LL Cool J Responds to Lil Wayne’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Snub: Watch

The fact that Lil Wayne was overlooked for Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show was a topic of conversation in hip-hop circles. Wayne himself admitted that he was “hurt” by the NFL’s decision not to let him perform in his hometown, and others like Nicki Minaj, Master P, Cam’ron and more agreed to root for the rap deity from New Orleans.

LL Cool J caught up with Fat Joe for an episode of Fat Joe speaks on Friday (October 18), and among the many topics discussed was Weezy’s rejection for the Super Bowl headlining spot for K. Dot.

The “Loungin” rapper gave Wayne his flowers, but is cool that Kendrick is having his moment right now with the numbers he put on the board this year. LL believes that Wayne will get his chance at some point.

“[Lil Wayne’s] He is one of our great artists and an incredible writer. He’ll have his day – leave it to Kendrick,” he said. “Here’s the thing: your time will come [and] You will have your day… You will have your time. You can’t let yourself be broken. The only reason it makes me laugh is because I know how blessed he is and how successful he is. So he doesn’t need to worry about this moment. It’s just a moment, brother. It’s just a moment.”

LL Cool J brought up that he wasn’t elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for many years before breaking through in 2021. For all the success he and other artists of his ilk had, he referred to these types of obstacles as “champagne problems.”

“These are champagne problems. There are people who can’t listen to their demo. I think we get a little unintentionally spoiled,” he admitted. “Wayne is the crème de la crème.”

Kendrick was announced by the NFL and Roc Nation to headline Super Bowl LIX in September, and a devastated Wayne took a few days to compose himself before speaking out.

“That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a lot,” he said in a video posted on Instagram. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for disappointment. … But I thought there was nothing better than this place and this stage and this platform in my city, so it hurt.”

Watch LL talk about Kendrick headlining the Super Bowl instead of Lil Wayne in the clip below.