We already knew last night's Superbowl Halftime Show was gonna be epic.

For the first time ever in its history, the show featured hip-hop front and center, with artists Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem all slotted to perform. Dre and Dogg collaborated on "The Next Episode," and did "California Love" in honor of the late artist Tupac. Kendrick gave an unforgettably choreographed performance of "Alright," and Mary J. Blige rocked the house with "Family Affair" and "No More Drama."

Eminem also made quite a statement when, after his performance of "Lose Yourself," one of his most famous songs, he took a knee onstage - in homage to the move Colin Kapernick made that got him blackballed by the NFL. Interestingly, reports say that the NFL was prepared for this move. We hope the irony of the fact that they allowed this from Eminem, but Kapernick is still no longer an NFL player, is not lost on them.

A move nobody was prepared for, however (nobody in the audience, we mean), was the appearance of special surprise guest performer 50 Cent, who appeared in the middle of the set, performing his song "In Da Club" - produced by Dre - while hanging upside down like a bat. (Take it from a singer: That's not easy.)

There was no mega-collaboration between all the artists as some hoped, but they did all come together on the same stage at the end, which is pretty cool in and of itself.

Fans, of course, had plenty to say about the show:

 

 

Tags: dr. dre Snoop Dogg Mary J. Blige kendrick lamar Eminem Colin Kaepernick 50 Cent