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E-40 and Too $hort's NFL Honors show underscores Bay Area's music presence during Super Bowl week

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —E-40turned NFL Honors into a hyphy detour, firing off Bay Area slang that helped shape a generation as actorTiffany Haddishand Carolina Panthers rookieTetairoa McMillandanced from their seats andKansas City ChiefsstarTravis Kelcenodded along to the beat.

Moments earlier,Too $horttransformed the same stage into a Bay Area time capsule, running through anthems like "Gettin' It" and "Blow the Whistle" that have echoed from car stereos, clubs and arenas for decades.

They never shared the stage, but the impact was unmistakably shared.

As two of the mostenduring hip-hop architects,E-40 and Too $hort brought Northern California's sound, swagger and independence to the NFL's biggest night outside theSuper Bowlitself. Their presence underscored a broader cultural moment, as Bay Area rap voices — fromKehlanito LaRussell — were woven into a jam-packed week leading up to the game.

"On this Super Bowl week, this is the ultimate because it's on Bay Area soil," E-40 said during rehearsals before the ceremony Thursday, where he performed classics like "Choices (Yup)" and "Tell Me When to Go." "It's a big platform. … Being part of these NFL festivities, I love it."

For Too $hort, the moment reflected a clear evolution in how the NFL is engaging with the Bay Area's musical legacy.

"Ten years ago, the Super Bowl was right here. I didn't do anything. … I didn't talk to the NFL," Too $hort said. "So it's a real big deal. … It's not the halftime show, but it's a big deal for me."

How the Bay Area regional sound sets tone on a global stage

Beyond E-40 and Too $hort's NFL Honors performance, Bay Area music has been threaded throughoutSuper Bowl weekwith visitors coming in from across the country. Performers include recent Grammy-winning singer Kehlani, rapper Larry June and soul singer Goapele. There will also be multiple performances by LaRussell and punk-rock mainstaysGreen Day,who will open the60th Super Bowl with an anniversary ceremonycelebrating generations of MVPs and hit the stage along with Counting Crows at the FanDuel and Spotify party at Pier 29.

"It feels good to just be important to the region and show that to everyone coming in, like, 'Hey, this is our home,'" said LaRussell, who said he's booked for 10 performances over a four-day span, including a Jordan Brand event and a tailgate concert outside Levi's Stadium before the game. He said the scale of Super Bowl has given artists like himself an opportunity to showcase identity of their music.

"Our spirit," the rapper said. "That BPM, that tempo, that feeling when you hear Bay music that make you smile and want to dance. That don't exist nowhere else."

LaRussell said that his Super Bowl week sets were less about promotion than representation.

"This is where I come from," he said. "This is my lineage, and this is why it matters."

Built different: Bay Area's independent blueprint

For decades, the Bay Area has operated as its own musical ecosystem. Hip-hop here grew with an ingrained independence — from artists pressing records, selling tapes out of car trunks and building audiences city by city before industry infrastructure ever arrived.

The sound evolved in chapters: from Oakland's early rap economy and bassline-heavy mob music, to the hyphy movement's high-energy release, to a present-day lane where Bay artists can be soulful, street, pop, punk — or all of it at once — without asking permission.

That independence extends beyond artists themselves and into the infrastructure supporting them. San Francisco–based Empire, founded by Ghazi Shami, has grown into one of the largest independent record labels in the country. During Super Bowl week, the label gathered artifacts spanning its 15-year history for a free public museum, underscoring how Bay Area artists have built lasting careers outside the traditional major-label system.

Empire also curated a Super Bowl week experience with Levi's, blending music, fashion and local history into a showcase rooted in the region.

"One thing about the Bay Area, you mix all of us together, man, we some bad cats," said E-40, who has seen multiple generations of Bay Area artists coexist, evolve and leave their mark without crowding each other out.

"Everybody just playing a position. … Larry June got his own lane. He's doing his thing," he said. "Kehlani bringing in Grammy Awards. Everybody just playing a position, and I feel like teamwork makes the dream work."

