Surprise, surprise. The nation's number one newspaper for using to pick up dog shit, The New York Post, again revealed its true colors the day after a historic performance by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Anderson. Paak at Super Bowl 56. The headline in question reads: "Snoop Dogg smokes weed right before star-studded Super Bowl halftime show."

Uh...

This isn't the first, or probably the last time, the Post will do something to reduce a Hip-Hop star to a seemingly negative headline. After DMX was hospitalized in April, they ran a story about all the houses he lost during his battles with addiction. At the time, we held their feet to the fire and reminded our audience of Public Enemy's 1991 song, "A Letter to the New York Post," where Chuck D called the toilet paper soaked in newsprint, "America's oldest continuously published daily piece of bullshit."

Some things never change.

What's particularly problematic about this headline is that it attempts to not only desecrate a historic moment for Hip-Hop culture, but it also purposefully makes Snoop Dogg appear to be unprofessional, a scofflaw, and flippant of the magnitude of the moment.

Could you imagine the Post writing a story about someone like Aerosmith, Tom Petty, U2, or The Rolling Stones having a beer, cocktail, or joint before going on stage? And please, save me any retorts like, "It IS illegal to smoke inside a building in Los Angeles." That's not the point.

The headline is a dog whistle — no pun intended — to appease the Post's base. A base, in my estimation, which is made up of people who use headlines to confirm their own hate-filled biases. Should we be surprised? Probably not. It's the same newspaper that ran headlines about Trayvon Martin having marijuana in his system when he was murdered by George Zimmerman, and depicted Kenosha gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, as having cleaned up graffiti prior to fatally shooting two people.

The Post's takedown of Snoop Dogg began two weeks before he "smoked weed" before the Big Game. They ran a headline: "Snoop Dogg performing at Super Bowl halftime show becoming even worse look." Columnist, Phil Mushnick, took on the tried-and trued part of the old blowhard — smashing his keyboard with ridged pointer fingers — about Snoop's, "violently anti-police, pro-crime vile and vulgar 'artistry.'”

Snoop wasn't his lone target, either. He reduced Eminem and Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar's careers to song titles and self-gratification: "Eminem (“Just Don’t Give A F–k”) and crotch-grabbing Kendrick (“B–ch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”) Lamar."

We've become a nation who seeks out answers to what we want to hear, versus the actual truth. It makes us feel smarter, and in a way, helps us make sense of the chaos that is life. The New York Post wanted to find any and all faults associated with the Super Bowl halftime show because they view Hip-Hop as less than. On the NFL's biggest night, they wanted to point an accusatory finger at Snoop catching a head high, versus the legitimate threat of head trauma. In their estimation, the former is absolutely egregious , while the latter is something so integral to the fabric of American society that it's better to ignore it at all costs.

In a pre-show press conference last week, Snoop acknowledged the enormity of the Super Bowl moment, and how, in a small way, he hoped this classic Hip-Hop dream team had much loftier goals than simply entertaining millions.

“We’ve got the queen of R&B, we’ve got the king of Hip-Hop, we’ve got all of his protégés in the place. This is what it’s about,”he said. “This is what Hip-Hop and the NFL is supposed to be about: about representing, about change, about moving forward.”

As Hip-Hop prepares to turn 50 years old next August, it stands to be one of those milestones that won't be soon forgotten — much like the recent Super Bowl performance. And you better believe The New York Post will be there to stick their dick in the mashed potatoes like they always do.