In early September, hip-hop artist and rapper Kendrick Lamar announced that he would headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
The announcement came after Lamar gained traction from his recent feud with fellow artist Drake, a long-running rivalry that reignited earlier this year. The battle arose once again in 2023 with the creation of “the big three,” an idea coined by Drake and J. Cole in their song “First Person Shooter,” which grouped Lamar in with Drake and Cole as the three industry greats. Lamar responded with a single titled “Like That,” claiming to be the one and only above both other rappers. Using his platform shared with Future and Metro Boomin, Lamar fought back against Drake and Cole’s “big three” concept.
The feud continued for many months with tracks such as “Push Ups” and “euphoria.” It all reached a boiling point with Drake’s release of “Family Matters,” a song that name-dropped Lamar’s wife and made claims of infidelity against Lamar. Fueled by the anger of Drake bringing his family into the conversation, Lamar then dropped “meet the grahams.” This diss track goes after Drake’s son, parents and Drake himself, decimating his character for calling out his family and speaking poorly of him for six straight minutes.
Though Drake responded to “meet the grahams” with “The Heart Part 6,” a title parody of Lamar’s “Heart” song series, it did not gain the popularity that Lamar’s “euphoria” and “meet the grahams” did. Lamar’s final response, “Not Like Us,” gained the most popularity of all the diss tracks released, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 100 list. This was Lamar’s fourth song to hit No. 1, following “Like That,” “Humble” and “Bad Blood.” Out of those songs, “Humble” is the only individual track, making “Not Like Us” his second non-collaborative song to hit No. 1 on the charts.
Lamar is headlining the Super Bowl at the height of his popularity, which will prove to either benefit or hurt his current high rank in the rap industry. If he puts on a great show, he will continue his rise to higher fame. If he fails to live up to the halftime show glory, his fame could greatly diminish. The decision to name Lamar as the performer shows his rise over Drake when it comes to the songs they have both released in the last year. Being named the halftime show artist also gives Lamar an unmatched level of respect.
A halftime show performer must be someone who has appealed to a wide enough audience that they can entertain the range of people present at the game, usually numbering between 60,000 and 70,000 people. The performance put on for a halftime show is far different from an artist’s normal concert, so unique approaches are required to engage a crowd that bought tickets for sports as opposed to music.
Past artists have used multiple tactics to engage their audiences, most notably the use of marching bands, backup dancers, fun costumes and intricate set pieces. The halftime show is meant to showcase the artist’s performance skills, not necessarily focus on the audience’s love for the music.
With the rise of rap music, many of these patterns have been disregarded. During the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, Dr. Dre took the audience through a nostalgic journey of the past and present love for the hip-hop and rap industry. As this genre of music differs from pop or rock performances, there is a larger focus on the music itself and the songs that are chosen. Lamar was a guest at Dr. Dre’s halftime show, performing “m.A.A.d city” and “Alright.” His piece of the performance paid homage to the modern age of rap and the future of rap that he embodies.
One of the most exciting parts of Super Bowl shows is the surprise guests brought out by the headlining artist, and Lamar is bound to put on a good show in this regard. At his Juneteenth concert in Los Angeles, Lamar brought out several large hip-hop stars, including DJ Mustard, Black Hippy and YG, while singing “Not Like Us” multiple times to show the unity he has created within California hip-hop and street culture.
Lamar himself grew up in Compton, Calif., surrounded by the hip-hop and rap culture that lives there. He is now an influential figure in that culture, showing the respect he has gained in the community in his performance. Lamar has shown the backing he has through his family, friends and the community in California. It is certain he will showcase the love and unity surrounding him during the next development of his feud with Drake on the Super Bowl stage.
