Less than a decade ago, the Los Angeles Rams returned to the City of Angels to make their mark as one of the official teams of the city after spending 21 seasons in St. Louis, Missouri. Since then, the NFL team has been hard at work ensuring they leave a lasting legacy on football history.
Not long after migrating to Los Angeles, the Rams went on to make the entertainment capital of the world proud when they brought home the Super Bowl LVI title during the pandemic in 2022 — serendipitously securing the victory at their home venue SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The triumph was conveniently accompanied by an iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show headlined by West Coast legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, as well as Eminem and Mary J. Blige. The 14-minute performance also featured special guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. That championship game was pivotal for the LA Rams, most definitely setting the tone for how the team would continue to embrace and elevate Los Angeles culture through music and art moving forward.
Fast forward to this current season, the Rams’ season unfortunately came to an end after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Eagles will now face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, February 9th for Super Bowl LIX, where Kendrick Lamar is also set to headline the halftime show.
While it may not have been a fully successful year for the Los Angeles Rams on the sports front, there is certainly still great hope for future seasons to come. Their current foundational structure includes a strong player roster, an enthusiastic desire to uplift the community through charitable and equitable programs and their drive to continue empowering their fans – who devotedly support the team.
While some NFL teams have occasional high-profile artist performances such as Beyoncé’s star-studded Christmas Halftime Show during the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game, a full slate of musical acts throughout the entire season is a huge feat to execute on.
Landing on music as this season’s theme, the LA Rams presented an intentional slate of performers including Cypress Hill, Jay Rock, Smash Mouth and Sublime, among others who have a special connection to Los Angeles.
LA Rams’ Chief Marketing Officer Kat Kai-ling Frederick explains why the organization made the decision to prioritize the art of music saying, “As we looked for a season theme for this upcoming year, we wanted to hone in on music because of how organic and integral it is to football and Los Angeles – from what the music players are listening to for warm ups and practice, as well as the ways we integrate music into our Los Angeles-flavored Game Day entertainment with Mariachi Rams, Nita Strauss, DJ Skee and [other] special performances. Music is such a large part of the culture and history of this incredible city.”
The Los Angeles Rams make it very clear that they are here for the long run, continuing to pave way to do the work to elevate their surrounding communities. The organization has always had strong roots in Los Angeles, serving as the city’s original professional sports team when they landed here in 1946. That same year, the Rams became the first team to sign Black players, reintegrating the NFL with UCLA standout running backs, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. The Los Angeles team also became the first to draft an openly gay player Michael Sam and the first to welcome male cheerleaders into their squads in 2018.
The organization reveals that their initiative to continue to push progress remains a priority by being an active contributor to diverse communities. “Since returning to Los Angeles, we have worked to integrate ourselves into this community we call home through meaningful partnerships with impactful community organizations. While there are many, one that really embodies who we are is the work we have done with the Watts Rams and North East Lincoln Rams, [which are] youth football organizations founded by LAPD, who use football to improve community and police relations,” says the executive.
In addition to contributing to programs that elevate communities and bringing musical acts together to cultivate the city’s spirit at games, the Rams also empower stakeholders within the organization. Mariachi Rams is in-house band that performs classic ranchera music and modern pop songs at all home games with the goal of invigorating fans – especially Latino fans who compile a large portion of the fanbase. What makes the Mariachi Rams so special is that it’s the first Mariachi band in all of the National Football League.
“Mariachi Rams — I feel like it’s the perfect representation of LA because the majority of us in the group are Mexican-Americans. We grew up here, we were born here, but we have roots in Mexico. We even have a member from Colombia, and he loves Mariachi music,” said a spokesperson for the band.
The Mariachi group further explained how they curate the music for each game, admitting it’s a more organic process than one would expect: “I grew up listening to Mariachi and American pop music, and most of us grew up the same way, so we have that influence where we could switch gears. We could play Mariachi authentically and we can play all the Vincente Fernandez and then we also know Dr. Dre. We incorporate Carlos Santana. We incorporate all this different music.”
It’s apparent music is a strong force all around for the franchise, but that couldn’t reign more true than with their very own, Kobie Turner, who serves as the team’s defensive tackle and has a long history with both football and music.
Turner was most recently a contestant on season 12 of The Masked Singer as the character, Goo. Though he was eliminated in the quarterfinals, he made his mark as one of the season’s fan favorites. He revealed what it means to have the support of the organization:
“To be able to be a part of an organization that not only supports that, but also highlights that, provides me with opportunities and with a platform to be able to get some of these opportunities… whether it be being able to go and sing the national anthem at the LA Kings game or sing at the Lakers game — all of these things that being an LA Ram has also afforded me the opportunity to do. And not only have they supported that, but they’ve highlighted that. So, it means a ton to be a part of an organization, that supports me in those ways.”
The Rams organization embraces music in all the forms it’s presented in. They even tapped artists like Jay Rock, an respected rapper under Top Dawg Entertainment, and ska band Sublime to perform for the Royal Tour, proving their marketing efforts were more than some
check boxes to mark off. Recreating a new version of his previous “Still That Way’ for the team, Jay Rock’s “Rams That Way” plays before every home game during the season.
“It’s an honor, straight up. To have the Rams choose my song to represent their energy and our city, it’s a huge moment for me. LA has always been my heart, and this track is all about that pride, that grind and that unity. Knowing it gets the crowd hyped and sets the vibe for the team is surreal. It’s like I’m running out of that tunnel with them every time,” says Jay Rock.
The hip-hop artist truly evokes the epitome of the city’s spirit, continuously showing unconditional appreciation for Los Angeles time and time again and proving why the partnership just makes sense.
“Music and sports are the heartbeat of LA. They bring people together, no matter where you’re from or what you’re about. When you think about the Lakers, the Dodgers, the Rams—it’s the same energy you feel in a packed concert,” the Los Angeles musician stated. “Music sets the vibe, and sports bring the passion. Together, they create this culture that defines LA:
bold, loud, and unbreakable.”
Rock explained the spirit of Los Angeles eloquently and concisely, further articulating how music plays an integral role in LA’s identity. The beauty of the West Coast is the varying artists (from all walks of life) that compile its rich culture, including Sublime whose music has proven the test of time seeing that they performed at Coachella last year.
Previously hitting the stage for the halftime show at a Rams game in December, Bud Gaugh from the historic Long Beach band recalls his earliest connection to the Rams exclusively saying, “Just watching the games on the weekends with my family. My grandpa, my dad and my uncle all cheering, cussing and drinking beer. They would have ping pong matches, table tennis matches at halftime and it was just like flaming ping pong balls firing all over the yard. That was awesome!”
Artists, football and the Los Angeles culture are all interconnected with one another. The Rams established community, culture and spirit through music this past season — and that is apparent through each and everyone’s accounts. Though many would chop it up to strategic marketing strategies, the execution proved pure.
The connection cultivated through these initiatives demonstrate that the Rams are part of the organic culture of LA. Their stance on contributing to the overall collective of the community speaks volumes, showing firsthand that they don’t take their part to contribute to Los Angeles lightly.
“Our team is here for this city and these fans. We are so fortunate in this line of work, but also have a great responsibility as LA’s NFL team to give back to this community we call home and the fans who support us,” Kat Kai-ling Frederick reiterated. “The goal is always to continue to deepen the connection between our fans and our team as well as reach new fans. We will continue to support amazing non-profits doing meaningful work across this city, and use our platform to lift up those individuals and organizations and shine a light on them.”