2025 would possibly already be Kendrick Lamar’s yr.
It’s a well-recognized story for the Pulitzer-Prize successful rapper, who’s acquired dozens of accolades in his profession and dominated popular culture in 2024 because of a now-iconic feud with Drake. However the brand new yr is off to a good stronger begin.
Over the weekend, he picked up 5 Grammys for his huge diss monitor “Not Like Us,” together with Document of the Yr and Tune of the Yr. The star-studded viewers, together with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, have been significantly captivated with Lamar’s victories. As he walked onstage to obtain the Document of the Yr Grammy in a seemingly intentional all-denim outfit often called a “Canadian tuxedo,” you might hear the gang rap alongside to the music because it performed all through the world. Your entire second was a pleasant enhance for the months-old diss monitor and a reminder of Lamar’s import main as much as the largest gig of his profession this weekend: headlining the Tremendous Bowl LIX halftime present.
This received’t be Lamar’s first time on the NFL’s large broadcast. In 2022, he appeared within the halftime present’s first-ever hip-hop lineup, alongside Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige, the place he carried out his 2015 political anthem “Alright.” Lamar’s phase was a standout in a somewhat chaotic medley, attributable to his energetic stage presence and poignant visuals. Even with the halftime present’s mediocre monitor document with rap, it felt inevitable that he would grace the telecast once more sooner or later.
Lamar arguably may’ve taken on the present by himself years in the past. Nonetheless, “Not Like Us” supplied the right second of natural enthusiasm and renewed respect for the critically acclaimed artist. Nonetheless, his coming efficiency brings up numerous questions, from what occurred to his earlier issues concerning the NFL to if he’ll even have the ability to play his hit music, which is presently the topic of a defamation lawsuit.
Listed here are 5 questions you might need about this yr’s extremely anticipated Tremendous Bowl headliner and what could or could not go down on Sunday, answered to the most effective of our capacity.
Why is Lamar’s halftime present such an enormous deal?
Lamar’s Tremendous Bowl halftime present will probably be historic for fairly a couple of causes, however an enormous one is that he’s the primary solo rap act to headline the present within the broadcast’s nearly 60-year historical past. The music phase has definitely advanced for the reason that early days of internet hosting faculty marching bands and the unsettling, feel-good dance group Up With Individuals, now welcoming up to date pop acts from Girl Gaga to The Weeknd. Nonetheless, the NFL has been extra hesitant to completely embrace rap, regardless of it being one of the vital widespread genres of music on this planet.
Even with its various expertise, the present has traditionally catered to or at the very least made choices based mostly on its largely white viewership with inoffensive, apolitical artists. That mentioned, when obscene moments — like Justin Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson’s nipple in 2004 — and political messaging — like Beyoncé honoring the Black Panther Social gathering in 2016 — have occurred on the halftime present, NFL viewers and the league itself have responded in histrionic methods. Along with the wave of backlash from conservative media, the Federal Communications Fee acquired quite a few complaints about Beyoncé’s “Formation” efficiency. In the meantime, the NFL sued musician M.I.A. for $16 million in restitution after she prolonged her center finger throughout Madonna’s halftime present in 2012.
Whereas rappers like Nelly, Large Boi, and Nicki Minaj have appeared in a visitor capability, it wasn’t till 2022 that hip-hop dominated the stage. It’s a choice that seemingly wouldn’t have occurred if not for a current partnership between the NFL and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Leisure. Since 2020, Roc Nation has co-produced the halftime present with a notably various mixture of company, together with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, Rihanna, and, most just lately, Usher. That mentioned, Lamar’s headlining would possibly simply normalize extra hip-hop acts getting booked for the present.
Why is Lamar getting a halftime present now?
2024 was an surprising second of hypervisibility for Lamar, because of a extremely publicized beef with Drake. Whereas Lamar had been sneak-dissing Drake for practically a decade, taking pictures at his “faux” rap persona to his alleged behavior of utilizing ghostwriters, Lamar’s visitor verse of the Future and Metro Boomin’ music “Like That” made his self-proclaimed hatred for the Canadian rapper recognized in a approach it hadn’t been earlier than. The comparatively tame “F— the Large 3” bar on the monitor kicked off a weeks-long back-and-forth between Drake, Lamar and a complete Avengers-like ensemble of Drake’s trade adversaries.
Nonetheless, it was Lamar’s catchy, Mustard-produced “Not Like Us” that rose to the highest of a litany of diss tracks. The music, the place Lamar calls Drake a “licensed pedophile”“ and claims he “ought to be positioned on neighborhood watch,” initially felt a bit uncomfortable to take heed to, significantly following the home abuse allegations Drake had made towards Lamar on one other diss monitor. Over time, although, “Not Like Us” has grow to be an ode to Black LA tradition, a go-to membership banger, and even an worldwide protest music.
Later in November 2024, Lamar launched his sixth album, GNX, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The album didn’t function “Not Like Us,” however nonetheless produced a number of hit singles, together with “squabble up,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, and the SZA-featured music, “luther,” which peaked at No. 3.
Will Lamar get political?
A couple of decade in the past, it was a a lot safer guess {that a} Kendrick Lamar halftime present would function some kind of political assertion or imagery. Since changing into a recognized face in rap, Lamar has voiced pro-Black, anti-establishment opinions to the anger of conservatives and Fox Information anchors. Specifically, his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, which featured singles “Alright” and “The Blacker the Berry,” made him an emblem for the Black Lives Matter motion — the previous music changing into a rallying cry towards police brutality.
