Super Bowl Halftime show blends hip-hop stylings and a surprise guest

There was about as much hip-hop as a stadium can hold at Super Bowl halftime, with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar spitting a fiery medley of their hits as expected, and a surprise appearance by Queens native 50 Cent.

It was a rare Super Bowl halftime show performed in the daylight, but it still had a feeling of a nightclub at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, with a set made up to look like the houses of nearby Compton and South Los Angeles.

Dre and Snoop opened the show with "Next Episode" and "California Love."

50 Cent, not among the announced performers, started his "In Da Club" while hanging upside down in one of the rooms.

Blige, of the Bronx, was decked out in silver sparkles and surrounded by backup dancers as she sang a medley of her hits, including "No More Drama."

Eminem was surrounded by a rock band as he performed "Lose Yourself," at one point taking a knee in apparent tribute to Colin Kaepernick's protests.

The set was surrounded by what looked like a lit-up cityscape from above, with classic convertibles and replicas of the Tam's Burgers stand and the sculpture outside the Compton Courthouse.

The crowd had lanyards with LED lights that flashed in coordination with the show's beats, turning the whole stadium into a light show.

An explosion of fireworks lit up the sky as the sun set outside and the show ended with Dre's "Still DRE."

Earlier, Mickey Guyton, who told The Associated Press this week that she'd earned the nickname "Quickie Mickey" for singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in a tight 90 seconds, sang it in about 1:50 on Sunday before the Rams and Bengals took the field.

Oddsmakers had put the over/under on the anthem length at 1:35.

"I don't want to ruin anybody's sports bets, but let's just say it's the Super Bowl, so it most likely won't be as fast," the Grammy-nominated country singer told the AP.

She delivered a soaring, emotive version of the anthem with a minimum of frills that was largely a cappella at first before a small choir and piano joined her.

She was still faster than the average Super Bowl anthem of around two minutes.

Guyton did not appear to drop or flub a word, another propositional bet that was offered. And those who bet on her outfit being blue can cash in. She wore a royal blue gown.

The 38-year-old Texas native, best known for her hit "Black Like Me," made history as the first Black woman to earn a Grammy nomination in a country category and first Black solo woman to host the ACM Awards. She's a four-time Grammy nominee — up for three at the upcoming ceremony in April.

Dwayne Johnson brought out "The Rock." Standing on the field, the actor grabbed a microphone and put on his old wrestling persona to introduce the teams just before kickoff, in the style of an announcer before a big fight.

"Finally! The Super Bowl has come back to Los Aaaaangelesssss!" Johnson said, cocking his eyebrow as he did when he was WWE star before he became a movie star.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" by Guyton was really the final part of a trilogy of anthemic pregame songs.

About 40 minutes before kickoff, the Rams and Bengals lined the end zones and looked up at the big screen while outside, next to SoFi Stadium's lake, gospel duo Mary Mary and the LA Phil's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a song that's known as the unofficial Black national anthem.

The duo, sisters Erica Campbell and Trecina Atkins-Campbell, grew up in the same neighborhood as the Super Bowl stadium.

And down the field from Guyton, singer Jhené Aiko brought a novel combination of R&B and harp to her rendition of "America the Beautiful."