DETROIT – The Detroit Lions announced today that the 87th annual Thanksgiving Day Classic on Thurs., Nov. 26 against the Chicago Bears will feature Wu-Tang Clan as headliner of the Thanksgiving Halftime Show powered by Verizon. Film, television, and Broadway actor and recording artist Antonio Cipriano will perform the national anthem. This marks the second year of a multi-year partnership where global rap icon Eminem, and his long-time manager and president of Shady Records, Paul Rosenberg will serve as Executive Producers of the show and select the talent. The Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day Classic presented by Ford will be nationally televised on CBS at 1 PM EST.
"Our Thanksgiving Day Classic is one of the greatest traditions in sports, and Wu-Tang Clan is one of the greatest performers in music," said Rich Haddad, Detroit Lions President and CEO. "We are thrilled to have Wu-Tang headlining our Thanksgiving halftime show and grateful to Marshall and Paul for their partnership."
The Lions Thanksgiving Day Classic Halftime Show performance arrives as Wu-Tang Clan wraps its global farewell tour, Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber, and on the heels of the group being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Wu-Tang Clan has released eight group albums, three of them quadruple-platinum releases, and the collective's full catalog, including solo projects, spans more than 85 full-length releases. Beyond music, the members have built a cultural empire that includes clothing lines, videogames, books and film and television work. Wu-Tang Clan has toured as a unit since its debut in 1993. Founded on Staten Island, New York, in the early 1990s, Wu-Tang Clan is RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB).
"We often like to do things that are both exciting and unexpected. A Wu-Tang Clan Thanksgiving performance in Detroit certainly fits that description!" said Paul Rosenberg, President of Shady Records. "Both Eminem and myself have been Wu fans since the early 90's along with a whole generation of Detroit football fans, and we are honored to bring them to this year's stage."
Cipriano, a Grosse Pointe Woods, MI native, can currently be seen playing 'John Logan' in the Amazon Prime hit series "Off Campus." On stage, he appeared on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre in "Jagged Little Pill" as 'Phoenix'. Cipriano won the 2017 Sutton Foster Ovation Award for Best High School Theater Actor and was a finalist in the 2017 NHSMTA- Jimmy Awards. His newly released single "Babydoll" with singer Jamie Miller just hit #1 on the UK singles charts.
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