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If the past year is any indication of what Kendrick Lamar has planned for his Super Bowl halftime show Sunday, then you can be sure it’ll strike a chord with music fans. The California rapper, who has been riding a wave of success that culminated with five Grammys for his song “Not Like Us” last weekend, has all eyes on him as he prepares for his performance at the Superdome in New Orleans.
But there are questions about whether Lamar will even perform “Not Like Us,” a chart-topping diss track that won him a rap feud against Drake, and uncertainty about how he’d even navigate the song’s lyrics, which are the subject of a defamation lawsuit. And Lamar wasn’t everyone’s choice to perform at the show, as some in the rap music community and a handful of right-wing politicians criticized his selection as the headliner. Oh, and President Donald Trump is expected to be there, too.
There are a lot of storylines to consider, and Lamar is the only one with his hands on the script. He said at the Super Bowl news conference Thursday that fans should expect “storytelling” during the halftime show.
“I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalogue and my history of music,” he said. “Make people listen but also see and think a little.” (Representatives for Lamar did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.)
Lamar was announced as the Super Bowl halftime performer in September, just a few months after seemingly winning his rap battle with Drake. The rappers sparred in back-to-back (and sometimes back-to-back-to-back) diss tracks that left Lamar accused as an abuser and Drake accused of being a pedophile (both rappers denied these allegations in their own songs). Lamar dealt a knockout blow to Drake with “Not Like Us,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release and became fodder for political rallies, sporting events and haterade everywhere.
Still, the news that Lamar would be the Super Bowl halftime entertainer immediately raised flags among rap enthusiasts, as many pointed to Lil Wayne as a better choice given that he hails from New Orleans. (Lil Wayne says he intends to skip the Super Bowl.)
There was also backlash from conservatives. In January, a group of Republican lawmakers from Louisiana teamed with pro-family groups to write a letter to the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Louisiana Stadium Exposition District asking for a kid-friendly halftime show given the history of controversial ones. (They specifically pointed to Rihanna’s 2023 show, saying she was “groping herself” while performing offensive lyrics, and Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction in 2004.)
But that hasn’t stopped Lamar from entering the Super Bowl as the music industry’s darling rapper. In November he released the critically praised album “GNX,” and in December he announced a stadium tour with SZA, who will be a guest performer during the halftime show. His Grammy wins for “Not Like Us” included song and record of the year honours.
One of the more popular clips from his Grammys acceptance speeches featured the crowd singing along to “Not Like Us” – including the drawn-out “A minor” lyric that refers to the musical chord but appears to also accuse Drake of being a pedophile.
If he does add the song to the set list, what does this mean for the NFL and Fox? They could bleep or cut part of the song or delay their broadcasts. (The NFL, Federal Communications Commission and Fox did not immediately respond to requests for comment.) But even if they censor lyrics, both Fox and the NFL could be subject to a defamation lawsuit, according to Ken White, a First Amendment lawyer and criminal defense attorney. Drake has already accused Universal Music Group of defamation for promoting the song.
“I would probably tell them that there is a high risk you’re going to get sued,” White told The Washington Post. “So don’t do it unless you’re ready for a big, expensive litigation.”
“Maybe that’s just kind of the cost of doing business,” he said.
(All that said, during the Grammys, CBS aired the “pedophile” portion of the lyrics, as well as the “A minor” moment when Lamar walked onstage, and it has not been sued yet.)
And what might Lamar do given that Trump is expected to be in attendance? The California rapper has often faced backlash from conservatives as he has rapped about civil rights and racial injustice, notably on his Grammy-winning album “To Pimp a Butterfly.” His 2017 album “DAMN.,” which won a Pulitzer Prize, sampled Fox News commentary.
On 2022’s “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” the song “Auntie Diaries” centres on trans members of Lamar’s family while also touching on religious and cultural views of homosexuality and transgender individuals. Will Lamar perform that song so soon after Trump signed an executive order that aims to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams?
So many questions. So few answers. Lamar often remains in the shadows and out of the spotlight. And he’s the only one who knows how major (or minor) the performance will be.