Who is Warren 'WAWA' Snipe? Meet the deaf rapper who will be performing at Super Bowl LV with H.E.R
The Dip Hop star Warren Snipe is all set to will perform 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and 'America the Beautiful' in American Sign Language at Super Bowl LV on Sunday, February 7.
The deaf rapper and recording artist Warren will be accompanied by R&B singer H.E.R. on 'America the Beautiful' and country singer Eric Church and R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan on the national anthem.
"I was very honored and humbled to be selected to perform these songs at the Super Bowl," said Snipe, "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!" Snipe added.
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He explained that the ASL performances typically match the tone, rhythm and tempo of how singers perform the songs. He said has been preparing by practicing a rendition of the songs that "closely tracks" how this year's singers typically perform them. "My approach will follow how this year's singers handle the songs in their own way," the 50-year-old avid football fan said.
Snipe addresses his genre as 'Dip Hop' — Hip Hop through deaf eyes. "His rendering of Dip Hop explores Hip Hop in a way where the focus is taking on challenges and educating people about deaf musicians in the hearing world," his website says.
Snipe, a Washington DC native, began his career in music in 2005. He graduated from Gallaudet University in 1994 and was a founding member of the Wild Zappers, an all-male deaf dance company based out of DC. He has also worked with The National Deaf Dance Company and has been featured on television and in music videos as a dancer. He has also worked in two episodes of Black Lightning titled 'The Book of Blood: Chapter Two: The Perdi' and 'The Book of Blood: Chapter Three: The Sange' portraying Anaya's unnamed father. In the episode, his character's sign language was interpreted by Charmin Lee's character Batina. He was featured in the R&B artist Maxwell's 'Fingers Crossed' lyric video and completed an album called 'Deaf: So What'.
In 2020, he released the single 'Loud' with references to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In an interview with The Daily Moth, Snipe said his aim was to give people something fun to talk about amid the fear from the pandemic and last summer's protests over racial injustice.
"So, I redirected things a bit. I wouldn't say I glossed things over, but rather, I addressed it. So things could be seen from a different view. It's more positive: What can we do during this time? Will you allow these situations to take control? Or will you keep going? Are you a survivor? Or are you going to stay 'dead', and do nothing? Which are you choosing? Well you let it control you, or will you control it? So it's like oh, okay, there are different sides to that," Snipe said.
According to the Net Worth Post, Sullivan's net worth is $14 Million.