Kendrick Lamars Super Bowl 2025 halftime show:…
Last yr, Kendrick Lamar legendarily carried out “Not Like Us” 5 instances in a row at his Juneteenth Pop Out live performance on the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
And he in all probability might’ve completed it no less than thrice in a row for the entire 13 minutes of his Super Bowl halftime-show set — and all people would’ve been comfortable.
Kendrick Lamar rapped atop his signature GNX to open his halftime show. Fox Sports
Kendrick Lamar and dancers carried out “Squabble Up” to open the halftime show. AP
That’s the type of hype power that “Not Like Us” dropped at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans halfway via the Super Bowl LIX showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday evening.
After all, attendees had been all Serena Williams — bopping alongside to her fellow Compton-native as a shock backup dancer.
Although there had been some speak that Lamar won’t carry out the controversial Drake diss observe that even had the “God’s Plan” rapper sue Universal Music Group — the umbrella report company that he and Lamar share — actually there was nearly as a lot of a probability of him not doing the battle rap traditional as Taylor Swift not displaying up to cheer on Travis Kelce.
Lamar didn’t draw back from taking goal at Drake, as he even rocked a blinged out “a” chain for the mic-drop lyric “Try to strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” But he did keep away from the one most damning phrase the place he calls him a “pedophile.”
On this evening, “Not Like Us” had come to represent more than the epic Drake beef, with a common appeal — and a sickeningly infectious beat by DJ Mustard — made for Super Bowl-sized consumption.
Kendrick Lamar and his military of dancers had been in pink, white and blue formation. Getty Images
Of course, Lamar is greater than one music. And with Samuel L. Jackson opening the proceedings and presiding over the festivities like a pseudo Uncle Sam, he and his military of dancers had been in pink, white and blue formation as they took the stage from his signature GNX to his latest No. 1 hit “Squabble Up.” It was as applicable of a theme as you can have for the Super Bowl.
“The revolution about to be televised,” he mentioned.
Dressed down in a bomber, baseball cap and denims — this will go down as probably the most informal halftime show match of all time — Lamar went into his 2017 chart-topper “Humble” together with his dancers in lockstep. It made for a stable one-two punch to start the show.
SZA joined Kendrick Lamar for “Luther” and “All the Stars.” REUTERS
But then there was a bit of a lull with the “Damn” album observe “DNA” and two numbers from Lamar’s new LP “GNX” — “Man at the Garden” and “Peekaboo” — that solely hardcore Kendrick followers would know surrounding “Euphoria,” one other Drake diss observe.
But then SZA got here to the rescue on their hits “All the Stars” and “Luther,” injecting a welcome dose of feminine feels, though it might’ve been good if she additionally did one of her solo songs, say “Kill Bill.” And it was a bit of letdown that her look was no shock.
Lamar unusually didn’t exit with a bang with “Not Like Us,” as a substitute sending it off with “TV Off,” one other “GNX” observe. It was an anticlimactic ending as a result of the place are you able to go after “Not Like Us”?
Making like a pseudo Uncle Sam, Samuel L. Jackson was a ringleader for the proceedings. Fox Sports
There had been absolutely different songs that would’ve made for a higher set checklist, beginning with Lamar’s Black Lives Matter anthem “Alright.” However, maybe he didn’t need to repeat that after performing it on the 2022 Super Bowl during the Dr. Dre-led hip-hop extravaganza additionally that includes Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent.
But even “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Backseat Freestyle,” “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” “I” or “King Kunta” would’ve made this set pop more. And what about “Like That,” the posse cut with Future and Metro Boomin that obtained the Drake beef cooking final yr?
And this was lacking some of the manufacturing razzle dazzle we’re accustomed to seeing on the most important stage within the sport.
Serena Williams was a shock backup dancer on “Not Like Us;” AP
Still, as the primary solo rapper to headline the halftime show, it was all about “Not Like Us.”
Last week, the music received Lamar 5 Grammys, together with Record and Song of the Year. It was solely the second time that a rap observe captured these two prestigious gramophones, after Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” in 2019.
Taking the Pulitzer Prize winner to a different, career-redefining degree, the ultimate salvo in his battle with Drake became a hip-hop anthem for the ages — and turned Lamar into a Super Bowl halftime show headliner.
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