Rating: 9/10
Kendrick Lamar showed out at Super Bowl LIX’s halftime show this Sunday as the first rap-focused artist to solo headline the event.
Lamar opened crouching on the signature 1987 Buick GNX featured on the cover of his most recent album, “GNX,” which dropped last November. The rest of his performance followed similar suit, with his dancers repping red, white and blue costumes and an a cappella ensemble accompanying “man at the garden,” seemingly as a nod to Lamar’s humble beginnings in the music industry.
Three days before the performance, Lamar commented on how far he has come since emerging as an artist in an Extra TV interview.
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“What I know is the passion I have now is still the passion I had then, and I think that carried on to the Super Bowl, so it was all about being present,” Lamar said.
The show reached its high point when musical guest SZA joined Lamar for “luther” and “All the Stars.” The two — arguably this year’s most iconic hip-hop duo — delivered incredible respective and joint vocal performances on both these tracks and are set to begin a 19-city tour of North America on April 19.
Dijon McFarlane, better known as “MUSTAAAAAARD,” also hopped on stage for “tv off” when quite literally called upon by Lamar and thousands of screaming fans. The producer essentially just danced around and held a football, but it was a fun feature.
Interestingly, this halftime show also featured notable non-musical guests. Their inclusion was a thought-provoking twist on the traditional format of these shows.
Samuel L. Jackson appeared as Uncle Sam and called out the performance for being “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto” as a testament to the mainstream American perception of rap culture.
As this notoriously American character, he referred to the production as “the great American game.” Jackson questioned Lamar’s ability to “play” it, which was an interesting addition to a show riddled with symbolism at the Super Bowl, an event deeply ingrained in United States culture.
As another unexpected feature, watching Serena Williams Crip Walk to “Not Like Us” was hilarious. Having the four-time Olympic gold medalist taunt Drake, the song’s target, was extra salt to the wound of the rappers’ feud as it approaches its first anniversary. As if the track winning five Grammys the week prior wasn’t enough.
Lamar went further by sporting the letter A on his chain to represent the famed lyric, “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor,” written about pedophilia allegations made against Drake. The lyric was sung with the most audible enthusiasm from the audience than any other.
The relentless shade thrown throughout the performance was undoubtedly eaten up by anyone watching along, save for one Canadian rapper.
“Over 120 million people were treated to the first ever real and true rap concert masquerading as a Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Billboard said.
While it makes sense that Lamar highlighted his most famous songs for this event, several tracks that defined his journey as an artist and shared similar popularity were left out of the performance. “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “King Kunta” or “Money Trees,” for example, would have gone a long way on this set list, especially for fans excited to see him take this spotlight.
The songs featured only truly covered “GNX” and “DAMN.” and neglected his four other studio albums. Having to squeeze as much energy as possible into less than 15 minutes makes this omission an unfortunate yet understandable sacrifice.
Nostalgic fans may also find comfort in rewatching Lamar’s performances of “m.A.A.d city” and “Alright” in the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, where he joined Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. As such, it cannot be argued that Lamar has completely rejected paying tribute to his older masterpieces on the Super Bowl stage.
The Associated Press dubbed the 2025 performance a “history-making Super Bowl halftime show.” It is clear that however much praise Lamar has received for his Sunday night feature, he said it best himself — he deserves it all.
