‘They Perform, or I Quit’: Snoop Dogg Claims Ultimatum Jay-Z Gave the NFL Ahead of Super Bowl Halftime Show

Fans are still talking about last month’s epic Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime performance by Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar, with a special guest appearance by 50 Cent. It was the first time hip-hop was at the center of the show, which featured Snoop in what would be considered gang paraphernalia, Crip-walking. Snoop said in a recent interview Jay-Z was responsible that the show remained as authentic as possible, or else.

During a recent interview for Tidal published last week, Snoop reflected on the show-stopping performance, telling chief content officer Elliott Wilson, “When I got home and watched it on playback, I thought it was the greatest sh-t ever.”

Snoop Dogg (L) and Jay-Z (R). Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Some viewers apparently were shocked when Snoop appeared in a blue bandana-style jumpsuit that for some might have evoked the gear traditionally associated with The Crips, a Los Angeles-based street gang. The 50-year-old later performed The Crip Walk, also known as the C-Walk, a dance move created in the 1970s by first-generation Crip member Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson.

According to Snoop, Hov — who partnered with the NFL in 2019 to advise its social justice initiatives and its entertainment — smoothed things over with the league to allow that moment to occur.

“We love each other. Like, not secretly, like publicly, we love each other,” the rapper shared. “It is what it is, so it’s like for him to go to bat for us and tell the NFL, ‘F-ck that. They perform, or I quit,’ that was the most gangster sh-t out of everything. Then with attire and kneeling and all this … you can’t wear your gang bang sh-t? JAY-Z hit me like, ‘Wear what the f-ck you want to wear. Peace to the Gods,’” the “Doggy Style” rapper said.

“Jay was the first one that came to the dressing room when I got offstage,” the rapped noted elsewhere. “We had [300 Entertainment label CEO] Kevin Liles in there. Kevin Liles had Jay on FaceTime, trying to show him where we was at. So then he came down, and soon as he came in, he hugged me,” Snoop said.

“We hug each other tight. It was as if we won a championship. Like, you know when you’re genuinely happy for each other? People don’t understand; me and him are the ones. He’s the one on the East. I’m the one from the West.”