Key Takeaways

Jay-Z, who helped select the past seven halftime performers, makes sense as the Super Bowl LXI headliner after a year spent celebrating his catalog and legacy.

The takeaways predict new music around the game, frame the booking as proof that hip-hop has become a safe legacy choice, and question whether Gen Z shares millennials’ reverence for Hov.

Across eight observations, the piece weighs possible guests like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Lil Wayne, calls Kanye West an impossible surprise, and forecasts a hit-heavy set featuring “99 Problems,” “Niggas in Paris,” and “Empire State of Mind.”

Once upon a time not too long ago, Jay-Z woke up, looked in the mirror and declared, “You’re the only one who can do the job.”

On Monday (Oct. 26), the NFL and APPLE announced the halftime performer for Super Bowl LXI: Jay-Z, the man who has played a major part in picking the halftime performer for the last seven Super Bowls.

The news isn’t exactly surprising.…