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Super Bowl halftime shows have gained immense popularity over the years. From Michael Jackson’s performance in 1993 to Prince’s in 2007, and Beyoncé’s in 2013, the show has witnessed some truly iconic performances in the history of pop culture.
Over the years, the show has been headlined by the biggest names in the music industry. Despite this, very few rappers have performed at the show. Nelly’s appearance at Super Bowl 2001 was one of the first appearances by a rapper on the show.
In the past few years, more rappers have begun making appearances at Super Bowl’s halftime shows. Here are 5 rappers who wowed the NFL’s Super Bowl audiences.
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Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, and other rappers who performed at the Super Bowl halftime shows
1) Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre was part of the first Super Bowl halftime show headlined by an all-hip-hop lineup in 2022. Joining the legendary rapper on stage were Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar. 50 Cent made a surprise guest appearance.
The rapper performed some of his greatest hits including The Next Episode, California Love, and Still D.R.E. For the performance, Dr. Dre, along with the rest of the performers, won a Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
2) Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott appeared as a special guest on Super Bowl 2015’s halftime show headlined by Katy Perry. The American rapper performed for nearly three minutes out of the 12-and-a-half-minute show, covering some of her most iconic hits like Get Ur Freak On, Work It, and Lose Control.
In just a few hours after the show aired, Missy Elliott’s song downloads and albums witnessed a gain of 996 percent, Billboard reported. In 2017, the rapper revealed in a post on X that she was hospitalized the night before the performance. The post read:
“no1 knew I was in the hospital the night before I had to perform at the SuperBowl.”
Talking about her experience, Elliott continued, “God pulled me through. I will NEVER forget this night.”
3) Travis Scott
Travis Scott made a special guest appearance in Maroon 5’s Super Bowl halftime show in 2019. The rapper performed following an introduction from SpongeBob Squarepants, which referenced the cartoon’s classic song Sweet Victory.
Scott performed his highly acclaimed track, Sicko Mode. The track is Scott's first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The rapper told People in a statement on January 14, 2019, that he agreed to perform at the show on the condition that the NFL would make a joint donation with him to Dream Corps.
4) Ludacris
Ludacris was one of the special guests at Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. The show drew in 123.4 million, making it the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show, according to Billboard.
The American rapper and actor joined Usher and Lil Jon to perform their hits like Yeah!, Freek-a-Leek, and Get Low. The highly acclaimed performance resulted in Yeah! witnessing a 105 percent boost in official on-demand US streams, Billboard reported.
After the performance, Ludacris took to X on March 5, 2024, to announce that Yeah! had set a new record by earning over a billion streams on Spotify. He shared,
“That damn Super Bowl effect was the cherry on top.”
5) Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar made history by becoming the first solo rapper to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in 2025. He opened the show with an old unreleased track widely known as Bodies among fans.
The rapper went on to perform his iconic hits like Humble, DNA, Peekaboo, and the five-time-grammy-winning Not Like Us. Lamar made several references to his ongoing feud with Drake, referencing the rapper’s name during his performance of Not Like Us.
The show was emceed by actor Samuel L. Jackson and displayed guest appearances by SZA and tennis star Serena Williams.
Other rappers who have made appearances at the Super Bowl halftime shows include Cee-Lo Green and M.I.A in 2012, as well as Big Boi in 2019.
