DJ Hed Has A Hot Take About Kendrick Lamar & Lil Wayne Super Bowl Controversy

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1.7K Views
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Kendrick Lamar Performs During Half Time For The 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during half time during 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Centennial Olympic Park on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Some disagree vehemently, and others know exactly where DJ Hed is coming from.

During an interview with The Shade Room, DJ Hed gave his definitive take on the Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne Super Bowl debacle. "I mean, I don't like the comparisons," he began. "I don't like the negativity around it, I don't think it's needed. For people who are completely self-absorbed and people who are selfish in a certain way – 'Cause it's The Shade Room: I'm not talking about Nicki, Drake, Stunna or nobody like that. I'm just saying that the Internet and the fans and people cause these types of disruptions. I think it's unfair taking away from people's moments.

"When you look at Lil Wayne, Lil Wayne is one of them ones in a real way," DJ Hed continued. "This is not to diminish his legacy or take away from anything that he's done culturally or musically. He's a legend. All of these dudes is his sons. That's a fact, right? So because all of these dudes is his sons, I think he's owed that respect. However, the Super Bowl performance has never been indicative of geography. That just recently became a thing because of cultural awareness.

DJ Hed Speaks On Kendrick Lamar & Lil Wayne Debate

"We've all been in rooms where we're the only person who looked like us in those rooms," DJ Hed went on. "So whenever you're in these situations, I think you have an opportunity to speak culturally. When you look at what's happening recently with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at the Super Bowl, that was more or less curation. Being culturally aware. 'Hey, this might be a good idea. Rappers have never been at the forefront, or hip-hop has never been at the forefront on a stage like this.'

"I don't think it's about geography," DJ Hed concluded. "Just 'cause it's in Atlanta doesn't mean Future is the one that needs to perform. Just because it's in Detroit doesn't mean that Eminem needs to perform. The teams who are playing, who earned the right to compete in the Super Bowl with no round twos, those teams are not even from the city that they are playing in. So I don't like that mixed messaging that people are conflating the two. Also, if you want to keep it real, who's had a better year than Dot at this point?"

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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