The NBA All-Star Game is known not only for collecting the best basketball players on the planet into one arena each year, but also for staging some high-profile musical acts.
This year, rapper and singer J. Cole will handle the main event, the halftime show. The game takes place Sunday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
2019 GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist and North Carolina native @JColeNC will take the court in his home state to headline the 2019 #NBAAllStar Game halftime show (Sunday 2/17 @NBAonTNT)! pic.twitter.com/eT6mTdJRYB
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2019
J. Cole, who hails from nearby Raleigh, North Carolina, has published music since 2009, when he became the first artist Jay-Z signed to his Roc Nation label. J. Cole’s latest single, “Middle Child,” dropped last month.
According to nba.com, J. Cole will perform “a medley of his hits” at halftime.
Rapper Meek Mill will be the first act of the night; he’s slated to introduce the players, ostensibly along with a pre-game performance.
Anthony Hamilton, an R&B singer from Charlotte, will sing the American national anthem, and pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen will handle the Canadian national anthem.
After Fergie’s much-maligned national anthem performance last year became a high-profile fiasco, here’s hoping Hamilton and Jepsen stick to the usual arrangements.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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