Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment.
Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath.
Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.
Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath.
Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.
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00:00Kendrick Lamar took his Super Bowl halftime performance to another level, complete with
00:03surprise A-list cameos and a direct address of the Drake beef in front of millions.
00:08Let's break it all down.
00:10Rapper Kendrick Lamar took to the field during Super Bowl 59, where he debuted an unreleased
00:14song snippet, followed by Squabble Up, the second track from his latest album, GNX,
00:19according to USA Today. Of course, fans were on the edge of their seats to see if Lamar would play
00:24his diss track to Drake, not like us, especially considering Drake is suing his record label,
00:28UMG, and Kendrick for defamation and harassment over the song, calling its release and promotion
00:34unlawful, as reported by the New York Times. During the performance, Lamar was joined by
00:39singer-songwriter SZA, who dated Drake for an unknown period of time in 2009, according to the
00:44New York Post. Kendrick Lamar also brought out a surprise cameo from Serena Williams. Fans grew
00:50more anxious as the 37-year-old rapper stated, I want to play their favorite song, but you know
00:55they love to sue. Actor Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, popped in and out of the
01:00performance as a sordid narrator, giving Kendrick time to reset before performing again. After
01:06Kendrick and SZA performed their song, All The Stars, Samuel L. Jackson reappears on the screen
01:11to compliment the performance, stating, This is what America wants. Nice. Calm. Continuing with,
01:17You're almost there, only to be cut off as Not Like Us began to play. In the middle of the
01:22performance, Kendrick looked straight into the camera and said, Say Drake, before continuing his
01:27famous lyrics, I heard you like him young. Despite multiple reports citing, he said, Hey Drake.
01:33Kendrick continued his performance, reaching the part of the song where he refers to Drake
01:37as a certified lover boy, yet he censored himself and did not say pedophile. On X,
01:43hashtag Kendrick Bowl began to quickly trend with mixed reactions about the performance.
01:48One fan wrote, Let's be real. Halftime show was trash. None of Kendrick's real hits, just a mid
01:54mashup, just to say Drake's name. Another fan jokingly stated, Drake calling his lawyers after
01:59seeing Kendrick perform Not Like Us. Some even showed concern, stating, That halftime performance
02:05was a snooze fest and I love Kendrick, but the hate for Drake has manifested too much, I fear.
02:10And others pointed out their takeaways of Kendrick's Drake call outs from his lyrics to
02:15his chain. Lawyers for Drake made a statement before the Super Bowl, stating, UMG is masquerading
02:20as a champion of artistic freedom by calling its actions merely entertainment, but there is nothing
02:26entertaining about pedophilia or child abuse in the real world. So did Kendrick push the beef too
02:31far or is this just hip-hop history in the making? Share your thoughts and follow us everywhere at
02:36What's Trending.