Deaf Rapper from Detroit to Take Stage for Super Bowl Halftime Show
When one of the most highly anticipated Super Bowl halftimes shows kicks on February 13th, there won't be the only piece of Detroit taking the stage. Detroit rapper Sean Forbes will be right up there alongside Eminem with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige.
The Detroit Free Press has reported that Forbes, a 40-year old deaf rapper from Detroit has been tapped to perform during the halftime show at Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Forbes will be joining fellow deaf rapper Warren (WaWa) Snipe as the very first ASL interpreters at a Super Bowl game for the halftime festivities.
Forbes, a celebrity in his own right, became deaf from spinal meningitis when he was just a few months old. He grew up in a musical family and is both a performer and writer, has written over 100 songs with his collaborator Jacke Bass. His 2020 album, titled “Little Victories”, topped the Amazon sales charts the week of release and was number one iTunes and Amazon for Hip Hop digital sales.
Forbes is a co-founder of D-PAN, The Deaf Professional Arts Network, which makes music accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community by creating American Sign Language interpretation music videos of popular songs. D-PAN has done videos for John Mayer, White Stripes, Imagine Dragons, and more, including Eminem. Forbes actually did quite a bit of work at the same Ferndale's 54 Sound studio, where Eminem did much of his early work.
Don't expect to see Forbes or WaWa simply standing side-stage signing during the big performance. Their energy and performance will match exactly what you see coming from the megastars entertaining millions around the world.
“The doors to accessibility are busted wide open with something like this,” Forbes told the Detroit Free Press. “So this is very much a full-circle moment, being from Detroit, being part of the Eminem camp — or even going back to being 12 and listening to N.W.A., Dre and Snoop on my Walkman. My goal is to get out there, show what we can do, and have fun,” he contintued, “And I want to open the door for other deaf performers.”
You'll be able to catch the full show on NBC this Sunday starting at 6:60 PM.