl halftime show. Next February, he'll be the one standing on it.
The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Monday night that the Brooklyn rap mogul will headline Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The announcement came during ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcast, confirming reports that Jay-Z, whose company has helped oversee the halftime show since 2019, had chosen himself for one of music's biggest stages.
It also marked a significant change of heart.
When Jay-Z entered into his partnership with the NFL seven years ago, he said he had made clear to Commissioner Roger Goodell that performing at the Super Bowl was not the reason for the deal.
Now, after years of helping bring hip-hop and R&B's biggest names to the field, he's taking his own turn.
The announcement arrived in a black-and-white promotional video featuring Jay-Z, set to his 2003 track "Public Service Announcement." The words "GOAT's out of the bag" appeared as the rapper was revealed as the headliner.
Roc Nation and Apple Music announced JAY-Z as the Super Bowl LXI halftime headliner Monday.
"This run continues to be a dream come true," he said.
The timing carries its own significance.
Just two days earlier, Jay-Z closed his JAY-Z 30 concert series at SoFi Stadium, the same venue where he'll perform at halftime. The anniversary run celebrated 30 years of "Reasonable Doubt" and 25 years of his landmark 2001 album, "The Blueprint."
His two-night Los Angeles finale featured a guest list that underscored the reach of his catalog and his standing in hip-hop.
Scarface, John Legend and DJ Khaled joined him during Friday's show, while his daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, appeared at the piano. Saturday's finale brought out Too $hort, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Those appearances offered a reminder of the musical relationships Jay-Z could draw upon in February, although no Super Bowl guests have been announced.
There is a certain symmetry to his return to SoFi Stadium.
The venue hosted the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, when Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar delivered a landmark performance centered on hip-hop and R&B.
That show was among the most visible examples of the direction the NFL's halftime entertainment has taken since Roc Nation entered the picture.
The partnership was controversial when it began in 2019, coming amid criticism of the NFL's treatment of Colin Kaepernick and player protests over racial injustice.
Jay-Z argued at the time that the agreement could provide opportunities for both entertainment and social change. His company went on to help shape halftime performances by artists including The Weeknd, Rihanna, Usher, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.
The question of whether Jay-Z would eventually headline the show himself never entirely disappeared.
Last week, Puck reported that he had selected himself for the 2027 performance. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declined to confirm the report during the league's fall meetings.
Monday's announcement settled the question.
For Jay-Z, 56, the performance extends a year devoted to revisiting his musical legacy. Along with the anniversary concerts, an eight-part documentary series has explored the songs and recordings that established him as one of hip-hop's defining figures.
He has not released a solo studio album since 2017's "4:44," but his influence over the industry — and particularly the Super Bowl — has continued to grow.
His wife, Beyoncé, headlined the halftime show in 2013 and returned as a guest during Coldplay's performance in 2016.
Jay-Z will follow Bad Bunny, who headlined the 2026 show.
For years, Jay-Z has helped decide what the world would hear at halftime.
This time, the catalog is his.
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