After years of helping produce the Super Bowl halftime show, Jay-Z is moving directly into its brightest spotlight. The rapper will headline the 2027 halftime performance, turning one of the biggest entertainment stages into his own showcase, as reported [1] by CBS News.
The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced the news Monday night. Jay-Z will be the featured performer during the halftime festivities on Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The announcement arrived with a short video filmed inside SoFi Stadium. It showed Jay-Z seated in the venue while surrounded by goats, accompanied by the caption, “GOAT’s out of the bag.”
His selection followed days of speculation about who would lead the next halftime show. The performance will also bring Jay-Z back to the stadium where he closed his “Jay-Z 30” concert run over the weekend.
That concert series began with three performances at Yankee Stadium in New York. It later continued in London before reaching its conclusion in Southern California at SoFi Stadium.
Jay-Z already has a significant connection to the NFL’s entertainment presentations through Roc Nation. His company has partnered with the league since 2019, advising on and helping produce events that include the Super Bowl halftime show.
When that partnership began, however, Jay-Z made clear that securing his own halftime performance was not the purpose of his discussions with the league. He said he told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, “If this is about me performing at the Super Bowl, then we can just end this conversation now.”
Seven years after making that statement, Jay-Z is preparing to perform at the event himself. His appearance will shift him from a prominent role behind the production to the featured position at the center of the halftime presentation.
During Roc Nation’s partnership with the NFL, the lineup of halftime headliners has included Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd, among others. Jay-Z will now join that group as the featured performer.
Born Shawn Carter, Jay-Z has won 25 Grammy Awards and received 89 nominations. That nomination total ranks second in history behind his wife, Beyoncé, who has performed at two Super Bowls.
His catalog includes “Reasonable Doubt,” “The Blueprint” and “The Black Album.” His hit songs include “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “99 Problems” and “Empire State of Mind,” his collaboration with Alicia Keys.
“Reasonable Doubt,” released as his debut in 1996, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame last year. The recognition added another distinction to a career that has also been acknowledged by two major songwriting and music institutions.
Jay-Z became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. He later joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
His work has stretched beyond performing and recording into music publishing, artist management and sports. He helped found Roc-A-Fella Records and founded Roc Nation in 2008, developing the company into an entertainment business that works with both artists and athletes.
The announcement follows Bad Bunny’s performance at last season’s Super Bowl in February. His music posted sharp gains across streaming charts, playlists and music discovery platforms in the hours after the show.
The next morning, Bad Bunny occupied the top six positions on Spotify’s Top 50 U.S. chart, while another of his songs appeared at No. 8. Eleven additional Bad Bunny songs were also ranked on Spotify’s Top 50 U.S. chart at that time.
Jay-Z will now take his own catalog to the same high profile stage. The newly announced performance brings together his history as an artist, his company’s continuing work with the NFL and his return to SoFi Stadium after concluding his recent concert run there.