The Super Bowl LVI halftime show will feature the first-ever sign language performance in the 56-year-old game’s history, according to The Detroit Press.
The publication reports that the NFL has enlisted deaf Detroit rapper Sean Forbes and deaf D.C. area rapper Warren “Wawa” Snipe to perform at the star-studded event inside SoFi Stadium.
Snipe and Forbes are slated to join Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre on the stage. They’ll perform sign-language interpretations of the headliners’ hit songs.
“The doors to accessibility are busted wide open with something like this,” Forbes told The Detroit Free Press.
In an Instagram post, Wawa wrote: History is being made! Sean Forbes, Sandra Mae Frank and I will give everything we’ve got to make this Super Bowl experience a great one! Let’s get to work!”
Frank is set to perform alongside Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton during the pre-game show. According to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Frank will also appear during the “National Anthem,” and “America the Beautiful.”
Wawa performed sign-language interpretations during last year’s Super Bowl, when Jazmine Sullivan sang the “National Anthem.”
It’s unclear whether JAY-Z —whose Roc Nation company has a partnership with the NFL — was part of the decision-making process that led to the American Sign Language (ASL) performers.
However, Snoop Dogg made sure to shout out Hov back in October 2021, shortly after the headliners were revealed.
“Shoutout to JAY-Z for umm, going to war and making that thang happen — puttin’ the first hip hop act on the stage,” Snoop said. “You know, people don’t give him credit for a lot of things that he do.”
“He moves his hands mysteriously behind the scenes and he does a lot of great things for people,” Snoop added. “And I wanna give him a shoutout for fighting for Dr. Dre because I know that, that’s a part of my legacy that he fought for.”
Wawa, Frank, and Forbes will make their historic appearances Feb. 13 at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Fans can view them, in what the NFL describes as an elevated accessibility experience, via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.