It’s only be three years since Kendrick Lamar last hit the Super Bowl Halftime Show, but this time he did it solo. And his celebration of hip-hop music was a show-stopping moment from the rapper who just swept the Grammys, winning in all five categories where he was nominated.
The rapper, who said in a press conference on February 6 that he’s all about “storytelling” in his music, definitely made headlines for the story he told with all those wins for his diss track “Not Like Us.”
The track was just the latest in a years-long feud between Lamar and Drake, but became the first track to dominate at an awards show. Each time he took the stage to nab another Grammy, social media lit up with questions about how the Canadian rapper — who was not in attendance — must be taking the night. And that social reaction continued Super Bowl Sunday.
For his part, Lamar never mentioned the subject of the track that brought him such industry accolades in any of his acceptance speeches. And he promised that his focus wasn’t on that, either, for the Super Bowl. Instead, he said his mission was to bring the energy of LA to the Caesars Superdome.
“Being in the now and being just locked in to how I feel and the energy I have now, that’s the LA energy for me,” he said, per Today. “That’s something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see. This is me. This is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old, and I still feel like I’m elevating, I’m still on a journey.”
During in his 2022 Super Bowl appearance, Lamar shared the big stage with big names like Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Mary J. Blige. Ahead of Sunday’s big moment, Lamar did reveal that SZA — who will soon join him on tour — would be joining him tonight and, aside from DJ Mustard, that was it for collabs.
But, as it turned out, that was just about enough as social media could not get enough of SZA’s incredible performance alongside Lamar. She has the vocals and she knows how to rock the stage, complementing his look with an incredible red ensemble of her own.
Beyond those two musicians, well they weren’t the only superstars to hit the stage.. While the music was all Kendrick Lamar (and SZA) from start to finish, he did get a superstar introduction — and a lot of judgment throughout — by Samuel L. Jackson as your overly patriotic “uncle, Sam.”
He was there as the voice of caution, warning Lamar to keep his show what mainstream America might want, focusing on the hits. “Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto. Mr. Lamar do you really know how to play the game? Tighten up!” he warned at one point.
But Lamar was going to do this show his way, and he stayed true to his vision throughout.
Oh, and what about Drake and “Not Like Us”? Well, suffice to say that Lamar not just went therebut all the way there on the diss track, with a look right into the camera at one point as he delivered a scathing line.
Before he even got started, too, he paused with a group of women to talk about whether or not to perform the track, saying, “I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” As such, he did skip the track’s “certified pedophile” line, but otherwise went in for the kill.
There’s the lower-case “A Minor” chain, as pointed out by many on social media, and … well … Serena Williams was out here crip-walking at the Super Bowl as the crowd went wild and the track played. For those who don’t know, Drake and Williams dated nearly 15 years ago.
Let’s just say, all the shade did not go unnoticed on social media.
There was plenty else for fans to get excited about, too, as Lamar trotted out a roster of his greatest hits, including fan-favorites “HUMBLE” and “DNA,” as well as “Euphoria,” “Squabble Up,” “Man at the Garden,” “Peekaboo,” “Not Like Us,” and “TV Off,” while SZA joined him for “Luther” and, of course, “All the Stars.”
In lieu of a stage, the rapper had a street set up down the field, with side stages for different spotlight moments throughout the performance.
There were striking visual images, too, with his dancers adorned in red, white, and blue and even taking the shape of an American flag at one point. Of note for many online was that Lamar was singing “HUMBLE” in the middle of this flag, wondering if it was a not-so-subtle message for President Trump, who was in attendance.
It was a playful and powerful set, speaking truth to power and presenting Kendrick’s truth to a wider audience than might otherwise be familiar with his prowess on the mic — and perhaps even more importantly, with the pen.
A few moments a few years ago showed the world that Kendrick Lamar is unlike anyone else in music, with a vision and approach to his artistry that’s totally his own. He’s a powerful storyteller and visionary.
Sunday, he proved to be the fruition of his own greatness. When given the largest stage in the world, Kendrick Lamar rose to the occasion with a bigger and bolder show that didn’t lose any of the intimacy and personal introspection that defines his artistry.
And long after the game commenced, music fans were still hitting social media, reeling over Lamar putting a punctuation mark on his Grammys wins in the Drake feud — wondering how Drake might be handling it — and every other moment of his instantly iconic performance.
