Kendrick Lamar had nothing to prove during tonight’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime show, but that didn’t stop the rapper from putting on a legendary performance. After sweeping the Grammys only a week ago—winning five awards for his hit “Not Like Us”—Lamar tonight became the first solo rapper to headline a Super Bowl.
Introduced by Samuel L. Jackson as “Uncle Sam,” Lamar began the performance kneeling on the hood of a Buick GNX, a nod to his sixth studio album, released in November last year. He opened the show with “wacced out murals” and “Bodies,” then ran through a medley of hits, including, “squabble up,” “Humble.,” “DNA.,” “luther,” “All the Stars,” “tv off,” and more, bringing out stars including SZA, Serena Williams, and producer Mustard along the way.
Some fans had questioned whether Lamar might use the Super Bowl stage to call out Drake, the target of his now-iconic diss track “Not Like Us,” directly. He did exactly that—and with a cheeky grin.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, Lamar had joined actor Timothée Chalamet for an exclusive Apple Music interview, in which Lamar shared that he is “always locked in, and I’m always trying new things—whether or not I like them is a whole other conversation.” He continued, “But I have to keep the pen warm...It’s for my own sanity. [Writing] has also given me the opportunity to learn [about] myself, you know, find out who I am. When you’re writing, man, you’ve got to sit and go through the emotions and be vulnerable about it.”
Watch the full performance below.
