Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Show: A Dazzling Tease & Spectacle

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Performance: A Masterclass in Teasing and Showmanship

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Performance: An Exhibit of Showmanship and Teasing — Kendrick Lamar, performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show

As the first rapper to perform alone at the Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick Lamar created history with an intense and contentious performance. Before delivering his hotly contested song, Not Like Us, he skillfully played with the audience’s expectations by teasing it several times, though he self-censored its most controversial words.

Speculation around Lamar’s song “Not Like Us,” a diss tune directed at rival rapper Drake, increased the anticipation for his Super Bowl participation. After Drake filed a defamation lawsuit for lyrics that accused him of serious allegations, the song which received five Grammy Awards and over a billion streamsbecame the focus of a court battle. This sparked a lot of conjecture about whether Lamar would be brave enough to play it on a platform this size.

Lamar’s set featured an intricate stage design resembling a giant noughts-and-crosses board, visually representing the contrast between his introspective deep cuts and his chart-topping hits. He began with Humble and DNA, tracks from his Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN, which sent shockwaves through the Caesars Superdome in Louisiana.

He leaned into the controversy, playfully referencing the legal battle during his performance with the line, “I want to play their favorite song… but you know they love to sue.” When he finally delivered the track, he omitted the most inflammatory lyric, but made sure to emphasize Drake’s name with a knowing grin, ensuring the diss remained unmistakable.

One of the most unexpected moments was tennis legend Serena Williams appearing on stage, performing the Crip Walk while Lamar prowled across the stage. Additionally, actor Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, played the role of emcee, adding an extra layer of theatricality to the performance.

Even though Lamar’s performance was full of political and social allusions, omitted his well-known civil rights song, Alright. Given that the NFL decided to take the “End Racism” message off the field after the Black Lives Matter movement popularized it, this omission was especially startling.

Another unanticipated political incident happened when a protester mounted Lamar’s famous black Buick GNX and spread a flag that incorporated the Sudanese and Palestinian flags. The person was quickly taken out by security after the NFL later confirmed that they were one of the 400 cast members.

Rumors swirled before the event that Taylor Swift might make a surprise appearance alongside Lamar, given their 2015 collaboration on Bad Blood. However, Swift opted to remain in the audience, supporting her boyfriend Travis Kelce, whose team—the Kansas City Chiefs—was vying for a historic third consecutive Super Bowl victory. The event also saw appearances from celebrities like Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Ice Spice, and Bradley Cooper.

In order to punctuate his performance of the West Coast song TV Off, Lamar pointed an imagined remote control at the camera and said, “Game Over.” It was an appropriate way to end a performance that was as much about entertainment as it was about cultural significance. In the huge stadium, his complex words might have been impossible for some casual viewers to grasp, but ardent admirers understood the artistry, symbolism, and social commentary woven throughout his performance.

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance was more than simply a musical extravaganza; it was a turning point for hip-hop on one of the biggest stages in the world by fusing controversy, an intense performance, and cultural commentary.

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Source: BBC News