Deaf Rappers To Perform At Super Bowl Halftime Show

INGLEWOOD, CA — Two rappers who are deaf will perform during the Super Bowl halftime show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in what will become the first ever that sign language interpreters will be included in the show.

The NFL booked Sean Forbes and Warren (WaWa) Snipe to perform sign-language interpretations of the headliner's music, The Detroit Free press reported. The duo will perform alongside hip hop legends Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige. Viewers can watch their sign language renditions at NBCSports.com or on the NBC Sports app.

“The doors to accessibility are busted wide open with something like this,” Forbes, 40, told the newspaper. “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. And I want to open the door for other deaf performers.”

Forbes, a Detroit native who became deaf at age 2, grew up in a musical family and started playing drums at age 5, ClickOnDetroit reported. He co-founded the nonprofit Deaf Professional Arts Network, or D-PAN, in 2006. The organization is dedicated to promoting inclusion and accessibility in the arts for people who are deaf or have trouble hearing.

Two years later, Forbes graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in New York, the Democrat & Chronicle reported

While attending the Rochester school, Forbes said he shared music with peers who were also deaf and sang in ASL. He also played guitar on "full blast."

"My goal is to get out there, show what we can do, and have fun," Forbes said. "And I want to open the door for other deaf performers."

For Snipe, the performance represents a return to the Super Bowl. He was the interpreter during Jazmine Sullivan’s performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Eric Church’s performance of “America the Beautiful” during last year's championship game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Additionally, actress Sandra Mae Frank will perform the National Anthem and "America the Beautiful" in American sign language.

Watch Forbes perform Eminem's "Lose Yourself" in 2018.