Jay-Z is stepping into the spotlight—not just producing the show. The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Monday night that Jay-Z will headline the halftime show on February 14. The event will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The announcement ends several days of speculation. Jay-Z kicked off his concert run with three shows at Yankee Stadium in New York. The tour then moved to London before wrapping up in Southern California.

Roc Nation has worked with the NFL since 2019. The company advises the league and helps produce its entertainment programming, including the Super Bowl halftime show. At the time, however, Jay-Z initially signaled to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that performing himself was out of the question.

“If it’s about me performing at the Super Bowl, we can just end that conversation,” Jay-Z reportedly told Goodell.

Seven years later, he’ll take the stage himself after all.

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25 Grammys and a long career in the music business

Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, has won 25 Grammy Awards and received a total of 89 nominations. That puts him second on the list of most-nominated Grammy artists, behind his wife, Beyoncé. Beyoncé has performed at two Super Bowl halftime shows.

Among Jay-Z’s best-known albums are “Reasonable Doubt,” “The Blueprint” and “The Black Album.” His hit songs include “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “99 Problems” and “Empire State of Mind,” which he released with Alicia Keys.

His 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame last year. Jay-Z’s career extends well beyond his own music. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records and launched Roc Nation in 2008; the company now works with artists and athletes.

In 2017, Jay-Z became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. At the most recent Super Bowl, Bad Bunny performed at halftime. In the hours afterward, his songs saw a significant boost across streaming services, playlists and music discovery platforms.

Now Jay-Z will shape the next Super Bowl halftime show himself.