For E-40, that shared momentum matters more than passing torches or chasing trends.

"As long as I got my life, health and strength, I'm gonna be able to make music forever," he said. "I love doing music. It's what I do."

How the Bay Area is leaving a lasting impression

Watching E-40 and Too $hort command NFL Honors resonated deeply with LaRussell, who said seeing artists in their 50s still innovating gave him an understanding of timing, longevity and success. He viewed their performance as proof that Bay Area artists expand instead of aging out.

"To be in your 50s and still moving and shaking, it gives me confidence," LaRussell said. "As long as you stay locked in, it's gonna still happen."

Too $hort hopes the Bay Area's presence during Super Bowl week leaves visitors with a deeper appreciation for where they are.

"If you came here with a closed mind wanting it to be something that you don't like, you're really missing out," he said. "This is a world-renowned area. People come here from all over the world to see this place. Don't take it for granted."

For more on the Super Bowl, visithttps://apnews.com/hub/nfl.

byAdministrator

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February 07, 2026

E-40 and Too $hort's NFL Honors show underscores Bay Area's music presence during Super Bowl week

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —E-40turned NFL Honors into a hyphy detour, firing off Bay Area slang that helped shape a generation ...

Bad Bunny lyrics to know before his Super Bowl halftime show

When Bad Bunny takes center stage for the 2026Super BowlLXhalftime showon Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, he'll be the first artist with a primarily Spanish-language repertoire to do so.

These are some of his most impactful lyrics, in Spanish and English, as the Puerto Rican artist prepares to make music history.

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

Debí tirar más fotos de cuando te tuveDebí darte más beso' y abrazo' las vece' que pudeEy, ojalá que los mío' nunca se muden

I should have taken more photos when I had youI should have given you more kisses and hugs the times that I couldHopefully my loved ones will never move

Perhaps the most popular song of his most recent album — whichwon the Grammyfor Album of the Year — "DtMF" captures the nostalgia and longing to make more out of everyday moments, a sentiment that many immigrants describe as a consequence of being away from home.

Ey, ey, ey, 4 de julio, 4th de JulyAndo con mi primo, borracho, rulayLos mío' en El Bronx saben la que hayCon la nota en high por Washington Heights

On the Fourth of July,I am with my cousin, drunk, relaxing,with mine in The Bronx,you know what there is,with the note on high in Washington Heights.

While sampling "El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico," a more than half-century-old salsa orchestra, Bad Bunny brings to life the joy of Puerto Ricans in the mainland, highlighting the diaspora's time under the New York sun.

LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii

Quieren quitarme el río y también la playaQuieren el barrio mío y que abuelita se vayaNo, no suelte' la bandera ni olvide' el lelolaiQue no quiero que hagan contigo lo que le pasó a Hawái

They want to take the river from me, and the beach tooThey want my neighborhood and for my grandma to leaveDo not surrender the flag, or forget the lelolaiBecause I do not want them to do to you what happened in Hawaii

Bad Bunnycalls out gentrificationin the island, an ongoing trendfueled by tax incentivesthat have raised property taxes and excluded Puerto Ricans from some of their most prominent lands, drawing a comparison to gentrification in Hawaii.

Ey, 'tá empezando a llover, otra vez va a pasarPor ahí viene tormenta, viene temporal'Tá empezando a llover, otra vez va a pasarPor ahí viene tormеnta, ¿quién nos va a salvar?

It's starting to rain, it will happen againHere comes a storm, a rough weather spellIt's starting to rain, it will happen againHere comes a storm, who will save us?

In a 2024 reflection onHurricane Maria, which leveled parts of Puerto Rico and left many without power for months, Bad Bunny denounces thegovernment's rolein the chaos that ensued after the Category 4 storm swept through the island.

VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR

Vo'a llevarte pa' PR, mami, pa' que vea' cómo es que se perreaTráete a tu amiga si te gusta la ideaDile que esta noche vamo' a janguearQue rico la vamo' a pasarAquí nadie se va a casarPero tú te va' a querer quedar

I am going to take you to PR (Puerto Rico), honey, so you can see how to perreaBring your friend if you like the ideaTell her that tonight we are going to hang outWe are going to have a good timeHere no one is going to get marriedBut you are going to want to stay.

