Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Performance Breaks Barriers for Rap

IT looks like Kendrick Lamar’s winning streak is not over yet, as he follows up his Grammy triumphs by headlining this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. 

Known for his technical artistry and deep-cut lyricism, Lamar teases fans to buckle up for a storytelling spectacle when he hits the stage in New Orleans on Sunday.

In a lively half-hour chat with Apple Music’s Nadeska and Ebro Darden on February 6, Lamar shared insights about his music and his excitement for taking the stage at the upcoming Super Bowl.

“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music,” said the artist. 

“And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on, whether it’s a world tour or whether it’s 500 people at Key Club, I’ve always had a form of that. So I like to always carry on that sense of, make people listen, but also see and think a little.”

Lamar also shared his sentiments about his recent accolades and accomplishments. 

“It’s just a continuum of who I am, really. I’ve always stayed to myself and been in my own bubble whether it’s with the fam or my training,” he said. 

“I continue to do what I was doing 10 years ago and that’s bettering myself, bettering the craft and not looking at it as bright lights.”

Lamar admitted he never imagined performing at the Super Bowl when he was starting out. While he made an appearance in a hip-hop showcase in 2022, this will mark his first time headlining the iconic event.

“I wasn’t thinking about no Super Bowl— I was thinking about the best verse… It wasn’t no Super Bowl. What I know is the passion I have now is still the passion I had then.”

Lamar is set to make history as the first solo rap artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show—a major milestone for a genre often stereotyped and undervalued as an art form.

“When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it is just rap and it’s not an actual art form,” stated Lamar. 

“So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago. They forget that it’s even been in 50 years and kind of belittle it. So I love to see that it gets that type of recognition from just straight raps, from awards to the billboards, all that, because this is truly just as big as an art form and a genre as any other genre.”

While Lamar didn’t provide any specifics about his performance, everyone is wondering if he will include his Grammy-winning diss track, “Not Like Us,” in his set—a fiery anthem tied to his feud with fellow rapper Drake, which has even made its way to the courtroom.

He sidestepped the question, simply stating that he was “focused on the culture, really.”

Lamar dropped Not Like Us in May 2024, the fifth track in a series targeting the Canadian rapper, released just a day after his previous single, Meet the Grahams. It has then catapulted to the charts and swept five awards in the Grammys, including the most coveted Song of the Year. 

Drake has filed a defamation lawsuit against their mutual label, alleging that Universal Music Group’s release and promotion of Not Like Us amounted to both defamation and harassment.