Kendrick To Perform At Super Bowl Halftime Show

The rivalry between Drake and Kendrick Lamar was latent for a long time, and just as tension may arise between any high-achieving coworkers, they quietly competed, exchanging covert jabs.

Over the years, the two quietly traded jabs, with Lamar taking the brunt of the attacks, before things cooled off until October 2023.

Drake and J. Cole’s single “First Person Shooter” was released at that time, with J. Cole saying, “Love when they argue the hardest MC/ Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/ We the big three like we started a league/ but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.”

However, J. Cole couldn’t realize what he was hinting at when he said, “Me and Drizzy, this shit like the Super Bowl.”

Now Kendrick Lamar will be creating Super Bowl history when he performs during Sunday night’s halftime show.

He will become the first solo rapper to ever headline the Super Bowl halftime show as he takes the biggest stage in America on Sunday.

Lamar’s halftime performance will also be the first since the NFL and Roc Nation extended their partnership.

In 2022, the first year hip-hop took center stage at the event, Lamar previously performed with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and other artists.

This year’s game in New Orleans will feature Grammy-winning R&B musician SZA as a guest performer.

Will Kendrick Perform “Not Like Us” Amid Drake’s Lawsuit?

“Not Like Us,” a diss track for Drake, his personality, and the state of his musical career to date, is Lamar’s most well-known song from the previous year.

The song appears like the best choice to be played during the Super Bowl 59 halftime show, given its popularity.

“Not Like Us” soared to the top of the Billboard charts and received No. 1 billing on a host of end-of-year lists.

Nevertheless, it’s still unclear if Lamar will include the song on his set list in the Super Bowl repertoire, and this is for a couple of reasons.

Drake, the primary target of many of Lamar’s jabs on “Not Like Us,” filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, his and Lamar’s signed label, back in January.

He claims that the musical powerhouse harassed and defamed him by disseminating a “false and malicious narrative.”

This narrative states that he harbors sex offenders and engages in sexual relations with minors in addition to sex trafficking.

Drake’s legal team alleges that UMG fueled and profited from reports of Drake’s alleged sexual misconduct by using its considerable influence as the “most powerful company” in music.

The team claims that UMG wanted to devalue the 38-year-old musician to improve their negotiating position because Drake’s current contract with the label is about to expire.

Another concern is whether Lamar, his label, or the NFL believe “Not Like Us” is appropriate for mainstream audiences.

The NFL has made a lot of effort to present a family-friendly image to the general public, and despite Lamar’s considerable celebrity power, the song mostly focuses on Drake’s alleged sexual misbehavior.