Jay-Z Confirms Super Bowl Halftime Show Performance

Shawn Carter, widely known as Jay-Z, will perform at the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. The confirmation resolves a long-standing question about whether the rapper would take the stage at the event he previously helped revitalize. He announced the plans in a cover story for GQ magazine published in March of this year, a piece in which he stated that 2026 is a year dedicated to offense. The specific teams competing for the championship remain unknown, but the performer is confirmed for the field.

Carter’s upcoming set is expected to feature his standard hit songs alongside lyrics that reference professional sports. His discography contains numerous allusions to athletes and teams, ranging from deep dives into Michael Jordan’s career to mentions of NASCAR drivers and scrambling quarterbacks. The frequency of these references is high enough that some observers suggest his albums contain more sports citations than the television program SportsCenter.

In a ranking of his top ten sports lyrics released alongside the announcement, the highest-placed line comes from the 2001 track Hola Hovito. In that verse, Carter compares his peers to Sam Bowie, a player selected by the Portland Trail Blazers over Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft. He describes his own fadeaway as perfect, aligning himself with Jordan rather than the draft bust. The lyric serves as a comparison between his standing in rap and Jordan’s dominance in basketball.

The second-ranked lyric appears in Lyrical Exercise from 2001. The line references Shaquille O’Neal lifting teammate Kobe Bryant, who wore number eight. The double meaning relates to both the physical act of lifting a weight and the dynamic between the two players. It took internet users more than a decade to fully decode the reference to the visual image of O’Neal hoisting Bryant.

Other notable entries include a 2005 verse from Go Crazy, where Carter compares himself to New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. He positions himself as the final authority in his domain, similar to Rivera’s role in baseball. Another lyric from 2003, Pump It Up (Freestyle), targets rapper Joe Budden by comparing him to washed-up players like Harold Miner and JR Rider. Carter delivered this critique over the beat of Budden’s own single, asserting his continued status as the leading figure in hip-hop.

The list also features a 2008 verse from Blow The Whistle, where Carter compares himself to LeBron James. This reference occurred during a period of intense media attention on James’s NBA performance. Carter’s inclusion on the track, originally by Too $hort, expanded the song’s cultural reach beyond its Bay Area origins. No response tracks were recorded by the other artists mentioned in that specific dispute.

Earlier in the ranking, a 2004 lyric from Never Let Me Down references NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Carter uses the term pole position to signal his return from a brief retirement, claiming he was never truly gone. Another entry from 1997, I Love The Dough, references a Mike Tyson fight that Carter and the Notorious B.I.G. attended in 1995. The lyric recalls the experience of watching the boxing match from the 1500 seats.

The next scheduled step is the halftime show itself, which will take place at the 50-yard line of the Super Bowl stadium. Carter will perform a set that blends his greatest hits with these sports-heavy verses. The event will occur before the kickoff of the championship game, serving as the traditional midway entertainment for the audience.