*As H.E.R. and Jazmine Sullivan with Eric Church were delivering spirited vocals of “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” respectively at Super Bowl LV, the lyrics were being signed in similar soaring fashion by Warren “Wawa” Snipe, a hearing-impaired rapper and interpreter who was declared a show-stealer by social media.
Snipe, 50, won over the Internet with his exuberant expressions and joyful smile. According to CBS News, he majored in theater in college and in the 90s developed “Dip Hop,” which he describes as “Hip Hop through Deaf eyes.” He’s also an actor with a recurring role on The CW’s Black Lighting. He released his album, Deaf: So What?!, in 2016.
In a statement last month, Snipe, a die-hard football fan, talked about what it meant for him to perform at the Super Bowl.
“I was very honored and humbled to be selected to perform these songs at the Super Bowl,” he said. “It was always my dream to perform at the Super Bowl, and I would love to be able to perform the halftime show in ASL too!”
Prior to the game, he told CBS News that he was preparing by practicing a rendition of the songs that closely tracks how this year’s singers typically perform them. He also rehearsed together with the artists.
“My approach will follow how this year’s singers handle the songs in their own way,” he said.
“The Deaf and Hard of Hearing community needs access to these iconic songs just like everyone else,” he also said. “To those who are hearing, try watching television with the sound and captions off, and you’ll experience inaccessibility. Why wouldn’t you want to make everything accessible to everyone, including Deaf and Hard of Hearing people?”
Watch below:
Warren Snipe is the artist who just performed the National Anthem in ASL at the #SuperBowl.
He stole the show pic.twitter.com/AiClpgt7uC
— Natasha ???? (@ndelriego) February 7, 2021
Incredible showing by the sign language guy, my goodness #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/ntaI2xBgBV
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) February 7, 2021
The best performance to start the #superbowl is Warren Snipe with the ASL Star Spangled Banner. I don’t sign but I want to learn now! #SuperBowl2021
— Patrick M (@PforPatrick) February 7, 2021
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