Commentary

Super Bowl halftime needs hip-hop

Originally Published: January 26, 2010

AP Photo/John BazemoreWould the NFL allow the Ying Yang Twins to perform at halftime of a Super Bowl?

OK, no disrespect to Roger Daltrey or Pete Townshend (he actually had an album named "Scoop" so I can never be mad at him), but this is getting out of hand.

When is a hip-hop group going to get a shot at performing a Super Bowl halftime show?

Ever since the infamous "wardrobe malfunction," the NFL has been more conservative than Ann Coulter in selecting who's going to entertain us between the halves. At this point it seems to be getting personal.

True, Diddy and Nelly were somewhere on the stage when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake made their "mistake," but should all acts that never appeared on "The Midnight Special" be punished because of it?

Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Boss and now The Who. (Note No. 1: Prince performed in 2007 and really can't be considered conservative, albeit safe. Note No. 2: Ever since the Janet Moment, Don Mischer Productions has been responsible for producing the halftime shows.) The previous roll calla, all first-ballot Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Now I know Gucci Mane or Drake may not be be quite appropriate for that stage, but damn, can LL Cool J at least get a look?

I'm not talking Will Smith or Will.I.Am. And for the record, Young MC, Coolio, the Sugar Hill Gang, Kid 'N Play and PM Dawn don't count either.

I'm talking about an act that would cause the same reaction people had when Three 6 Mafia won the Academy Award for best song. But until that tupocalyptic day arrives, here are some acts that the Super Bowl halftime selection committee should take into strong consideration … sorta, really.

• The Ying Yang Twins: They can open up with an all-out ATL collabo (featuring Lil Jon, of course) version of "Salt Shaker," followed by a 10-minute version of "The Whisper Song" (with David Banner making a guest appearance) and then finish the set with a remix of the anthem "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)."

• Eminem: Give Shady 12 minutes and he'll give you … well, we all know where this could end up.

• DJ Khaled: All he has to do is use his Def Jam South president status and bring any of the artists that he gets on his mix tapes (Akon, Usher, Rick Ross, T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Plies, Lil Wayne, et al) and do one song: "I'm So Hood." SB halftimes will never be the same.

• Run-DMC, Whodini, A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, Salt-N-Pepa, De La Soul and Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick: Hey, if Tom Petty got a shot then this should be no problem. The old school needs love, too.

AP Photo/John AmisI think Outkast deserves a shot to perform at the Super Bowl.

• The 2B2S Collective: BDP, X-Clan, Brand Nubian and Public Enemy: OK, this will never happen.

• An N.W.A. reunion: Same as above.

• Lauryn Hill: Depending on what state of mind she's in (Brother Anthony?) or how her hair is cut (no Yankees baseball caps allowed, please!) she could be the grande coup of all musical performances in SB history. Sans Wyclef, sans guitar, Hill could rip a stadium apart if (1) anyone could find her, and then (2) get her to show up.

• Del Tha Funkee Homosapien: Because nothing gets a crowd more wild than hearing "Mistadobalina."

• All jokes aside …

• OutKast: In this order: "B.O.B.," "Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1)," "Ms. Jackson," "So Fresh, So Clean," "The Way You Move," "Elevators (Me & You)," and end with "Hey Ya!" Done.

• Jay-Z: Has the catalog, has the cachet, has the name, has the wife, has the connects, has the swag, has the résumé. If Hov doesn't eventually get the gig, then no one ever will.

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