Brianna Williams Oct 26, 2026, 09:50 PM ET

"I said no to the Super Bowl: You need me, I don't need you. Every night we in the end zone, tell the NFL we in stadiums too." -- Jay-Z, "Apes---"

The man who famously rapped about turning down the Super Bowl in 2018 has changed his tune.

Jay-Z is headed to SoFi Stadium to headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show, putting one of hip-hop's deepest catalogs on football's biggest stage. Apparently, "I don't need you" left a little room for "see you in Inglewood."

Hov is already well acquainted with the operation. Roc Nation, the entertainment company he founded in 2008, has partnered with the NFL since August 2019 as the league's "live music entertainment strategist." He has helped shape the halftime spectacle from behind the scenes, beginning with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's performance at Super Bowl LIV in 2020.

Now, after a run of headliners including Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny, the businessman (read as: business, man) helping put the show together is…