Many of Bad Bunny's songs center around women and love. In "VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR," the singer highlights a reggaeton dance that grew in the Caribbean, known as perreo.

Similar to twerking, it has been criticized for being hypersexual and inappropriate, according to Petra Rivera-Rideau, an associate professor of American studies at Wellesley College, who co-authored "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance." Rivera-Rideau points to perreo as an example of resistance during the 2019 anti-corruption protests in Puerto Rico.

BAILE INoLVIDABLE

No, no te puedo olvidarNo, no te puedo borrarTú me enseñaste a quererMe enseñaste a bailar

No, no I can't forget youNo, no I can't erase youYou taught me how to loveYou taught me to dance

Apple Music debuted a video of Bad Bunny dancing to "BAILE INoLVIDABLE," or "Unforgettable Dance," featuring a wide range of people. In the video, the 31-year-old artist, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, dances beneath a flamboyán, a tropical tree with bright red flowers from Madagascar that has become a beloved symbol in Puerto Rico, with a myriad of people — a firefighter, women of all ages and people of all ethnicities.

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byAdministrator

in

February 07, 2026

Bad Bunny lyrics to know before his Super Bowl halftime show

When Bad Bunny takes center stage for the 2026Super BowlLXhalftime showon Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, C...

Margot Robbie defends playing an 'older Cathy' in 'Wuthering Heights'

"Wuthering Heights" isn't even out yet and people already have a ton of thoughts about it.

In the months and weeks leading up to the big-screen romance (in theaters Feb. 13), folks on social media have weighed in onthe casting of Jacob Elordi, 28, as the tormented Heathcliff, who is described as a "dark-skinned gypsy" in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel.

They have alsoraised their eyebrowsabout Margot Robbie, 35, whose ill-fated heroine Catherine Earnshaw isjust a teenagerin the book. But there is good reason for her casting.

In an early scene of "Wuthering Heights," the headstrong Catherine is pushed to go meet her wealthy new neighbor, Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif). According to her father (Martin Clunes), this may be Catherine's "last chance" to get a husband before she becomes undesirable to men.

Over the course of the movie, "Cathy's in her mid-20s to early 30s, which puts so much more pressure on the marriage situation," Robbie tells USA TODAY. "A bunch of people telling an 18-year-old, 'Oh, f---, you better hurry up and get married!' That doesn't really hold the same weight to a modern-day audience member."

More:Margot Robbie reveals 'super-intimate' reality of 'Wuthering Heights'

Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) marries for money in Emerald Fennell's new "Wuthering Heights."

Whereas now, "particularly for women, there's suddenly this checklist that society has given you and you better have it all ticked off by the time you're 30: get married, get a house, have your career figured out, and start thinking about kids," Robbie continues. For Gen Z and millennial moviegoers, "watching an older Cathy have that pressure might carry more weight."

Like Brontë's book, the movie begins with a younger Cathy (Charlotte Mellington) and Heathcliff (Owen Cooper) as childhood friends who struggle to express their love for each other as adults. Through Robbie and Elordi's aged-up casting, director Emerald Fennell wanted to capture the epic nature of the decades-spanning story.

"I really felt that in order to get that sense of time passing and of yearning and the slow burn, they needed to be children and then they needed to be adults," Fennell says. "Everyone is so young in the book, which makes it extremely fascinating yet very hard to relate to. It's the same (reason) why people very rarely make 'Romeo and Juliet' with real 14-year-olds."

Drive us mad with your "Wuthering Heights" fashion looks, Margot and Jacob ...

The stars of the upcoming Emerald Fennell adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic novel have fans swooning over red carpet looks and press tour interactions. Margot Robbie, who plays Catherine Earnshaw, and Jacob Elordi, who portrays Heathcliff, stepped out in Los Angeles this week to promote the film, out in theaters on Feb. 13, 2026.