Adam Levine: Super Bowl halftime performance to have ‘biggest hip-hop presence’

There is one more quarter to play until Adam Levine and Maroon 5 perform at halftime of Super Bowl LIII. What can fans expect? 

Levine told Entertainment Weekly the show will have a heavy “hip-hop presence,” as it features guest appearances from rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. 

“So Travis … he is it right now. He is the one,” Levine said. “Like, this is a moment for him and we love what he does, obviously. We love what he represents because we love having a presence that this is the show that will have the biggest hip-hop presence that there has ever been on the show. I mean, I can’t look back and find that to be the case before. He’s it, he’s the man right now and he comes in hot.”

Maroon 5 has faced a backlash ever since they were initially announced as this year’s performer.

Critics have argued the group should have turned down the offer to show solidarity with free agent Colin Kaepernick, who some believe is being blackballed by the NFL over his past protests. Others said Maroon 5 shouldn’t have been chosen given Atlanta’s rich history of producing rappers and other hip-hop artists. 

The NFL canceled Maroon 5’s pre-Super Bowl press conference last week, which some assumed was to avoid questions about Kaepernick’s status.

Addressing the controversy, Levine said they expected it. 

“I’m not in the right profession if I can’t handle a little bit of controversy,” Levine said. “It’s what it is. We expected it. We’d like to move on from it and speak through the music. 

“I silenced all the noise and listened to myself and made my decision based upon how I felt,” he added later.