Kendrick Lamar Performs ‘Not Like Us’ at 2025 Super Bowl

February 12, 2025

Kendrick Lamar delivers an epic performance at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.

Kendrick Lamar’s Electrifying Performance at Super Bowl LIX

On Sunday (Feb. 9), Kendrick Lamar popped out and showed more than 120 million viewers the power of Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hop with his performance at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show. As the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs entered their respective locker rooms with a surprising score of 24 to 0 in Philly’s favor, Kung Fu Kenny took the essence of Compton to the Big Easy at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Setting the tone for the halftime performance’s “The Great American Game” theme, acclaimed actor Samuel L. Jackson introduced the show by playing the role of Uncle Sam. Jackson continued to narrate throughout various points of the show.

At midfield, Kendrick Lamar’s elaborate The Great American Game-themed stage setup was revealed with four separate stages in the shapes of an “X,” a circle, a triangle and a square, much like the traditional buttons on a PlayStation video game controller. Parked on top of the square-shaped stage was Kendrick’s now-famous 1987 Buick Grand National GNX, the classic car that inspired the title for his latest album, GNX.

While standing on top of the car’s hood, Kendrick kicked off his performance by rapping the lyrics originally heard in the minute-long video trailer that dropped in conjunction with the GNX album back in November. He then seamlessly transitioned into his Debbie Deb-sampled banger, “Squabble Up.” As the California-bred showman’s storytelling performance progressed, Kendrick transitioned from stage to stage, with the implication being that he was leveling up in the “The Great American Game.”

The next phase found Kenny taking viewers back to his 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning album, Damn., from which he performed the tracks “Humble.” and “DNA” as dancers wearing red, white and blue formed the shape of an American flag around him. Kendrick then hit fast-forward into 2024 by throwing down an amended rendition of the Drake diss “Euphoria,” giving Super Bowl viewers and attendees a taste of the epic rap battle between the two hip-hop juggernauts.

Returning to the current GNX era from there, Kendrick performed album cuts “Man at the Garden” and “Peekaboo.” At that point, SZA, who had been previously announced as K-Dot’s special guest, joined her former TDE labelmate to bless the crowd with their 2024 collab “Luther.” The duo also hit up their double-platinum smash “All the Stars,” which appeared on the 2018 Black Panther soundtrack.

As SZA made her exit from the field, a tight camera shot of Kendrick finds him explaining to four female dancers that he would like to perform what he calls “they favorite song.” He then makes a roundabout reference to Drake’s current defamation lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group.

“I want to make a move,” Kendrick says. “I want to perform they favorite song but you know they love to sue.”

What ensued was a wildly energetic performance of the diss track that most consider to have ended the battle with Drake, “Not Like Us.” Kendrick even called Drake out by name with the lyrics, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young/You better not ever go to cell block one.” While Kendrick refrained from using the word “pedophile” as expected, the next few bars included direct shots at Drake’s OVO crew before the entire crowd at the Caesars Superdome screamed “A-minor” at the top of their lungs.

As the earth-shattering performance drew to a close, the song’s producer, Mustard, then hit the stage right on cue as the meme-worthy “TV Off” lyric “Mussttaaardd” blared throughout the stadium with the song serving as the halftime show’s finale.

Kendrick Lamar Is a Two-Time Super Bowl Halftime Performer

While Kendrick Lamar certainly earned his Super Bowl headlining spot due to his massive string of success over the past year, this is not the first time the King of Compton performed at the NFL’s season finale. Back in 2022, Kendrick joined fellow elite performers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige where his portion of that year’s halftime set in Los Angeles included his 2015 smash “Alright,” which was precluded by 2012’s “m.A.A.d city.”

Kendrick Lamar Caps Off a Monumental Week in His Career

K-Dot’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show serves as the coupe de grâce of an unprecedented week in Kendrick Lamar’s career. Last Sunday, Kenny took home five Grammy Awards for his Drake-driven diss track “Not Like Us” with a clean sweep in all categories he was nominated for. Wins for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Best Music Video, Record of the Year and Song of the Year undeniably declared “Not Like Us” as the most successful dis record in hip-hop history.

Check out Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show in the video below.