Steve Stoute was the most recent guest on The Pivot podcast, where he and the co-hosts discussed a lot of business topics and their overlap with the music industry and other entertainment businesses. Of course, they had to touch on the Super Bowl halftime show controversy at some point, with some still arguing between Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne. However, Stoute focused instead on the rumors that Drake turned down the headlining slot in the past, and also defended Jay-Z's decision-making and what he perceives as selflessness in the way that he handles the selection process.
"I will confirm: Drake was offered the Super Bowl twice," Steve Stoute began. "Drake did turn down the Super Bowl twice. And I'm sure if Drake would've said yes, he would've brought Lil Wayne out at some point, right? He probably would've brought out Nicki, which is probably why she's upset because she's not on the stage. But Drake turned it down twice. So, like, this, 'the NFL, somebody spoke to' – No. He turned it down twice, which is fine. He didn't want to do it.
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Steve Stoute Speaks On Drake, Jay-Z & The Super Bowl Halftime Show
"But nobody's going to say, 'Damn, why'd you turn it down? You could've got Lil Wayne on.' Right?" Steve Stoute continued. "Nobody's going to connect that dot. The other thing that no one seems to think about is why isn't Jay-Z picking himself? Like, he's not even being selfish about it for himself. Why isn't somebody saying, 'Man, you know what, he's actually making a decision based on what he thinks the best performance is at the right time, music, et cetera'? Because he's not even using this moment to satisfy himself.
"He has a catalog. He can rock. He's nice. He's not even choosing himself," Steve Stoute concluded. "To me, that should be celebrated. That he's not being selfish and he's helping these artists and giving them what they deserve. And not being selfish about it and choosing only, you know, Roc Nation acts or himself. Because if it was just that, I could understand it. But for it to come down like this is just... To me, this s**t is corny. And it makes the hip-hop community, the Black community... It leaves a stain."