While spending a little over two decades in the music industry, Kendrick Lamar hit the ground running when it came to leaving his mark on rap music. Over his career, the rapper produced songs like “Money Tree”, “Swimming Pools”, and Not Like Us.” Not that long ago, Lamar dominated the 67th Grammy Awards. After the awards, he stood as one of the most awarded rappers in history. He added five to his collection that night. And now, helming the halftime show at the Super Bowl, Lamar proved once again why he is among one of the greatest rappers of all time.
For any performer or band, there are a few moments bigger than taking over the Super Bowl. As the Kansas City Chiefs ran into the locker room, the field transformed into a stage for Lamar. And having a long discography of hit songs, he started the night with. Just the start, the singer didn’t want to steal the entire spotlight as he welcomed Samuel L. Jackson to narrate his story.
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He started the night off with songs like “DNA”, HUMBLE”, and “Man at the Garden.” And while the halftime was one to remember, the biggest moment of the night was when Lamar rapped his Drake diss, “Not Like Us,” igniting social media to explode—and Drake to trend.
fans of Lamar and football jumped online to express their thoughts about the viral moment. Take a look:
THIS MAN KENDRICK LAMAR JUST SMILED IN THE CAMERA AFTER COOKING DRAKE
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) February 10, 2025
LMFAOOOOOO#SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/O09jyWwh6l
Kendrick Lamar pump faked Not Like Us at least 10 times, you gotta respect the trolling
— Saquon Barkley's #1 Fan (@ItzExperix) February 10, 2025
“Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young”
— Ms. Andry Noir, PhD (@keatingssixth) February 10, 2025
Why Kendrick look at the camera like 😭 pic.twitter.com/IDCt6sY5LZ
whole stadium just said “A Minor” in unison. i know Drake was at home like this pic.twitter.com/ftMSu03zI2
— Jozu 🇵🇦 (@thaboyjozu) February 10, 2025
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Kendrick Lamar Discusses His Work With SZA
Spending a great deal of time preparing and creating the halftime show, Lamar shared his thoughts on performing at the Super Bowl. Even before taking the field, he told Apple Music the moment meant “everything” to him, adding, “It puts the culture on the forefront where it needs to be, and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form. So to represent it on this type of stage is everything that I’ve worked for and everything that I believe in as far the culture.”
Among the performers who helped Lamar with his halftime show was singer SZA. Dazzling on the stage, Lamar also praised the “Kill Bill” singer. “Watching her career and where she has come from, it’s amazing to see. I get to finally see how certain individuals see me come up in the process. I understood that process, though, of wanting to be great.” He insisted it was an honor “to be next to a talent” like SZA.
(Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)