In 2024, the music industry witnessed one of the most heated rivalries between artists, as hip-hop stars Drake and Kendrick Lamar released a series of derogatory songs about each other. The most notable was Lamar’s track “Not Like Us” which received over a billion streams in just a few months. On February 9, 2025, the feud came full circle as Kendrick Lamar performed during halftime of the Super Bowl and directly called out Drake during his performance.
On September 8, 2024, an official announcement named Kendrick Lamar as the headline performer for the Super Bowl halftime show. This announcement made Lamar the first solo rap artist to headline the halftime show at the Super Bowl. The choice sparked controversy, as many felt that rapper Lil Wayne should have headlined, especially since the 2025 Super Bowl was in his hometown of New Orleans. On his 2024 album GNX, Lamar claimed that his hard work let Wayne down and that only a select few artists congratulated him on the honor of performing at the Super Bowl.
Lamar’s performance was received well, with many impressed by him limiting the usual showmanship of Super Bowl halftime performances to tell a story of overcoming doubt and achieving his vision of the American dream. Actor Samuel L. Jackson appeared during halftime as Uncle Sam, a figure synonymous with America. Jackson’s portrayal of Uncle Sam consistently disapproved of Lamar throughout the performance, claiming he was “too loud and too ghetto” despite Lamar and his backup dancers being clad in the colors of the American flag.
The most notable moment of the performance occurred at the end when Lamar began talking to his backup dancers, leading into a performance of “Not Like Us,” a song dedicated to exposing predators in the music industry such as Drake. During the song, Lamar looked directly at the camera while delivering spiteful lines directed at Drake with a cheerful smile. Before performing the song, Lamar made a comment to his dancers about someone “loving to sue,” referencing a lawsuit filed by Drake against Lamar’s record label for defamation.
The performance was not without controversy, during the closing moments of the show, a member of Lamar’s field cast unfurled a Palestinian flag with “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on it. The unnamed individual had the flag folded, hidden on him, and didn’t inform anyone about his plan. Security quickly detained him, and the NFL later released a statement banning him from all 32 NFL stadiums. Some have theorized that the act was in response to President Donald Trump’s plan to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate millions of Palestinians to neighboring countries and his removal of protected status for refugees fleeing from Sudan’s civil war. President Trump was in attendance for the Super Bowl, which marks the first time an active United States President attended the big game.
