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Netizens have reacted to New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne teasing a "very special" announcement on Instagram. On Wednesday, February 5, the rapper took to Instagram to announce that he will not attend Super Bowl LIX on February 9 and that he has an "exciting" announcement on Thursday, February 6.
"Y'all know I'm not gonna be there this week, which means I guess there's a seat to fill," he said. "Shout out to New Orleans, but I've been working on something very special. I got something exciting coming for you, Thursday, the sixth."
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On September 8, 2024, Apple Music, Roc Nation, and the NFL collectively chose Pulitzer-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar to headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. On January 23, 2025, K Dot announced the inclusion of SZA as a guest performer at the halftime show via a social media post.
Shortly after the announcement, Lil Wayne, a New Orleans native, expressed his disappointment in not being chosen to headline the halftime show. While performing at Lil WeezyAna Fest in November last year, he said:
"I told myself I wanna be on stage at the Super Bowl in front of my mom and I worked my a** off to get that position. It was ripped away from me but this moment right here… they can’t take this away from me,” he told the crowd.
Netizens have reacted to Lil Wayne dropping the announcement on Instagram. X user @Elitekid_Skeals quipped, writing that Lil Wayne will announce his own Super Bowl.
"Wayne bout to have his own Bowl," wrote the user.
One user suspected that the announcement might be related to sports rather than hip-hop.
"Folks thinking it regards hip hop but my guess is it’s a SPORTS announcement. He’s gonna be @RealSkipBayless successor & the NEW host of Undisputed, that’s my guess. That’s something he seems to have always wanted to do," added another.
"So is this the special announcement for the special announcement?" joked another user on X.
A user urged Lil Wayne to drop a diss track, commenting:
"Ain’t nothing good coming unless you got a good diss track for us."
"Still finding ways to complain about not having the Super Bowl handed to him I see," a user opined.
"Dude I hope it’s in SUPPORT of your biggest fan and NOT to step on his moment. I’m from New Orleans so I know how petty he might be on this I just hope he’s showing love and not hate," commented another.
Some users urged Wayne to collaborate with Kendrick and "kill Drakes career."
"He should pop out with Kendrick and go ahead and kill Drakes career. We all know Wayne hates him," wrote the user on X.
"I hope Wayne don’t talk reckless cuz Kendrick got 10 tracks in the tuck and the worst one would cook Not Like Us," inferred a fan.
Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez reveals Lil Wayne was considered for the Super Bowl halftime show before they chose Kendrick Lamar
According to a report by HotNewHipHop, Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez was recently interviewed by The New Orleans Advocate in January 2025. During the interview, she was asked about whether Lil Wayne was in the discussion when choosing the headliner for Super Bowl LIX halftime show. She said:
"I didn’t choose the artist, but I do believe that definitely there was consideration [for Lil Wayne]"
Perez claimed that Kendrick Lamar was ultimately chosen because he was "the right person for the show at this moment."
"New Orleans is so rich in culture. We have to take into consideration (that) whoever is going to perform can speak to music culture, regardless of age. It has to nod to real music, regardless of the genre. And Kendrick does that. Kendrick’s richness and culture is really a nod to New Orleans," she added.
During the interview, Perez was made aware of Lil Wayne's disappointment in not being selected to headline the Super Bowl. After hearing what the New Orleans rapper said at his Lil WeezyAna Fest, she commented:
"Aww. I actually didn’t know he had said that. We love that everybody wants to be on the stage, that we’ve completely changed the conversation to fighting for it versus boycotting. We’ve come a long way."
She also discussed the evolution of Super Bowl halftime shows since the inception of the NFL's partnership with Roc Nation. Perez highlighted the growth of the halftime shows, stressing their ambition of beating last year's viewership numbers every year.
According to a report by Roc Nation, Super Bowl LVII (which was headlined by Usher) had a viewership of 129 million, making it the most-watched halftime show in NFL history.
