Deaf rappers Sean Forbes and Warren "WaWa" Snipe added to this year's Super Bowl halftime show

The two rappers will join already-announced performers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar

By Mike Vanderbilt  |  February 7, 2022 | 11:30pm
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Deaf rappers Sean Forbes and Warren
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It’s a red-letter day as Dr. Dre brings on Sean Forbes and Warren “WaWa” Snipe, two deaf rappers, to his All-Star Super Bowl Halftime Show. The upcoming performance, according to Forbes, will bust open “the doors to accessibility.”

The rappers will be joining Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar (and we can assume a few surprise guests) on February 13 when the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for this year’s big game. This marks the first time in fifty years that sign language interpreters will be part of the halftime performance.

According to a piece in the Detroit Free Press, Forbes is the son of Scott Forbes of Detroit country-rock outfit The Forbes Brothers. He got his start in the industry by making a music video for Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” that featured him performing it in American Sign Language.

Both Eminem and 54 Sound owner Joel Martin were so impressed that they brought him into the studio. Forbes and Martin ended up co-founding the Deaf Professional Arts Network, an outfit to make music and culture accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community. Forbes released his full-length debut Perfect Imperfection in 2012.

Snipe is a dancer and performer who was involved with The National Deaf Dance company, was featured in Maxwell’s “Finger’s Crossed” lyric video, and was featured in two episodes of Black Lightning. In 2016, Snipe released his debut Deaf: So What?

This won’t be Snipe’s first Super Bowl appearance, however; he famously stole the show when he performed the American National Anthem with Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan at Super Bowl LV in 2021.

“My goal is to get out there, show what we can do, and have fun,” Forbes told the Detroit Free Press. “And I want to open the door for other deaf performers.”

 
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