Kendrick Lamar continued to parade his feud with Drake during his 2025 Super Bowl halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday.
However, the Pulitzer Prize winner kept his performance PG for the family-friendly crowd in the Big Easy as he became the first rapper to headline the gig solo.
Samuel L. Jackson first appeared on the field to introduce the 13-minute set dressed as Uncle Sam and then Lamar, 37, took the stage to perform hits like “Squabble Up,” “Humble,” “DNA” and “Euphoria.”
Clad in a varsity jacket, bootcut jeans and a backward baseball cap, he stood on top of a black 1987 Buick Grand National GNX (after which he named his latest album, “GNX”) and was joined by a group of dancers dressed in either all red, all blue or white tees to create the appearance of the American flag.
About 10 minutes in, Lamar was joined onstage by his longtime friend and collaborator SZA. The two, who are hitting the road together later this year, reunited to perform “Luther” and “All the Stars.”
Lamar then transitioned to his Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us,” which savagely took aim at Drake, who is currently on tour in Australia.
“I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue,” he said with a smirk at the top of the highly anticipated number.
Notably, the Compton, Calif., native skipped over the word “pedophile” while rapping the lyric, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles” after Drake, 38, filed a defamation lawsuit against their shared record label, Universal Music Group, last month over the “false and malicious” line.
Lamar did, however, perform other lyrics that heavily implied the Canadian artist likes underage girls, including “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor,” which the crowd shouted throughout the stadium, and “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young.”
That part of the performance ended with one final dig at Drake as Lamar brought out the “One Dance” singer’s ex Serena Williams, who made a surprise cameo to do the Crip walk during the blistering song.
Lamar concluded his upbeat show with “TV Off” featuring another special guest, DJ Mustard, who co-produced “Not Like Us.”
Swifties were likely disappointed, though, as the hip-hop superstar did not include his and Taylor Swift’s 2014 collaboration, “Bad Blood,” in his set. (Swift was in the crowd cheering on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, against the Philadelphia Eagles.)
Last week, Lamar teased what he had in store for his Super Bowl LIX performance during the Apple Music halftime show press conference in New Orleans.
“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on,” he said Thursday. “So I like to always carry on that sense of, you know, make people listen, but also see and think a little.”
Although the rapper did not confirm at the time whether he would perform “Not Like Us” at halftime, the song blasted in the media conference room as moderators Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis introduced him to the stage.
Apple Music and the NFL announced Lamar as the halftime headliner in September of last year.
The “Pray for Me’ performer’s show comes a year after he and Drake began exchanging shots at each other through vicious diss tracks, including “Family Matters” and “Euphoria.”
Lamar was widely declared the winner of the feud when he dropped the catchy song “Not Like Us” last May.
On the track, the West Coast native made wild accusations against Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) — all of which the “God’s Plan” rapper has vehemently denied.
“Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned Lamar five awards at the 2025 Grammys earlier this month.
He took home the statuettes for song of the year, record of the year, best rap song, best music video and best rap performance.
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