Kenny Lamar made a strong public announcement during the Super Bowl 2025.
During his stellar halftime performance, the 37-year-old performed some of his biggest tracks as well as a duet with SZA. He mentioned just days before that it was challenging to narrow down his backlog to just 13 minutes. As he opened the performance, Kendrick teased his diss track, Not Like Us – a clear dig at his rival rapper, Drake.
The performance was watched by millions across the world, as well as a sold-out Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Meanwhile, a number of well-known faces gathered at the stadium to research whether the Kansas City Chiefs can make history by winning three straight games.
This year, the likes of Lady Gaga, Kevin Costnor, Louis Tomlinson, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift and Ice Spice were on hand to watch. Donald Trump, the controversial president, was also present, with ITV’s Craig Doyle reporting that the president greeted the crowd with boos as he entered the stadium. Kendrick’s performance certainly got tails wagging. Here, we take a look at some of the biggest parts of his performance.
Donald Trump message
Kendrick has been very vocal about his opposition to Trump, who is currently tearing down DEI across the US government. During his performance, actor Samuel L. Jackson, who was dubbed “Uncle Sam” appeared on the stage. Following Kendrick’s performance of Squabble Up, Samuel appeared to tell him that he was “too loud, too unruly, too ghetto.
The group formed the American flag after which he was surrounded by all-Black dancers. While there was no clear dig at the President, rather than the” End Racism “message which has been part of the Super Bowl since 2021, instead”, Choose Love “was chosen.
Social media users have not forgotten about this. One person remarked, “It’s ironic when Kendrick Lamar performs and speaks in front of President Trump about the state of America.”
Meanwhile, a second typed:” Samuel L Jackson as Uncle sam, the personification of America, telling Kendrick his performance is ‘ too ghetto ‘ and then it cutting to Kendrick’s all-black backup dancers arranged as the American flag all while That Man is in attendance? I didn’t know much about your game, Kendall.
A third typed was “Kendrick having Samuel Jackson as Uncle Sam (personifying America), calling his performance “too ghetto,” and then cutting to his all-Black backup dancers displaying as the American flag during Black History Month while Trump is in attendance? King s**t”. After asking the NFL to not play the “End Racism” In the End Zones is the Headline, another person said, “Donald Trump is forced to watch Uncle Sam introduce Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl half time show.”
Drake diss
In between songs, Kendrick addressed a group of dancers and said, “I wanna perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue,” before adding, “Yes, that song, oh maybe I’ll think about it.”
However, Kendrick later performed Not Like Us, which would have caused the audience to rap along to the song despite any potential backlash from Drake. One particular lyric, which is heard in the track’s recorded version, is left out, though. In the song’s line of attack against Drake, Kendall made an exception. However, he added a new line to the song as he rapped: “Why you trollin ‘ like a b**ch? / Ain’t you tired? / Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minorrrrrr”.
In January this year, Drake decided to head to a lawyer’s office rather than the studio and began legal action regarding Kendrick’s diss tracks. The dad-of-one, 38, launched a federal defamation lawsuit against his music label over Kendrick’s Grammy Award winning hit. The Canadian rapper claims Universal Music Group is a source of false information about him as a child and that they are “part of” spreading a “false and malicious narrative” about him. The label was aware that Kendrick’s song would have lyrics and visuals in a music video, which led to this accusation, according to the court documents.
Drake’s claims were “offensive and untrue,” according to a UMG spokesperson, who added that the notion that UMG would do anything to denigrate any of its artists is “offensive and untrue.” In all of our marketing and promotional campaigns, we use the highest ethical standards. Fans choose the music they want to hear, not even the contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission.
Serena Williams cameo
But that wasn’t the only swipe Kendrick took at Drake. During his performance, tennis legend and Drake’s rumoured ex, Serena made an appearance. When she danced during his Not Like Us song, the 43-year-old shocked the audience. While it wasn’t announced that Serena would be joining, it certainly didn’t stop fans reacting.
” Having Serena Williams come out was f***ing wild, “said one. I was just saying, “I can’t believe he brought Serena Williams here.” “A third commented:” No way Kendrick brought out Serena Williams! “” After this, the drake can’t really show his face, oh my goodness. IS THAT SERENA WILLIAMS?!?! “exclaimed another.
Following her appearance, Serena later posted a video to social media. She said:” Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon. Ooo I would have been finiiined! Haha it was all love. “She was rumoured to have dated Drake on-and-off in the early 2010s. She had previously danced to the track before, though.
She previously performed at the ESPYs last year while using the track. Speaking previously about the record, she said:” I love that song. It’s like the hit of the summer. When they play that jam, I’m jamming. That jam is jamming. “
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Source: Mirror
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