Dr. Drehas made the historic move of bringing two deaf rappers into this year’sSuper Bowl Halftime Show.
Sean Forbes and Warren “WaWa” Snipe, will appear alongside Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar on Sunday to sign the big performance. It’s the first time sign language interpreters will be included in the halftime show’s more than 50-year history, although there have traditionally been interpreters during the pre-game.
Also on Sunday, actress Sandra Mae Frank will perform the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful” in American sign language on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf.
“The doors to accessibility are busted wide open with something like this,” Forbes told theDetroit Free Press. “So this is very much a full-circle moment, being from Detroit, being part of the Eminem camp — or even going back to being 12 and listening to N.W.A, Dre, and Snoop on my Walkman. My goal is to get out there, show what we can do, and have fun. And I want to open the door for other deaf performers.”
Snipe was the interpreter during Jazmine Sullivan’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Eric Church’s performance of “America the Beautiful” at last year’s big game in Tampa, Fla., between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Also during the pre-game ceremonies, country artist Mickey Guyton will sing the National Anthem, R&B singer Jhene Aiko will perform “America the Beautiful,” and gospel act Mary Mary will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” accompanied by the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.
Super Bowl LVIwill be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA on Sunday, February 13, 2022. The game will air on NBC and Telemundo, and stream live on Peacock.
