There were rumors heading into Super Bowl weekend that the NFL had vetoed a plan for EMINEM to kneel during the halftime show.  Either those rumors were false or Eminem just did not care.

Because after performing “Lose Yourself”, he did indeed take a knee for a full minute.

There was also a rumor that they didn’t want DR. DRE to sing the line, “still not loving police”, from his classic track “Still D.R.E.”  But he left it in.

KENDRICK LAMAR sang “Alright”, a track that became sort of a protest song.  But he censored the line “and we hate po-po,” by dropping the “po-po”.

MARY J. BLIGE was pretty drama-free . . . see what I did there?  She looked and sounded fantastic on “No More Drama” and “Family Affair”.

SNOOP DOGG kicked off the show and was quickly joined by Dre . . . and the two of them ended the show as well.

There were two surprise guests:  50 CENT did “In Da Club”, which he started while hanging upside down . . . and ANDERSON .PAAK played drums on “Lose Yourself”.

You can watch the entire performance here.  Eminem kneels at 11:22 . . . Kendrick censors “Alright” at 8:47 . . . and Dre delivers his line about police at the 13-minute mark.