That period additionally established Lamar as a provocative and politically charged dwell act. In his efficiency of “Alright” on the 2015 BET Awards, Lamar rapped on high of a cop automobile with an enormous American flag waving behind him. It additionally included a snippet of a Fox Information phase criticizing the anti-cop lyrics within the music. On the 2016 Grammys, he carried out a medley from To Pimp a Butterfly, showing with a bunch of Black males in shackles and prisoner outfits.
Over time, although, Lamar has appeared much less excited by enjoying the position of a political mascot. On his 2021 collaboration with Child Keem, “Household Ties,” Lamar rebukes his former activist label, saying, “I been duckin’ the social gimmick / I been duckin’ the in a single day activists / I’m not a trending matter, I’m a prophet.” Not too long ago, his output has been characterised extra by pettiness and a way of private triumph than politics, as seen via the “Not Like Us”/GNX period.
It was clear that he had resigned from a extra radical place when he carried out on the halftime present in 2022. In 2017, the rapper, together with a lot of his friends, expressed help for free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick after the NFL participant claimed that he had been blackballed by the league for kneeling in the course of the Nationwide Anthem.
Whereas Lamar by no means actively boycotted the NFL or the halftime present in solidarity with Kaepernick, his embrace of the platform speaks to a watered-down strategy to politics within the latter a part of his profession, extra targeted on illustration than calling out establishments. With this headlining gig, many would argue that Lamar, together with Jay-Z, are merely offering a PR cleanup for the NFL and their historic mistreatment of Black gamers.
On high of that, the Tremendous Bowl halftime present isn’t sometimes a platform to broadcast revolutionary messages. Though earlier performers like Jennifer Lopez and Eminem have been allowed to make political statements in the course of the phase, creating the looks that the NFL is definitely tolerant of political dissent, these haven’t precisely been table-shaking sentiments. In the meantime, the NFL is eradicating its “Finish Racism” messaging from the Tremendous Bowl finish zone for the primary time because it was added in 2021.
Nonetheless, maybe one other Trump administration will encourage the kind of attention-grabbing stunts that outlined the To Pimp a Butterfly period. On Tuesday, the Related Press reported that President Donald Trump could be attending the Tremendous Bowl, making him the primary sitting president to take action. If Lamar performs “Alright” in entrance of the president — which he probably will — it is going to definitely be acquired as a robust assertion.
Will Lamar even be allowed to play “Not Like Us”?
Whereas it looks as if a no brainer that Lamar would carry out “Not Like Us,” the music is the topic of a lawsuit introduced on by Drake that has made performing the music publicly, not to mention on the most-watched telecast, slightly difficult.
On January 15, Drake filed a lawsuit towards the document label, Common Music Group, to which he and Lamar are each signed below totally different divisions, for defamation relating to the lyrics in “Not Like Us.” He filed the go well with a day after he withdrew a petition he filed in in November accusing UMG and Spotify of “artificially inflating” the recognition of the diss monitor, in addition to taking part in a pay-for-play scheme with iHeartRadio.
The defamation go well with claims that the allegations within the music — particularly, the “licensed pedophile” line — have put Drake and his household in peril. The go well with references an incident on Could 7, 2024, a couple of days after the music was launched, when an armed group drove to Drake’s Toronto residence and at the very least one individual with a gun allegedly shot a safety guard. The go well with lists two different break-in makes an attempt at Drake’s residence over the next two days.
Notably, although, Drake is suing UMG for its promotion of the music — not Lamar for making it. That mentioned, the danger of Lamar getting in bother for performing the already extensively performed music is fairly low, in keeping with First Modification litigator Ken White. Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply it’s a straightforward alternative — White informed the Los Angeles Instances final month that different events, just like the NFL and Fox, “who’re serving to to publish what [Lamar] says” may doubtlessly be introduced into the authorized saga if he’s allowed to carry out it. “If I have been an in-house counsel, I’d be telling them to not do it,” he mentioned.
We’ll see on Sunday whether or not protecting the Grammy-winning music off the setlist or courting defamation expenses is an even bigger danger.
Will there be another company?
The slate of friends, mentors, and collaborators Lamar presumably may invite onstage throughout his halftime present is fairly huge. Again in August, he hosted the Amazon dwell live performance referred to as The Pop-Out: Ken and Pals, the place he celebrated the West Coast hip-hop group by bringing a slew of native artists — together with a few of his former Prime Dawg Leisure labelmates — dancers, and even gang members onstage. Likewise, an look from mentor Dr. Dre, who he gave a shoutout to whereas accepting Document of the Yr, appears probably. It additionally wouldn’t be a shock if he introduced out krumping innovator Tommy the Clown, who, alongside together with his crew of dancers, seems within the “Not Like Us” music video.
Nonetheless, up to now, Lamar’s former labelmate SZA is the one artist confirmed to hitch the halftime present. The 2 have a historical past of collaborations as TDE’s’s premier flagship artists, together with the Oscar-nominated music “The entire Stars” from the Black Panther soundtrack and “luther.” They’re additionally about to embark on their just lately introduced a nationwide stadium tour starting in April. The halftime present clearly serves as an excellent promotional car.
